Moblard DeYoung, Ruth. The Temple Curtain. Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2014.

What would it have been like to be a child who lived during the time of Jesus and the early church? Ruth Moblard DeYoung helps us imagine those days from the point of view of Nathan, a priest’s son, who, because he is healed by Jesus is able to walk again. Nathan witnesses the crucifixion, and his father is the priest who sees the temple curtain tear from top to bottom. Nathan and his family become early Christians who flee to Antioch to escape persecution and there witness Paul and Barnabas leave on their first missionary journey.

The specific details seem to be well researched and the story is compelling. In its setting and purpose, it reminds me somewhat of The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. When we read biblical historical fiction books such as these to our students, we should make sure they understand which details are from the Bible and which are not.

It is also important that the details in the story that do come from the Bible are accurate. This is one quibble that I have with the story itself. It portrays the Pentecost wind and flames as happening in the Temple courtyard in view of all the Temple worshippers, while the Bible clearly sets them in a room of a house (Acts 2:1–2).

Some parts of this story that do not come from the Bible give a helpful context for understanding the Bible events. But some events—such as the ones in chapters 9–11 when the family must flee to Antioch—are completely made up, though they sound like Bible stories. Again, the parent or teacher must take care to point out that this is fiction. I recommend this book for older students who are capable of making these kinds of distinctions.

A more serious problem I have with this book is that the characters explain what is happening in terms of ideas that reflect later Christian theology. Would Nathan’s father Eli really have understood immediately that the tearing of the curtain was a sign that God was no longer separating himself from his people? Did the early Christians believe right away that animal sacrifice was no longer necessary because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross? I imagine that at the time there was a great deal more questioning, misunderstanding, and fumbling around for explanations than this book portrays.

Nonetheless, this is a valuable book for helping us imagine what it might have been like to be an early Christian. We are so far removed from the setting of the Gospels and the early church that Bible stories sometimes seem like myths. The contextual details in books such as this do help make the Bible real to the reader. But those same details make the fictional parts of the story seem real, too. So as we read them we must teach our students how to respond to them with discernment as well as imagination.

Joan Stob is the instructional leader at Legacy Christian School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was the series editor of The Story of God and His People Bible curriculum, published by Christian Schools International.