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In the ruins of ancient Ephesus, a young archaeologist, estranged
from her parents, her husband, and her God, is mysteriously
led to the discovery of a long-hidden scroll containing the
personal story of Aquila and Prisca (Priscilla), first century
co-workers of the Apostle Paul.
At first viewing the find as a source of personal wealth,
she begins to translate the scroll and, as the bookreview.com
reviewer put it, "experiences a change of character so
dramatic that it almost explodes in the conclusion of the
novel."
The biblical references to Prisca and Aquila make it apparent
that they were central characters in the developing church
throughout much of the Roman empire, and they undoubtedly
came into contact with or were known by many other Christians.
As I thought about their lives, I began to think about writing
a novel. Suddenly complete passages began to spring unbidden
into the mind, a phenomenon I can only attribute to the Holy
Spirit.
But after the initial inspirations came hard work. I wanted
to completely understand the contemperaneous events in the
Roman world that would have affected individual Christians
and the church. I read dozens of books (I have placed a bibliography
in the appendices of Peculilar People) and found a great deal
of material to incorporate in the novel.
Then the company I was working for at the time went bankrupt,
and I was unable to find employment for six months, during
which time I completed the manuscript, although it has gone
through some major revision and editing in subsequent years.
Another major inspiration for the book was Romans 16. Many
Christians think of people in the early church as heroic,
larger-than-life figures, but I began to see them as ordinary
people, not so different from you and me, caught up in God's
work. I wanted to portray their everyday lives, as well as
their major events. They, like us, lived in a world mired
deeply in sin because of its rejection of the one true God.
In some ways, Peculiar People is a commentary on the book
of Acts and many of the epistles. Some of the interpretations
and extrapolations may challenge your assumptions about both
doctrine and history. I hope you will be like Bereans (Acts
17:11) and go to the Scriptures when you have questions.
But more than anything else, I hope Peculiar People both
inspires and challenges you.
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