# Literature based on books of the Bible **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840 "2006-10-17T21:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/21 "2006-10-18T12:35:06Z")
Taylor Caldwell- _Dear and Glorious Physician_ (The Gospel of Luke, and Acts) also _Great Lion of God_ (about Paul, thus from Book of Acts) Paul L. Maier’s _Pontius Pilate_ and _The Fires of Rome_ Anthony Burgess’ _Man of Nazareth_ and _Kingdom of the Wicked_ (The Gospels and Acts, mixed with the Caesars from Tiberias to Nero) I just read Moore’s LAMB two weeks ago, I now demand there to be a movie made! (Starring Adam Sandler as JC & Rob Schneider as Biff). ---
**Author:** ![jacob\_wrestling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@jacob\_wrestling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacob_wrestling)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/22 "2006-10-18T12:46:02Z")
_Many Waters_ by Madeline L’Engle takes some characters from her _Wrinkle in Time_ series and places them in immediately pre-flood Genesis. It’s a wonderful book, but I’m not sure if it’s “literature” in the Miltonian sense of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/23 "2006-10-18T15:01:21Z")
Jose Saramago’s wonderful _The Gospel According to Jesus Christ_. Saramago is a Nobel laureate, so it definitely counts as “real literature”. Ditto for _JB_, which has also been mentioned. I read it in high school a mere ten years ago, and I do remember it pretty well: God and the Devil - who are both portrayed as circus performers - decide to see whether a good man whose life has been ruined will retain his faith. It’s a very cynical look at religion. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/24 "2006-10-18T17:06:21Z")
Another good funny book was [Job](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_v37/ai_3636742) by Robert Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/25 "2006-10-18T19:50:00Z")
Another vote for “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant. I didn’t expect to like it at all, but it really drew me in and made me care about the characters. Quite good, very evocative of the desert and nomadic life, and adeptly expands upon what little we know about the Biblical Dinah. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/26 "2006-10-19T03:38:09Z")
In capital-L Literature, damn near everything written in the last couple thousand years has references to the bible. Christ figures alone are rife in literature; you can’t go through a high school or university Literature course’s reading list without tripping over at least a half-dozen. There have also been quite a few popular fiction books written that are based on the bible. [Three from Galilee](http://www.amazon.com/Three-Galilee-Young-Man-Nazareth/dp/0425205509) tells of Jesus’ life as a young man. Two from Galilee tells about when he was a child. I remember reading these when I was about 10 or so. Prophets are common choices for adventure/love story fiction. I remember one book about Elijah and his love affair with Jezebel. Pretty racy, halfway decent read. Be damned if I can find it now though; I’ve spent the last 20 minutes searching. Wish I could remember the author. King David provided lots of material for people who wanted to write “historical” fiction based on his adventures. Stephen Lawhead has done some fantasy and SF stuff that is more than casually based on biblical stories. I’ve never been able to get into his fantasy stuff, but his [Empyrion](http://www.amazon.com/Empyrion-Search-Fierra-Siege-Dome/dp/0745918727) books were memorably good reading when I was in high school. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/27 "2006-10-19T11:40:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Other than Paradise Lost, what are some works based on the Bible? I just have to point out thyat (although there’s more than just this in there), the Revolt of the Fallen Angels and the Fall of Lucifer isn’t actually _in_ the Bible. There are a handfuil of scattered verses that are said to refer to the event, but which (if you hasd never heard the story) don’t obviously suggest it. I strongly suspect that they refer to different things entirely. The whole story of Lucifer’s revolt is extrabiblical Christian mythology. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/28 "2006-10-19T17:25:57Z")
[QUOTE=adhemar] Orson Scott Card also has a series about women of the Old Testament. “Sarah” and “Rebeccah” are two of titles (I think). Interestingly and most likely pointless for your needs, he also wrote a book about the wife of Joseph Smith the founder of the LDS church. [/QUOTE] He also wrote “Stone Tables” about Moses. I liked it, even if I didn’t buy his central premise about the identity of the Pharaoh. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/29 "2006-10-19T17:38:14Z")
[Moses: Man of the Mountain](http://www.amazon.com/Moses-Mountain-Zora-Neale-Hurston/dp/0060919949/sr=8-1/qid=1161279266/ref=sr_1_1/104-3026459-6143966?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Zora Neale Hurston is a retelling of Moses freeing the Israelites, but within the context of the black slaves being freed from the south post-civil war. (It’s less academic and more readable than I’m making it sound here.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/30 "2006-10-19T21:24:16Z")
[_King Kesus_](http://www.amazon.com/King-Jesus-Robert-Graves/dp/0374516642/sr=8-1/qid=1161293014/ref=sr_1_1/102-2608440-0436164?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Robert Graves. Definitely literature. ---
**Author:** ![Foolonthehill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Foolonthehill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foolonthehill)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840/31 "2006-10-19T22:18:00Z")
The Divine Comedy by Dante The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway Check out Shakesphere’s tragedies for constant biblical references [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literature-based-on-books-of-the-bible/376840.md?page=1)