The Amen Heresy [Paperback]

W.H. Muhlenfeld (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

Ex-priest and dyslexic expert of ancient languages, Jack Fisher, agrees to assist an Israeli friend and expert of religious history and is drawn into an unsolved mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. His discovery of the true meaning of the Copper Scroll threatens to expose the three religions of Abraham as the monotheistic legacy of an ancient, sun-worshipping pharaoh, Amen-hotep IV. Jack joins forces with Agent Ariel Hadar of the Israeli Antiquities Authority and Sami Salaa, a Palestinian boy of the streets, in an epic struggle for possession of the scroll, and an explosive truth which will upend religious history and shatter the religious legacy of Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Bascom Hill Books (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982093845
• ISBN-13: 978-0982093849
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #728,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking thriller, December 4, 2009

By 

Michael McGaulley - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Amen Heresy (Paperback)

Initially, The Amen Heresy, W.H. Muhlenfeld, put me in mind of a Daniel Silva kind of international thriller set partly in Jerusalem. It is that, but as I read on, I found echoes of other thrillers I've enjoyed, particularly those with a bent toward exploring religious or spiritual traditions: Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, of course, as well as Kathleen McGowan's The Expected One.

But, uniquely, The Amen Heresy is set in the Holy Land, the "source" of what are termed the Three Great Religions of the Book, the three Monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Then Muhlenfeld adds a twist: What if there were solid evidence that way back, even before these religious traditions sprang forth, there were another more fundamental source: ancient Egypt? Actually, that's not at all far-fetched, as religious scholars have uncovered a number of such bits of evidence: even the Ten Commandments and elements of Genesis echo the Egyptian Book of the Dead. For more intriguing ideas, check out some of the links to the early Gnostics as well as the Nag Hammadi scrolls found after World War II.

But don't let me mislead: these deeper elements are in The Amen Heresy, but, fundamentally, it is a thriller.

Who would have reason to grab and suppress this evidence? If you think "churchly-bureaucrats," you've got only part of the answer. True, that solid evidence, in the form of an authenticated document, would "change mankind's understanding of religious history and alter the future of spiritual belief." And it would make all too evident how organized, hierarchical religions -- more particularly the empire-builders within them -- have taken the simple, fundamental spiritual truths and "cloak[ed] them with heavy drapes of dogma [in order to embellish their] control with the mighty pull-cords of ritual."

At least the leaders of the established religious traditions only want to maintain the status quo. Muhlenfeld adds a deeper level of evil: think very rich, very narcissistic, very powerful, and very determined to set up his own personal cult-religion.

Who can stop him? A former Catholic priest, a too-attractive Israeli agent, and a street-smart street-urchin. Tough odds.

But a great story, particularly the final confrontation in an underground grotto beneath an ancient monastery in the Egyptian desert. Definitely worth a read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE AMEN HERESY, a review by Jim Woods, April 6, 2011

By 

Jim Woods - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Amen Heresy (Paperback)

Chapter 1 of The Amen Heresy is more prologue and back-story than story continuity. It's a bit difficult to absorb because of the personal and locale names of the early Christian period. The author may have recognized this when he described his own character's difficulties in translating and transcribing ancient scrolls from Aramic to Greek. Chapter 2 begins the modern times of the tale; two millennia later than the opening. Chapter 73 is the Montana denouement of an excellent story that encompasses Israel and Egypt, geographically, and thought-provoking holy and unholy ties binding Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

In between, and not at all surprising since religion is the driver of such, faith based hate, destruction and murder are the unwelcome companions to an unlikely alliance composed of a stalwart former priest, an American; a female antiquities protective agent, an Israeli; and the Palestinian boy of the Jerusalem streets.

The prize for their quest is a missing Dead Sea Scroll that if published could have believers questioning their faith and agnostics becoming believers. Such a powerful document, especially when augmented with its reputed treasure map, brings out the worst in several malevolent organizations, all fronted by the facade of service to the Lord, however identified in their beliefs, as well as an array of self-serving and malicious individuals concerned only with money and power.

The multiple antagonists steal, plot, scheme and kill to serve their ends, while the trio of protagonists steal, plot, scheme and kill to thwart them. The Amen Heresy is a complex, intriguing, rousing, thoughtful, compassionate and sometimes romantic adventure to not be missed, but only if you're a world traveler, a historian, a philosopher, a teacher, a student, a scholar, religious, non-religious, or simply a bystander to the world.

<<>>

Jim Woods, author and editor:[...]
Gunshot Echoes, a collection
Assassination Safari, a novel
Parting Shot, a memoir
She Serpent, a novella
The Diamond Exchange, a novella
Cabbages and Kings, a collection
So You Want To Be An Author, a tutorial

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Liked this Book, December 9, 2010

By 

LI Reviewer (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Amen Heresy (Paperback)

Good thriller with location, history and religion all mixed in. I thought the character development was good and I particularly liked this guy's style of writing. Don't have the book in front of me to give an example of what I mean but a few times I found myself saying wow! or interesting! over he grouped and phrased certain sentences. I guess I like words :-)

Worth the money, story moves fast and enjoyable. I will definitely read this author again.