Book Review: Theophilos by Michael O’Brien
Michael O’Brien is arguably the best English Catholic writer alive today. From contemporary apocalypses and science fiction to historical fiction his erudite exploration of Catholic belief is second to none and ranks him among the greats, Tolkien, Lewis, and Chesterton. ‘Father Elijah’ has become compulsory reading whenever I begin my annual retreat. So illuminating are the spiritual nuggets buried within the story that it functions as a fruitful agenda for my reflections throughout a week of silence and prayer. Theophilos could be just as inspired a choice for my next one.
The protagonist who lends his name to this work of historical fiction is familiar to anyone who has picked up a Bible. He is the person addressed in the Gospel of Luke (Loukas) and subsequently the Book of Acts, who provides “an accurate account” of the life of Christ and the apostolic church. O’Brien sets them together as members of the same family, both physicians, with ‘Loukas’ following in Theophilos’ footsteps after being rescued by him from a plague that killed his parents when he was a child. After receiving Loukas’ gospel, Theophilos sets off in search of his long lost adopted son hoping to convince his to come to his senses and return home to his family on Crete. Instead, he is convinced to accompany Loukas as he journey’s through the Holy Land where he interviews surviving witnesses who shared their stories now compiled in that his son’s first testimonial account of the life of Jesus.
Most difficult for Theophilos to accept are the witness accounts of people who claim to have encountered Christ after his resurrection, Loukas included among them. He continues to discount their testimony as a delusional wish fulfillment to believe that their messiah still lived. He also proscribed the accounts of miracles as illusions or frauds perpetrated on a gullible populace despite receiving the eyewitness testimonies of believers. After all, the Jewish shepherds, fishermen, and their ilk that led this new religion lacked the sophistication and knowledge of Plato, Socrates, and other such philosophers. They could, therefore, be easily deceived since they lacked his experience and education as evidenced by his extensive library of scrolls and papyrus, works that he had read and discussed with Loukas throughout the years. How then could someone as wise and reasonable as Loukas fall into such a cult of religious fanatics? The narrative woven by O'Brien is Theophilos' search for an answer to this question. What begins as a journey taken so that he might save his son finally leads Theophilos to a different kind of salvation entirely.
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