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The following interview was freatured in the November issue of "Divine Eloquence" at:http://divineeloquence.divineministries777.net:
D_E: I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO DIVINE ELOQUENCE. IT’S AN HONOR TO HAVE YOU WITH US.
JMB: IT’S AN HONOR TO BE HERE.
D_E: REV. BECHER, YOU ARE A PREACHER, BIBLE TEACHER, AUTHOR, AND PUBLISHER OF THE "INSPIRATIONAL SUCCESS TIPS." YOU’VE BEEN BOTH PREACHING AND WRITING FOR A LONG TIME. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING THE MOST AND WHICH DO YOU FEEL IS YOUR “CALLING?”
JMB: ALTHOUGH I ENJOY BOTH PREACHING (OR BIBLE TEACHING) AND WRITING ALMOST EQUALLY AS MUCH I BELIEVE I WOULD HAVE TO SAY I ENJOY WRITING JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE. I FEEL THAT MY CALLING IS TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD, BOTH TO BUILD UP BELIEVERS AND TO REACH THE LOST, AND WHETHER ORALLY OR BY WRITING. I VIEW WRITING AS SIMPLY ONE MEANS OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL MESSAGE.
D_E: “OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM” IS SUBTITLED “A NOVEL OF BIBLICAL TIMES.” WHEN EXACTLY DOES IT TAKE PLACE?
JMB: THE STORY TAKES PLACE ENTIRELY IN THE TIME OF CHRIST. PART I DEALS WITH THE INSURRECTION AGAINST PILATE, PART II LEADS UP THE CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION AND THE EPILOGUE DEALS WITH THE EARLY CHURCH. THERE IS EVEN A FLASHBACK IN CHAPTER 3 DEALING WITH THE VISIT OF THE MAGAI AFTER CHRIST’S BIRTH.
D_E: WHO ARE SOME OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS? ARE THERE ANY WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH?
JMB: ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IS BARABBAS, THE ACTUAL LEADER OF THE INSURRECTION. PILATE IS ANOTHER MAIN CHARACTER AND HEROD IS A SORT-OF-A MAIN CHARACTER, BUT THE PRIMARY MAIN CHARACTER, OF MORE IMPORTANCE THAN HEROD IN THE BOOK, IS HEROD’S FOSTER BROTHER, MANAHEEM, WHO IS MENTIONED ONLY ONCE IN THE BIBLE. THEN THERE ARE ALSO TWO BEGGARS WHOSE IDENTITY YOU WOULD RECOGNIZE BY THE END OF THE BOOK, BUT THAT’S A SURPRISE AND TO TELL YOU NOW WOULD GIVE IT AWAY.
D_E: WHEN DID YOU FIRST START WORKING ON THE NOVEL AND HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR IT?
JMB: I STARTED WORKING ON THE NOVEL ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO. ALTHOUGH, IT ACTUALLY GREW OUT OF A SHORT STORY I WROTE ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO. WHILE IN JR COLLEGE, I WON 2ND PRIZE IN A SHORT STORY CONTEST WITH A BIBLICAL SHORT STORY INVOLVING BARABBAS AND TWO BEGGARS. THEN LATER I GOT THE IDEA OF EXPANDING IT INTO A NOVEL BY ADDING MORE CHARACTERS AND DRAWING OUT THE PLOT. THE REST JUST CAME. I KNOW NOW THAT EVERYTHING WAS FROM THE LORD.
D_E: HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR THE TITLE, AND WHAT IS ITS SIGNIFICANCE?
JMB: I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE LORD GAVE ME THE IDEA FOR THE TITLE. OF COURSE THERE IS A CHAPTER IN THE NOVEL WHICH DEPICTS THE SCENE OF THE CHILDREN COMING TO JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES TURNING THEM AWAY, AND JESUS SAYING THOSE POINGENT WORDS “SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME, FOR OF SUCH IS THE KINDOM OF HEAVEN.”
BUT I HAD THE TITLE IN MIND EVEN BEFORE I WROTE THAT CHAPTER. THERE ARE CHILDREN IN THE NOVEL, BUT SINCE THE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE ADULTS, THE SIGNIFICANCE IS THAT WE MUST ALL HUMBLE OURSELVES AND COME WITH CHILDLIKE FAITH IN ORDER TO ENTER GOD’S KINGDOM.
D_E: DID YOU DO RESEARCH REGARDING DETAILS OF THE HISTORICAL SETTING?
JMB: I DID DO QUITE A BIT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH, BUT I MUST ADMIT THAT SOME DETAILS RELATING TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF HEROD’S PALACE ARE MADE UP.
D_E: DID YOU DO RESEARCH FOR EACH OF THE HISTORICAL CHARACTERS, THEIR BACKGROUND AND CHARACTERERISTICS?
