New Testament fiction by Tessa Afshar

 I have recently discovered some Christian fiction by Tessa Afshar and have found them very readable and interesting, though they continue to raise wider issues for me. 

I read four that adapt a New Testament character and create a detailed backstory.

Land of Silence provides a name, history and drama to the woman mentioned in the gospels suffering bleeding for 12 years who touches Jesus’ robe and is healed. Elianna’s childhood is marred by the sudden death of her younger brother while under her care. Her parents turn away from her, and she holds herself personally responsible for his loss. She is betrothed to Ethan, who cares for her deeply, but there are constant challenges to overcome with parents, a failing business, intrusive Romans and her own self doubt. Then her bleeding starts, with a whole additional range of problems exacerbated by Jewish cleanliness laws. It certainly gives some perspective on what the challenges and struggles were for women in these times. 

Bread of Angels gives Lydia, the Philippian dealer in purple cloth of Acts 16 a detailed history starting with her childhood, and following the drama of her younger life. There is some overlap of characters here with Land of Silence, which is obviously also imagined. 

Thief of Corinth tells of Ariadne, who becomes a thief alongside her father, robbing those who exploit others and exposing them. They themselves are then at risk when their secret threatens to be exposed. They meet a Jewish rabbi named Paul, who offers a message of hope and redemption. 

Daughter of Rome gives a backstory to both Priscilla and Aquila: their childhoods, times of trial and suffering, coming to know the Lord and falling in love with each other. It covers their expulsion from Rome, their resettling in Corinth and meeting and working alongside Paul. Some characters also overlap here with the other books. 

 

Each time I enjoyed the narrative. Afshar has a clear storytelling gift. She has tried to immerse the reader into the biblical age and help us imagine life at that time. There’s benefit to this, as we gain further understanding into the culture and people of long ago. Her characters face real trials and struggles, and their living faith become crucial. The challenges and joys of living the Christian life are present and real, and cross the centuries to be also applicable to readers today.

As with most Christian fiction, they are certainly encouraging and edifying stories. People come to know Christ, face their real sins and struggles, and are changed by the mercy of God.

Yet stories that use biblical characters as their springboard always leave me feeling a little uneasy (which I have also noted in the past - here and here). A high view of the inspiration and sufficiency of scripture makes me nervous when authors add to the biblical narrative, even in an obviously fictional way. I am even more nervous when that person’s life is dramatised for the sake of a compelling story, with betrayal, love, revenge, and great ups and down of romance and life. This was why I so liked Phoebe because Gooder restrained the story more.

Perhaps one concern is that the (often mostly female) readers of this type of Christian fiction will stay with the overdramatised and satisfying climaxes of the romantic story, and spend less time in the actual biblical accounts. However, to counter that, I do note what Afshar herself says at the end of Daughter of Rome (with similar comments at the end of other books): 

“As always, no novel can begin to capture the sheer depth of the Word of God. The best way to study the Scriptures is not though a work of fiction, but simply by reading the original. This story can in no way replace the transformative power that the reader will encounter in the Bible.”