Act of God

Act of God is a very intriguing novel. One which raises a number of questions about faith, morality and loyalty while at the same time providing the reader with a first rate mystery to sink his or her teeth into. Dr. Harris Gordon is an archaeologist whose best days are behind him. Or so everyone thought. His belated chance at everlasting glory becomes a reality when he singlehandedly excavates the skeleton of Jesus Christ himself from a burial site not far from the caves which decades before yielded the Dead Sea scrolls. Determined not to release this startling find to the world until he has completed an academic manuscript detailing his discovery, Gordon shares the information with no one. That is until one night in London when he encounters Michael Maloney his old Princeton roommate, a man he has not seen in forty years. Maloney has accomplished quite a bit over the years. He converted to Catholicism, became a priest, rose through the ranks of the Church and is now a Cardinal as well as the spiritual head of the Archdiocese of New York. He is also on the fast track to become the first American Pope and has even picked out a papal name for himself, Colombo I. A man of great intellect and even greater faith, Cardinal Maloney sees Gordon's discovery as a direct threat to the continued viability of the Roman Catholic Church and Christianity in general. With a sense of urgency, he asks God if preventing the demise of the Church justifies the commission of immoral acts. Author Charles Templeton succeeds in demonstrating both the good and not so good aspects of religion while at the same time relating a compelling tale of mystery and intrigue. Highly recommended.