SummaryThe theological thrill ride, darting from Israel through
Europe to the United States, focuses on Dr. Max Train, a
leading genetic scientist from Syracuse, New York. Max was
once a devout believer in God, but now lives a faithless
life following the brutal slaying of his beloved wife and
four year old autistic daughter twelve years ago. In many
ways, Max exemplifies humanity's difficulties we all face
at one time or another to hold onto our faith in God and
each other, as well as believing in ourselves and our own
abilities. Max represents "everyperson".
Twelve years after the widely publicized trial during which
Max is rightfully found innocent of his family's murder
pinned on him by corrupt dark forces, Max vacations in
Israel. During an earthquake outside of Jerusalem, he
discovers what appears to be the Cross Jesus of Nazareth
was crucified on nearly two thousand years ago. A
mysterious explosion soon destroys the cave where Max had
secretly extracted the ancient artifacts, killing, Train
believes, his best friend Dr. Luke Gartner and two graduate
students he was in Israel with. Moments later, Max's body
is hit with a sea of bullets as the morning sun begins to
rise over The Holy Land. A fearful Max escapes Jerusalem,
embarking on an odyssey to verify the true identity of the
cross and to discover who is behind the killings. Max may hold the fate of Mankind in his hands. If this is
the True Cross and Christ was cloned from the remaining
blood stains and hair remnants on the cross, would
government and religion become obsolete upon His Second
Coming? If the blood stains and hair are those of Jesus,
then what does this say about the long held belief Christ
rose whole and entire upon his resurrection? Where would
the battle lines be drawn between the advances in science
and the beliefs of religion? What effect would this
knowledge have on one's faith and beliefs? In the hallowed halls of the Vatican a righteous Cardinal,
Anselm Mugant, hears of the discovery in Jerusalem. Without
the Pope's knowledge and in clear opposition to all
Catholic teaching, the wayward prelate will stop at
nothing - even murder - in his bid to prevent human cloning
from taking place, including his misconceived belief Max
Train has intent to clone the possible body of Christ.
Mugant is made to represent how Man, when completely self
serving, can actually do great harm including the
destruction of God's Way no matter his original intention.
He sets up a dangerous and complex cat and mouse game in
his effort to do whatever it takes to uphold his own
righteous beliefs. Mugant soon enlists the services of the internationally
rumored assassin known simply as The Scorpion to track down
Max and silence him with death. The Scorpion, a onetime
penitent of the Cardinal, is a force of pure evil and who
challenges life. He forces this same challenge onto Max as
he casts a deadly shadow over his praised soul and every
move he makes. Adding intricate subterfuge to the plot is the existence of
Mugant's "Fifth Crusade", five international industrialists
with great power and reach devout in the Cardinal's
perspective on human genetic science, and controlled by
Mugant's knowledge of their deepest secrets. Together,
Mugant launches an all-out attack to find the ancient
artifacts in Train's possession, and prevent the genetic
scientist from doing the unthinkable in his eyes -
announcing to the world a cross containing bodily remnants
could indeed by the True Cross of Jesus of Nazareth - and
clone the body of Christ! Max is a modern day Job, seeking answers to life's
questions as Hell literally seems to break loose around
him. As all those he has ever loved perish around him and
others turn against him in order to hasten his demise, Max
puts his trust in Sara, a Mossad agent who is the niece of
Max's trusted friend, Rabbi Morty Kohn, who helps him to
slowly restore his faith and lay to rest the horror and
tragedy that the brutal slayings of his wife and daughter
have caused. Cloning Christ spins a tangled and intricate web of deceit,
blackmail, violence, loss, faith, forgiveness, truth and
acceptance in a story that questions the right to clone,
while responding to the needs and harsh realities of life
as we know it. Cloning Christ is the story of life and the
sacredness of it, as shared in the novel that leaves you
racing to turn the page.
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