THE BIG FISHERMAN=LLOYD C. DOUGLAS=RELIGIOUS FICTION=RELIGION=JEWS=ARABS.

This was an amazing, inspirational historical fiction centered around Simon Peter as he hears of Jesus, initially rejecting what had been said of him. A big, burly guy, Simon had long denied the fervent religious teachings from his father. He is strangely drawn to find out more about Jesus and is profoundly changed by meeting him. So when Jesus says to follow him, he does and we are taken through the story of Jesus out into the countryside where thousands follow to hear his teachings. We go with Simon who has now become Peter into Jerusalem where he fears for Jesus and denies him but overcomes his shame when Jesus returns and takes on a mantle of gravitas spreading the Word even as far as Rome where he ultimately is put to death.

The book has lots of other quite interesting characters - some historical and others fictional. All, however, are impacted in some way through knowing or knowing of Jesus and/ or his teaching. One side story is that of Fara and Volti, Arabians who find themselves in Israel during the time of Jesus's ministry and specifically in Jerusalem when He is crucified. The story first begins with King Herod and the Arabian King Aretas who, though coming from nations who have for centuries been bitter enemies, agree for their beloved children to marry in order to forge an alliance against further invasion by the Romans. Unfortunately the marriage was a huge mistake and only serves to further divide the Jews and Arabs adding to the hatred between the two cultures.
 

The Author:

Lloyd C. Douglas was a noteworthy American minister and author. He spent part of his boyhood in Monroeville, Indiana, Wilmot, Indiana and Florence, Kentucky, where his father, Alexander Jackson Douglas, was pastor of the Hopeful Lutheran Church. He died in Los Angeles, California.

Douglas was one of the most popular American authors of his time, although he didn't write his first novel until he was 50.
His written works were of a moral, didactic, and distinctly religious tone. His first novel, Magnificent Obsession, was an immediate and sensational success. Critics held that his type of fiction was in the tradition of the great religious writings of an earlier generation, such as, Ben-Hur and Quo Vadis.
Douglas is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

459 Pages