JMB: AGAIN THE ANSWER IS YES AND NO. I DID DO RESEARCH ON HEROD AND HIS FAMILY. I FOUND OUT, FOR INSTANCE THAT THEY ARE IDUMEAN, WHICH IS A HALF-BREED RACE OF JEW AND EDOMITE. I DID RESEARCH ON PILATE AND HIS HISTORICAL TREATMENT OF THE JEWS. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE FAMILY BACKGROUND OF BARABBAS AS WELL, BUT I JUST MADE UP HIS TRADE AS BEING A BLACKSMITH. BUT, AS FOR THE CHARACTER OF MANAHEEM, I JUST SORT OF MADE HIM UP OUT OF WHOLE CLOTH, SO TO SPEAK. AFTER ALL, HE IS ONLY MENTIONED ONCE IN THE BIBLE.
D_E: YES, YOU MADE HIM TO BE A NON- CONFORMIST—AND HIS GIRL FRIEND AS WELL. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT IDEA, AND WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN SOMETHING WE WOULD HAVE FOUND IN BIBLE TIMES?
JMB: TO ANSWER YOUR SECOND QUESTION FIRST, I DON’T KNOW IF THERE WERE ACTUALLY ANY PEOPLE IN BIBLE TIMES WHO CALLED THEMESELVES NON-CONFORMISTS, BUT IF THERE WERE, IT CERTAINLY COULD HAVE BEEN MANAHEEM, A FOSTER BROTHER TO THE KING, AND ALSO POSSIBLY HIS GIRL FRIEND WHO WAS OF NOBLE BIRTH.
THE IDEA PROBABLY SPRANG FROM MY YOUTH. IN THE 60’S YOU MAY RECALL THERE WAS A BIG THING ABOUT NON-CONFORMITY AND FOR A WHILE I CALLED MYSELF A NON-CONFORMIST, TO THE DISMAY OF MY PARENTS. BUT THAT WAS A CRAZY FAD. I GUESS I WANTED TO PURSUE THE IDEA OF WHAT TRUE NON-CONFORMITY WOULD BE LIKE. OF COURSE IN THE EPILOGUE I HAVE PAUL’S DISCUSSION OF TRUE CHRISTIAN NON-CONFORMITY ACCORDING TO ROMANS 12:1.
D_E: WHAT IS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE BOOK AND ITS MAIN MESSAGE?
JMB: THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE BOOK IS EVANGELISTIC. I’M HOPING THAT CHRISTIANS WILL USE IT AS SUCH BY GIVING IT AS GIFTS TO THEIR UNSAVED FRIENDS AND RELATIVES WHO ENJOY READING. OF COURSE IT ALSO SERVES AS GREAT CHRISTIAN ENTERTAINMENT FOR BELIEVERS. AS TO THE MAIN MESSAGE OF THE BOOK, I REFER YOU BACK TO MY PREVIOUS ANSWER TO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE. NO MATTER WHAT OUR STATION IN LIFE OR OUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, WE MUST ALL HUMBLE OURSELVES AND COME WITH CHILDLIKE FAITH IN ORDER TO ENTER GOD’S KINGDOM. AND WHEN WE DO SO, WE WILL FIND THE PEACE AND CONTENTMENT FOR WHICH WE HAVE BEEN SEEKING.
D_E: REV. BECHER HOW CAN OUR READERS GET A COPY?
JMB: THE BOOK IS NOW ON THE BARNES & NOBLE AND AMAZON.COM SEARCH ENGINES AS WELL AS THAT OF PUBLISH AMERICA.COM AND PUBLISH AMERICA IS ACTUALLY OFFERING IT AT A DISCOUNT. JUST GO TO http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/shopquery.asp?catalogid=2747. TO ORDER, CLICK ON “SOFTCOVER,” AND THEN ON “ADD TO CART.” IT SHOULD ALSO BE AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BARNES & NOBLE, BORDERS AND OTHER BOOKSTORES BY REQUEST.
D_E: I CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE ALL OF OUR READERS TO GET A COPY OF “OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM” BY JAMES M. BECHER. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALLOWING US A BIT OF YOUR TIME AND I PRAY MUCH SUCCESS TO YOU WITH YOUR NOVEL.
JMB: THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND THE LORD BLESS YOU. |
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See also Rudelle Thomas' review below.
Reviews:
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1) Review by Viviane Crystal of Crystalreviews.com
Beneath every human beings virtues and foibles, a singular hunger lies waiting for a revelation which will create a powerful direction that supercedes all other human goals. James M. Becher takes the reader back to the lifetime of Jesus Christ, into the homes, conversations, and deeds of ordinary and extraordinary individuals who were so deeply affected by the birth of this man.
