- historical fiction focusing on the life of Onesimus, a slave boy mentioned in the book of Philemon
- themes include: forgiveness, honesty, biblical suffering, freedom in Christ
- convo: mistreatment of slaves (including branding & one particularly bad whipping), deaths, lying, wine mentioned, sacrificing for and praying to false gods, suicide contemplated, a boy claims he had a vision of Jesus during a near-death experience, drunkenness, orgies mentioned, little gods doctrine*
Type: chapter book
Ages: 9-15
Author: Patricia St. John
*Here’s my most important thought: Don’t learn your theology from Patricia St. John. She is an excellent writer in some cases (this is one of them), but she did not always have a clear understanding of certain biblical teachings. If a character in any of her books says something about Christianity, run it by the Bible. St. John was occasionally misguided, but I do not consider her a false teacher. (Admittedly, I have yet to read all her books and will, of course, change that statement if the need arises.) The main theological issue in this book was brief and spoken by a relatively young Christian–the unbiblical teaching that we become little gods when God saves us. For more information, please see this article, this article, this excellent video (11:53), this video (1:31), this video (2:51), and this video (8:22). I could go on, but that should get you started. With all that noted, however, I think you can still enjoy the story in this book.
I absolutely loved how the apostle Paul was woven into the story as well as many others who had become Christians and were diligently studying to learn God’s truth. The scene when Philemon became a new creation was very special. As an interesting contrast, St. John wrote in characters who were keeping another kind of “Christianity” that kept the pagan fasts and festivals. They also mortified their bodies as a way to better know Christ and the Holy Spirit. This was properly condemned by the true Christians.
Onesimus (in the story) struggled mightily for years as he kept being knocked down with problems and difficult trials. Yet, God mercifully continued to place Christians around him wherever he went. He heard good teachings, and, eventually, the Lord replaced his heart of stone with one of flesh. He becomes a follower of Christ Jesus, and his important relationships were reconciled. One friend beautifully said to him:
“Afraid of Christ? How can the dead fear life, or the blind fear light, or the lost sheep fear the Shepherd who comes to carry it home? Oh, Onesimus, if you only knew.”
There were a number of good nuggets of truth like this throughout the book. Historical fiction can be such a fascinating way to visualize the time period in which Biblical history occurred. Just be sure to read the Bible first and know which is which!