The Kairos - Paperback

by Paul E. Hartman (Author)

Five-star ratings abound on Amazon.com for The Kairos, a modern-day suspense novel dealing with Jesus, homosexuality, and the power of fundamentalist religions. For 40 years, the two primary Dead Sea Scrolls scholars - Dr. Lute Jonson and Fr. Sean O'Derry - have hidden seven fragments that tell where the teenage Jesus of Nazareth lived ... because they also shockingly reveal the gender of "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Finally the Protestant Lute argues, "The world deserves to know this kairos event. These writings are the just like other biblical stories of God's moments of breakthrough into human history." Sean, a Roman Catholic scholar-priest, vehemently disagrees, warning that the second revelation would end the faith of a billion conservative Christians worldwide. Fearing that the explosive news might die with the two aging scholars and deciding they contain Good News, not bad, Lute steals the 2000-year-old parchments and flees Jerusalem for America, determined to find a global media outlet. Sean's security agents, close behind, are soon replaced by Vatican officials and finally CIA agents. As Lute barely escapes his hunters and reveals the ancient truth to one confidante after another, the trail of casualties mounts. His quest is completed under the blended blaze of a Midnight Sun on Alaska's Yukon River. Kirkus Reviews writes, "Lute is as earnest and inept as a biblical scholar would be if he were dodging shadowy killers, and his flight is realistic and suspenseful. The author] sets him amid three-dimensional characters whose crises of conscience are nuanced and well-drawn.... Lute's odyssey makes for an intriguing balance of action and reflection." New York Times best-selling author Sheldon Siegel adds, "The Kairos' intriguing, highly controversial premise takes readers on a fast-paced ride from the Holy Land to California to Alaska. Lute Jonson is an engaging protagonist worth rooting for. A deftly-executed thriller in a crowded genre. We will be hearing more from this talented newcomer. Highly recommended." Pioneering gay Christian activist Rev. Dr. Mel White (Stranger at the Gate; founder of SoulForce) adds, "After carrying The Kairos around the country/world in my suitcase for more than a month, I finally read it on flights and in concourse lobbies. AND I LOVED IT." Author/blogger/MCC minister Kittredge Cherry concludes, "Hartman's wickedly good plot twists and clever language lead to surprising revelations. The time has come for The Kairos."

Author Biography

Paul Hartman is a retired PBS and NPR broadcast executive and on-air personality, having served stations in Alaska, Missouri, Kentucky, New York, and Washington State for 25 years. His career also included teaching (all levels from elementary to college), lay preaching (on the gift of generosity at more than 40 congregations around the United States) and fund-raising (for colleges and congregations). He was raised Lutheran and has been an ordained Presbyterian elder for over twenty years. Born in Oregon and raised in "the left-coast Washington," Paul has a 1967 cum laude B.A. from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, and an M.A. in Radio-Television-Film from San Diego State University. He was named one of Pacific Lutheran's 100 Centennial Alumni, and appointed Master of Ceremonies for the Centennial Banquet. Career highlights include a four-year presidency of the Washington State Public Broadcasting Association, and membership on the Executive Committee of the Pacific Mountain Network. Paul has three adult children, two grands, and a husband. He feels blessed to have a deep and lifelong Christian faith in the progressive tradition. Paul's suspense novel The Kairos (a Greek word for the amazing moments when God appears in human history) involves nuanced characters struggling with timely best-seller topics: the Dead Sea Scrolls, the historical Jesus, homosexuality and religion. The story's theme, however, is timeless: how our innate human reaction to the unknown-fear-is answered in the powerful first words of biblical moments when a divine figure breaks into our time: "Fear not."