I believe that this is a solid book. As with most Ted Dekker books, it is action-packed and captivating most of the way through. Even though it has a lot of it is action, there is plenty of good dialogue, and I specifically like Caleb’s time with Father Hadane in the desert. The story of Caleb is challenging and hopefully convicting for complacent Christianity that is so common in America today. As a 10 year old in Blessed Child, Caleb had an amazing faith and a pure heart for God, while at the beginning of this book as an adult, he had misplaced his love for God, and he had to come to terms with that and face it in the desert. As for the tribe in the desert, one thing I picked up on that I like is how the Christians in the desert were alright with being totally “lost” in the Father’s love. It clearly wasn’t about what people thought, and they ran for Christ. That being said, and though I do think they followed God in some ways that we should take after, I am uncertain as to their choice of living, as I believe we are called to go out into the world with the Gospel, rather than simply only living for God in the desert all of our lives. Back to the book, the display of Christ’s power through Caleb makes me think of my lack of faith towards the miraculous (Though I will admit that miracles in fiction aren’t always moving for me, as the author can write in whatever he or she wants, I do know though that God has the power to do the miracles in the book, so it is still relatable.) Caleb’s faith and ability to be content in God and His presence is awesome. The presence of Jews, Muslims, and Christians in one book I think was well done and Dekker did good writing the Muslim and Jew characters beliefs. Even though Dekker believes in Jesus Christ, and even though he portrayed Christ’s power, I don’t think he wrote of the Christian truth in a blatantly “in your face” disrespectful way towards Judaism and Islam, though both Jews and Muslims still may take offense at this book. Our goal however is to love people to Christ, and though we don’t seek to offend, people may people may be offended by our beliefs. Once again back to the book, the scene near the end (which I will not give away for people who haven’t read the book) did make me question Dekker and Bright’s inclusion of it, but in searching the Bible afterword, I don’t see fault in the message of that scene. It still does make me wonder if doing what Caleb did would be alright (though in the fictional book’s context it was because he did it with God’s power). It did bring me to searching the Bible, which is good, and it portrays the truth of where the presence of God now resides: In the believer. Ultimately, I like the book. I believe it has thought provoking scenes, and for those who like a nice action fiction novel, I think they will enjoy this.
In this sequel to A Child Called Blessed, the child is grown up now and living in the Ethopian desert with his parents and a bunch of monks. It would seem he's destined to live out his life in obscurity, but an Israeli group discovers that the place where he is living may be the secret hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant! So then of course there is an expedition that sets out to recover the ark, with a group of Arab militants right on their heels. Will the ark be restored to Israel, or will it be destroyed, or does it really matter?[return]Along with the typical thrill of seeing the Arabs and Israeli's duke it out, there is some mystical type stufff thrown in when Caleb rediscovers his connection to God that he had when he was a child. Some of the stunts he pulls are very much like the stuff in Dekker's Circle trilogy. It serves to illustrate his point, which is what could really happen if someone totally trusted God? And of course, it's also intriguing to see the political fallout from Israel discovering the Ark of the Covenant. I don't know that he got that quite right, it's a little simplistic but still realistic enough to give a good read. Fans of Dekker's type of suspense with the mystical elements he throws in and the spiritual lessons should definitely check out this older book of his.
What do You think about A Man Called Blessed (2013)?
In my opinion, A Man Called Blessed wasn't quite as good as Blessed Child, but it was still a wonderful read. In this book we get to see that even the most faithful of Christians can loose track of God and become focused on non-important things. But at the same time we get to see how they can recover their faith. We also get to see how similar belief and love are. These are only a few of the lessons that are embedded in this great story. This was just an, overall, fantastic book and left me wanting to read more of Ted Dekker's books.
—Katie
I somehow got the idea that Ted Dekker wrote all psychological thriller (scary) books! They are Christian speculative fiction and action, but they're not scary weird :) I guess the point of Christian speculative fiction is to speculate on how a situation might happen with God in charge; we just don't know! I loved how this book is current day but taught so much about history, religion, the Bible and geography! I really should get out an atlas and historical map and re-read the last few chapters. I learned about the geography and politics of Israel and Palestine and have a better understanding in general of what is going on there. The story line is based on searching for the Ark of the Covenant and what impact finding it would have on Jews, Muslims and Christians. The end totally surprised me. Loved it!
—Danielle
tBest-selling authors, Ted Dekker & Bill Bright, are back with a sequel to their phenomenal, ‘Blessed Child’. We first met Caleb as a 10 year old with amazing healing abilities. He’s since grown into a twenty year old man, living back in Ethiopia, with guardians Jason & Leiah.tIn this sequel, we are greeted by a host of new faces. David Solomon has spent his life looking for ways to unite Israel. A late night meeting with an elderly monk convinces him that the way to unite Israelis is to relocate the Ark of the Covenant. Bible students will recall the Ark simply vanished from history, Biblical & secular, in the Old Testament. Though many have searched, none have located its resting place.tBelieving God will be on the side of his endeavors, Solomon dispatches his military-trained daughter, Rebecca, to use her skills in locating it. Unfortunately, not everyone wants the Ark reclaimed. Returning it to its home in Israel will mean rebuilding the Temple Mount & displacing Islamic worshippers. Solomon feels it’s best to risk war in his unification attempt.tRebecca heads to the location given to them by the monk. It just so happens to be the monastery that Caleb grew up in. According to the holy man, Caleb knows exactly where it’s located in the monastery. While Rebecca needs his help, Islamic extremists want him dead for without him, the Ark remains hidden. tCaleb isn’t a little boy anymore & his faith will be all he has to guide him through the war brewing in the Middle East. Can he survive & show the Hand of God to these angry nations?tI must say that as much as I adored ‘Blessed Child’, I love this one even more. Along with suspense & thrills, we also have a bit of historical fiction & even romance swirled in. Ted Dekker & Bill Bright have proven themselves as the dynamic duo of Christian fiction. tReaders can see these events unfolding in their minds’ eye & realize that these events could indeed take place exactly as written. From start to finish, I was hooked. It’s every bit the 5 star novel & will take its place among the other best-sellers penned by Dekker & Bright. Highly recommended & ends the year as a top 10 of 2013.tI received a print copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.
—Liz Terek
