Caine's Christ

The late Hall Caine was a novelist who knew his Bible. He drew from Scripture the theme of many a bestseller ( The Deemster, The Bondman, The Eternal City, etc.). During his lifetime (1853-1931), Author Caine was known to be working on a life of Christ. Upon his death, his executors discovered no less than 3,000,000 words of manuscript, revisions and notes, based upon five trips he made to Palestine, 1,000 volumes of source materials he had read during 39 years. Hall Caine's Life of Christ in its final draft (650,000 words, 1,310 pages) was published this week.* Hall Caine was not much impressed by gospel accounts of the Virgin Birth, by some of Christ's miracles, nor by all the recorded circumstances of the Resurrection. Some of his observations sound as though written from a British club window. Of 'Jesus changing water into wine at Cana he fumed: "A perfectly shocking story: I simply do not believe it." Of the last chapter of John, with its story of the disciples fishing, and its "inept" last verse,/- Hall Caine snorted: "Is there any good reason why I should not say, what I strongly feel, that this ... is an outrage on the memory of Jesus?"

* Doubleday Doran ($3.50). /- "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written."

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