More Than a Skeleton: It Was One Man Against the World

I can well understand why one reviewer thought this book a waste of time and money. That person had a preconceived notion about what the end times should be like. Instead, we should review all novels, teaching, sermons, etc. on the basis of the Bible, read in context.I can assure you though, it is NOT a waste of time or money. In fact, you will likely have trouble putting it down. I would have completed it in one evening if I didn't have to go to bed!This book is best read in context, i.e., after reading A Skeleton in God's Closet.Read, buy and recommend this theological thriller. You don't have to be a Lutheran or a protestant to appreciate it.The author is honest about his theological bias. He is a Lutheran Christian, an ordained clegryman in the conservative, confessional, and Biblically-based Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.The author refutes such authors like Hal Lindsay and the Left Behind series from a Biblical standpoint and a mature, well-thought-out theology that is in line with what has been historically taught in the church. The idea of a "Rapture" is foreign to Christianity pre-1830. The idea spread through travelling evangelists and study Bibles to North America.The author is correct in asserting that the majority of Christians who have ever lived, as well as a majority of Christians alive today, do not support the "rapture" as described in Left Behind and the theology called premillenial dispensationalism. Granted, majority numbers alone do not dictate theology, but they do cause one to wonder-was the church across the board wrong about the end times for 1,830 years? I think not.People are and can be easily deceived. Just because a novel or denomination claims to be Bible-based does not always guarantee that they are. Often, religious fiction is less "taken from the Bible" than "inspired by the Bible."The worldview presented in the novel is consistent with the historic Christian faith. It understands Bible verses in context, with due reverence for the literal and the symbolic, and draws meaning from the Christian Scritpures rather than reading preconcieved notions into so-called "proof passages."Look for Dr. Maier's other historical novels and excellent work on the early Church.

After reading Dr. Maier’s Skelton in God’s Closet, I was so engrossed in it and it’s exciting story that kept me up until 3:20 AM and a draggy new day, the story kept going through my mind while I wrestled with the subject matter. Then I found the second book in the series “More Than. A Skeleton”. I immediately sent my IPad into overdrive to fend the Kindle version. I found it and in less than 3 days I had devoured it. To say it is a page turner is really putting it mildly. What a story! Dr. Maker not only has away with words, he has total command of the dictionary and Thesaurus, and now on to book 3 in the series, The Constantine Codex! Thanks to my Pastor, I have a new genius author and favorite biblical historian that I can listen to on U-Tube.

Paul L. Maier's More Than a Skeleton (2003) is the sequel to A Skeleton in God's Closet. Unlike the first book that almost exclusively focuses on an archaeological discovery and it's implications for the Christian faith, this book deals only cursorily with archaeology while presenting another challenge to fundamental Christian beliefs. In this novel, protagonist Jon Webber and the world are surprised by the advent of a remarkable man: Joshua Ben-Yosef, whose words and miracles bear a remarkable resemblance to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. But is this what the Second Coming is supposed to be like? Have Christians been misinterpreting the Bible for two millennia? And if he is the Lord come again, what does this mean for world-wide Christianity?Although the first novel was a fun adventure, the sequel has a lot to be desired. This is mainly due to the fact that, while the first book had a halfway believable plot, I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief here. The question of how Jesus will return has been one I've often pondered, and the book explores the possibility that our preconceptions about how it will happen may be mistaken. But the way that the book goes about dramatizing this issue just doesn't hold up. I hope the next book is better.Oh, and again there's still too much banter; Maier should just stop trying to make us laugh.

This is the type of book that I am sheepish about admitting I liked. I have read three of Maier's novels, starting with Flames of Rome, then The Skeleton in God's Closet, and finally this one, and I feel as though they became progressively sillier. However, if people can become agog for "religiously" themed pulp fiction like The Da Vinci Code with a straight face, then I guess it's okay to stay up late finishing a Christian thriller like this one.The hero, Jonathon Weber, must once again save Christendom from threat, this time in the form of a charismatic man claiming to be Jesus Christ back on earth for an "intermediate coming." The final showdown takes place before the eyes of the world at an ecumenical "Vatican III." (Even Lutherans aren't immune to the mystique of Rome.)The characters are underdeveloped, the dialogue is blush-inducingly cheesy, and the (very veiled, no threat to your modesty) sex scenes are hilariously corny (although I may be thinking more of The Skeleton in God's Closet here.) However, I appreciate the author's solid Christian background and his response to both anti-Church conspiracy-mongering and simple-minded End Times theology. This is not high literature, but if you are looking for a fun adventure story that isn't offensive to your faith, Paul Maier is your man.

Like Skeleton in God's Closet, this is a page turner you won't want to put down. The author combines a great adventure with historic and theological facts that keep the reader engaged from start to finish.