The Q Document: A Novel

by James Hall Roberts

The novel is two A man whose family was killed in a fire has lost faith and lives in Japan. He meets a female reporter and an orphan girl the same age as his dead daughter. The girl is held hostage by a Japanese mafia type and will be sent to a brothel if he does not authenticate certain papers. The plan is for representatives from "Red China" and the Vatican to bid on the (in)famous "Q" document. Bibical scholars know that the Gospels are not first-hand sources but derive from a general outline and used a "Q" document (for "Quelle" meaning "source") containing the sayings of Jesus. The document is a revelation, though, and will shake Christianity to its core for it shows Jesus as a raving zealot and Paul as a murderer. The other tale is of Martin Buber, the Jewish philosopher, who allegedly worked with the Nazis and then was suddenly murdered. He is the one who found these papers and translated them in order for Hitler to "prove" Christianity a fraud and for the German people to accept him as a Messiah. From Buber's diary they follow the story as he struggles, then one day it is over. He is executed and no papers ever come forth. Why?

289 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1964