Customer Reviews

Martyr of the Catacombs: A Tale of Ancient Rome: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A Tale Of Ancient Rome brings to fore the true essence of the Christian race. The history of the writing itself is illustrative of the route through which Faith has come from Christ to the present time. The route that has wound through shame and ridicule, but which like the hero of the tale, is bound to lead to glory.

To the many adherents of the faith who still wonder where devotion and dedication fled, and to those who joined the race out of a longing for satisfaction for their hungry souls, but who have since been fed hay and rye, this book is a single ray piercing through a dark cloud. It brings Christianity out of it's brittle contemporary cast, and put it in it's true perspective of hope, and joy and tears and truth and grace.

This tale of the catacomb is the story of true Christians. It puts to shame the sham of contemporary Christianity. By this book every man can judge the true worth of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not by the church buildings scattered all around the nations most of which remain only as a reminded of the glory that was, nor by the showy bible teachers on cable TV. The promise of Jesus to you as a human being is evident in the tale. The victory of faith is apparent upon every page.

In this book you will find the Christ of the bible. In this book, it will finally make sense.

I read this book over 20 years ago, and it still comes to my mind even to this day. I highly recommend this book for those interested in what it would be like to live your faith under threat of physical suffering and death.

I live in a land blessed

Free from almost every pain

Resting in a comfortable lifestyle

Material riches displayed as gain

I worship at church

With nary a dread

Little fear for my family

Ending up dead

But for many Christians

Who live else where

To stand for Christ

Brings the ultimate price to bear

Dying by the hundreds

Each and every day

Tortured and murdered

In unspeakable ways

While I strive to gather

All the toys that I crave

They bury their loved ones

In desolate makeshift graves

Pray they will be bold

In proclaiming their faith

And meet death if need be

With Spirit-filled grace

If this has disturbed you

And your day I did taint

Perhaps I have jolted you to pray

And remember suffering saints

It will inspire you greatly in the works of Christian martyr. It is also heart stirring story should you go through the persections. In the Roman Empire Era, the christians went through one of the worst suffering in the history. But God was gracious and blessed their work in reaching millions of souls in those era. It shall make you feel to run out and proclaim loudly "I'm proud to be a Christian!"

Buy one for your library, it is worth it, trust me if you are proud of your Christian heritage.

This book is definitely very inspirational, and I would recommend it for readers of all ages! The book is written ina a way that is easily readable and intensely captivating. The story line is so inspirational that I could imagine one day turning it into an epic motion picture! This is a story of searching for truth with an open heart. It is a bit sad yet very memorable . . .and like I already said . . .INSPIRATIONAL!!!!!

This is a historical fiction set in Ancient Rome during one of the times of persecution of the Christians. During this time, Christians were often taken to the Coliseum and thrown to wild animals to be eaten. But many still came to faith in Christ despite the hardship. Many of the Christians lived in the vast catacombs under the city. This story takes you inside the catacombs, into the arena, and among the Roman soldiers, and gives a good understanding of the time period.

This book was originally written in the 1800s, and then edited and reprinted in 1993. It is a bit more formal in tone than books written today, but it is not difficult to understand. As you'd expect in a book written in that time period, the descriptions of the deaths in the Coliseum are not gory, like they might be if written today. You understand what they suffered, but it doesn't dwell on gruesomeness.

There were a few parts of this story that dragged a bit much and were somewhat wordy. There were a couple points when Christian doctrine was being explained to someone interested in the faith, and it ended up feeling like an official presentation being directed at the reader. Also, when a new convert is taken on a tour of the catacombs he sees many of the tombstone inscriptions. There's a whole chapter of mostly tombstone inscriptions, with very little interesting in them or surrounding the explanation: "Domitianus, an innocent soul, sleeps in peace." A few would have been fine, especially the ones that did have stories attached, but this chapter needed cut in half.

So, there are a few parts in the story that I would skim, especially the tombstone chapter, but the book on the whole is good, the story interesting and educational. This book will be part of our family's homeschool curriculum. In fact, I will probably use it as a read-aloud with my older two children sometime in the coming year, when they'll be 7 and 5. But, there will be a bit of skimming through the mentioned parts.

While not the equal of a "Ben-Hur" or "Quo Vadis", "Martyr of the Catacombs" presents a good story of a Roman official who seeks out the Christians during Decius's persecution and joins the faith himself despite the price he may have to pay. The reading is generally quick (I read it in one or two days if I'm not mistaken) and the story is a well conceived one. On the whole, not a masterpiece but a worthwhile and good read that I recommend.

This is gripping historical fiction that vividly portrays what Christians had to endure during persecution by the Roman Empire. It makes one thankful of how much religious freedom we have today. It inpires one to a greater service to God. Should be read by all Christians so as to inspire oneself out of complaceny in the faith.

The book is around 160 pages written by an unknown author. It was said to have been found on an abandoned American sailing ship in 1876.

The book is something like historical fiction. It's a fictional story set in a history. You follow a Roman soldier named Marcellus as he is tracking a group of criminals in Roman around A.D. 251. The criminals are Christians who are persecuted under the Roman Emperor Decius, hated and forced to live out their lives in the Catacombs.

We follow the rather quick conversion of Marcellus who goes from Roman soldier to a persecuted Christian himself. Marcellus finds faith in Christ among the tombs of Christian martyrs.

The one thing I did like was the description of the events in the Coliseum. The book somewhat reminded me of the movie "Gladiator" or the HBO miniseries "Rome" although not as enjoyable to read as those were to watch.

The fictitious story is alright but there are parts of the book that were bogged down and slow. The book isn't all that great and I really can't recommend it. Save yourself the time and read something else or watch a good documentary on the martyrs.

I wanna thank you Amazon because this was a birthday present and my friend got it just on time... This book is amazing and my friend was soo happy not only because of the content of it but also because the package was in perfect conditions when he got it....

Thanks again.

The martyr of the catacombs is an inspiring story of 1st century Christianity in Rome. The Emperor sought to rid the city of all Christians, but God turned his evil into good by bringing more Romans to faith in Jesus. This story magnifies the power of the gospel light that shines from the bold lives of those who are persecuted for Christ. The Christian reader will be challenged to stand firm in his faith against all odds with the assurance that nothing can separate him from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35). May God use this book to strengthen faith, and burden many to prayer for the spread of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations in the midst of persecution.