II'd forgotten about the author Ted Dekker. Some time 10 years ago or so I'd read through 4 or 5 of his books in a row--he's a great suspense/thriller Christian writer admittedly a narrow, strange niche.
"Blessed Child" was in a pile of books that my sister gave us during our evacuation to pass the time while in quarantine. Turns out its partially set in Ethiopia!
The premise is that an American baby named Caleb is given to an Ethiopian monastery after his mother is murdered by invading Eritrean forces. 10 years later his life is in jeopardy and a Peace Corps worker and Red Cross nurse rescue him and take him to the U.S. In the United States, we discover that Caleb can heal people and that senior politicians want him dead. This political thriller unfolds as the central characters grapple with the idea of miracles in the modern age and what is more important: healed hands or healed hearts?
Dekker does a good job in unpacking some difficult questions that many skeptics (and believers) have such as why do some people get healed and other die? Why is there evil if God is all powerful? There's no easy answers to any of this genre of questions but the author provides a solid framework by which we can consider them.
See our 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 Reading Lists.
Key Quotes:
Whoever said that a straightened hand was more dramatic than a healed heart anyway?
“Remember, Caleb, words are weak instruments of love. They can do many things, but they do not carry the truth like your hands do. People need to be shown, not told.”
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