Peter Simon: Reluctant Descendant

by Kim A. Smith

Peter Simon had decided he was an atheist in high school and rejected his Catholic faith to the sorrow of his devout mother. He’d never reconsidered his decision until his father gives him a DNA ancestry test for his birthday. Shortly before he receives the results, the Vatican notifies him that he is a direct descendant of the apostle Saint Peter. Even if true, that seems unimportant to Peter, merely an accident of birth and nothing more. But as he digs deeper, he discovers that DNA testing is being used to determine the identity of remains discovered by archeologists at sacred sites dating from 2,000 years ago. The results both contradict and confirm Biblical accounts of the creation of Christianity. Peter is challenged to think more deeply about his religious beliefs and who he is as a man.

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2017

About the author

Kim Smith was born in London, England but raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin by an American father and an English mother. Smith attended the University of Wisconsin, earning a doctorate in political communication. Smith has been a journalist, professor, essayist, and novelist.