John the Baptist: As His Soul Remembers by Stuart Ledwith – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur

John the Baptist: As His Soul Remembers by Stuart P. Ledwith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

John the baptist

This book is a very interesting look at the life of John the Baptist, I am not a religious person and this is not a religious book in any way, however, I still found it immensely informative and thought provoking.

This story starts with Tiberius Claudius Nero Cesar Augustus, or Tiberius the Great one having a discussion with his emissary and close friend Paternuns Maximas he tells him of the things he has learned while on his travels to Syria, Jerusalem, Palestine and the Judean Desert. They discuss the legionnaires stationed out there, the situation with King Herod, the rebellious uprising of a group of religious zealots and the rising of a Hebrew “King” and a powerful and influential man who will aid him from the Essene religion. They discuss the problems that these different parties are causing the legions and how to remedy it, this is as well as discussing the “God” of these new religions and how his followers have said that they will remove the “invaders” from their lands. This worries Tiberius, especially because it isn’t a god which is known to them or one that they are familiar with.

This is where we first hear about John the Baptist or the “Desert Prophet” and the things that he has done, miracles he has performed and to Paternus, other outlandish things. It is this that worries Tiberius more than anything is that these “god-men” could become more powerful than him.

We next join Rabbi John the Nazarene and learn more about his daily life, who he interacts with, as well as his family and the journey which he will go on with them. We learn that he is a humble man who lives by himself in the desert, he baptises and preaches to the local population and lives a solitary, but enjoyable life by the River Jordan. His peaceful life is then interrupted by a visit from an old friend he has known since school who comes to him with a message. This message is that he is going to be an influential man who will teach people about love and equality, he will do this with the aid of a woman and that this will also be his demise.

This is where we truly learn about the journey he embarks on in the first person as his soul tells his story and enlightens the readers about the messages he brought and his life while he did this. It talks about his thoughts, feelings, experiences and ultimately his death. It is an original concept which is absorbing and wonderful to experience.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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