The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas

[SnowAngels]

Hi everyone!

I found an old thread about this book from 2012, and I thought I’d create a new one to see if anybody has read it since then!

What did you think of it? I thoroughly enjoyed it! My only issue was that I couldn’t quite figure the actual theme of the book, and by that I don’t mean the plot, but the overall message.

Also, to anyone who has read the book, I have a question about Demetrius! Why did he never accept this freedom?? So. Confused.

Overall, I loved the book!! It made me feel so proud to be a Christian! In my free time, I’m going to check out the movie!

Thank you! God bless you all!

*Note: I was going to post this in the CA Book Club sub-forum, but for some reason I am not able to.(??) *

 

[svid2]

Pax Christi!

Love the movie, never read the book. Maybe I’ll check it out.

By the way, I believe there’s a sequel to the movie, called Demetrius. Don’t know anything else about it.

God bless.

 

[SnowAngels]

Pax Christi!

Love the movie, never read the book. Maybe I’ll check it out.

By the way, I believe there’s a sequel to the movie, called Demetrius. Don’t know anything else about it.

God bless.

Thank you for letting me know!

 

[venite_adoremus]

Ah, one of the gifts of my deceased grandmother which helped bring me to faith in the 1960s! Lloyd C Douglas was a Protestant minister, and among his works were The Robe and its actual sequel, The Big Fisherman. The former was a case study in conversion of a model Roman citizen, Marcellus Lucan Gallio, to the first-generation Christian church. For purposes of the argument, Marcellus is cast as the centurion who actually crucified Jesus and won his robe through the casting of lots at the foot of the cross. At first he is haunted by the memory of his actions, and he sees the robe as bewitched, but eventually through touching it his soul is healed. Thereafter, he roams through the Holy Land, interviewing people who actually knew Jesus and heard his ministry first-hand. The crowning moment is when he realizes life is eternal and he has a choice of where to spend his eternity–serving the wicked Caligula in Rome, or a humble carpenter from Nazareth who actually made a difference.

The Big Fisherman, as one might expect, is the story of Saint Peter. It dovetails in characterization and events with The Robe. Again, it follows the story of Peter coming to faith, and ascending to leadership in the first-generation church. From this book I gained a foundation for accepting the idea of apostolic succession.

Both books follow the Biblical narrative in general terms, but there is also material drawn from the writings of several of the Doctors of the Church and the ecclesiastic history of Eusebius. They’re easy reads, filled with a lot of dialog.

In the theatrical version, Marcellus was played by Richard Burton, and Demetrius by the heartthrob Victor Mature. Since Marcellus is executed at the end of the first story, the sequels (most famous is Demetrius and the Gladiators) had to center on the future adventures of the freed slave.

And, in the book, he was indeed given manumission papers. How could a Christian enslave another Christian?

Happy reading. I recommend them highly!

 

[Dwyer]

The Seamless Robe of Jesus (also known as the Holy Robe, the Holy Tunic, the Honorable Robe, and the Chiton of the Lord) is the robe said to have been worn by Jesus during or shortly before his crucifixion. Competing traditions claim that the robe has been preserved to the present day. One tradition places it in the Cathedral of Trier, another places it in Argenteuil, and several traditions claim that it is now in various Eastern Orthodox churches.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamless_robe_of_Jesus

 

[Goldberry]

I love the book- it’s one of my favorites. I love the details in the book, and I think the author did an awful lot of research.

The movie was pretty good. I thought the sequel was on the cheesy side, though.

 

[Path_Finder]

I love the book- it’s one of my favorites. I love the details in the book, and I think the author did an awful lot of research.

The movie was pretty good. I thought the sequel was on the cheesy side, though.

The sequel is thought to be NOT as religious while the original movie I’d say has a reverent feel like some of the classic religious movies. For me, the 10 commandments basically evokes a reverence and as for the Passion of the Christ, at least in parts it certainly does.

All of these movies seem to be shown very frequently during the Lenten and Easter season. I tried to set aside the time to watch a number of them.

I’ve heard “The Robe” the book is good.