Meet Manaheem, Herod's foster brother, who on one hand attempts to influence history by helping his brother to unseat Pontius Pilate, the Roman Procurator, and on the other hand who knows there is something more to life than the grasping machinations he helps his brother carry out.
Observe Pilate, the ruler who holds a most undesirable position of authority in a world so unlike the Rome he loves and whose spiritual wife attempts to influence her husband from committing acts sure to doom his political career and damn his all too human soul.
Watch Timotheus, a beggar, who is deeply affected by Jesus' appearances but whose openness is constantly redirected by his companion, Lucas's, desire for more money.
Finally, meet Barabbas, a simple blacksmith who is engaged to carry out a coup against Pilate and who turns to robbery after the political plot fails. On the one hand he is portrayed as any ordinary crook but on the other hand has the same innate needs that will promise less futile struggling and more peacefulness and security. The man whose death sentence replaces that of Barabbas continues to haunt him so much that he follows the condemned prisoner's path and demise to its very last moment.
Earthly plots fail and the horrendous dying process Jesus experiences, accompanied by a desperate plea to God, compassionate words, and a moving surrender to his mission, affects everyone involved in this momentous event.
Read this book to discover the fictional yet all too probable, and powerful, effect of one man sent to speak to the heart of every human being within this novel and those who read it.
Very nicely written, J. M. Becher!
Reviewed by Viviane Crystal (www.crystalreviews.com)200.
2) A Novel of Substance, October 27, 2003 
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Reviewer: A reader from Yorkshire England |
I felt is was a gripping and powerful read that held me in Intrigue and suspense. A book that could be enjoyed by Christians and non-Christians alike. I would not hesitate to recommend it to my friends.
3)Review by Rudelle Thomas in the January issue of Divine Eloquence: (http://divineeloquence.divineministries777.net)
Of Such Is The Kingdom is a fictional novel based on Biblical truths. James Becher has artfully taken the events surrounding Jesus' time here on earth and told what could have been from each characters perspective. The story has a powerful message that has clearly been displayed throughout the novel. Mr. Becher takes you through a wide range of emotions from beginning to end. As you turn the final pages having just been taken through Jesus' last days on earth, you are left not only feeling grateful for what He's done for us, but also hopeful and joyful, knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ affects and changes the lives of all who hears it. This is a great novel that I'm sure you will enjoy!
4) THE AUTHOR'S OWN REVIEW:
A REVIEW OF "OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM, A NOVEL OF BIBLICAL TIMES" BY THE AUTHOR, JAMES M. BECHER PUBLISHED IN THE UPON THE ROCK - CHRISTIAN OUTREACH SUPPORT MINISTRY INSPIRATIONAL EZINE
First of all, I’m not one to toot my own horn, so to speak, but I was asked to write a review of my novel, "Of Such Is The Kingdom, A Novel Of Biblical Times, " which was published last September by PublishAmerica, and I give all the glory to God. It was He who gave me the talent to write in the first place. It was He who gave me the idea for the novel and helped me at every step of its completion. And it certainly was He who allowed it to be published. Thus, I’m certain He will use it for his glory and the salvation of souls. It was certainly fortuitous that Mel Gibson came out with his movie "The Passion of the Christ" when he did. The movie points the world to the cross. But I feel my novel goes further by giving a reason for the suffering and presenting the suffering one as the answer to mankind’s ultimate search. This end is accomplished primarily by allowing the reader to view the Biblical events through the eyes of the three main characters, a cynical non-conformist salesmen and foster brother to the king, a disgruntled blacksmith, and a musing mendicant, all of whom were searching for true fulfillment in their lives. I’m hoping that Christians will catch the vision and use my novel and others like it as tools by giving it as gifts to their non-Christian friends and relatives who enjoy reading.. Of course it also serves as great Christian entertainment, of which there is certainly a dearth today. Of course my novel begins further back than Mel Gibson’s film. Although "Of Such Is The Kingdom" takes place entirely in the time of Christ, Part I deals with the insurrection against Pontius Pilate and the background and events that could have led up to it. Part II uses a fictitious robbery and blackmail attempt to lead up the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Then, there is the Epilogue, which deals briefly with the early church. There is even a flashback in chapter 3 dealing with the visit of the Magi after Christ’s birth.
The style of "Of Such Is The Kingdom" is eclectic. That is, throughout the novel, I use a combination of writing styles, some of which I had picked up from my wide reading background. Of course, the most widely used is third person narrative. But I combine this at many points in the novel with straight dialogue, 1st person stream-of-consciousness narrative and even poetry. It really is, as one reviewer pointed out: "a gripping and powerful read." | |
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