Upon This Rock: A Novel of Simon Peter

by Frank G. Slaughter

Pocket Books, 1964. Mass market paperback. STATED FIRST PRINTING, OCTOBER 1964. (No ISBN stated). Good tight copy, unread, pages yellowing, good scuffed wrappers. Bestselling book in hardcover. Peter, the man and the "rock. This was the man to whom Christ spoke those twelve famous words that were to change all history — "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" — the man who went on to guide the new faith of Christianity through violent years of conflict within the church and barbaric persecution from without. To this dramatic and inspiring story Dr. Frank G. Slaughter brings the full power of his imagination, skill and scholarship. He re-creates the life of Simon Peter, a man so simple, yet so complex, that he has challenged the imagination of writers for centuries. In this biblical and biographical novel, Dr. Slaughter brings to life the tempestuous age in which Peter lived, a time of rebellion, of tyranny, and of spectacular Roman brutality. Historical fiction, religion.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Religion, Fiction, Historical, Christian

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Frank Gill Slaughter , pen-name Frank G. Slaughter, pseudonym C.V. Terry, was an American novelist and physician whose books sold more than 60 million copies. His novels drew on his own experience as a doctor and his interest in history and the Bible. Through his novels, he often introduced readers to new findings in medical research and new medical technologies.

Slaughter was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Stephen Lucious Slaughter and Sarah "Sallie" Nicholson Gill. When he was about five years old, his family moved to a farm near Berea, North Carolina, which is west of Oxford, North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity College (now Duke University) at 17 and went to medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He began writing fiction in 1935 while a physician at Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.

Books by Slaughter include The Purple Quest, Surgeon, U.S.A., Epidemic! , Tomorrow's Miracle and The Scarlet Cord. Slaughter died May 17, 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Reviews

[James Boling · Rating 2 out of 5]

***Spoilers further down, clearly noted.***

I was a little hesitant about this book. I have not read any historical fiction with individuals from the Bible as their subject. But finally decided to dive in. The author's credentials were impressive to me - maybe naively - assuming, where could you go wrong with an M.D.-turned-author?

Right off the bat I was enjoying this attempt to craft a story around what we know from Scripture of the apostle Peter. Slaughter takes very seriously the history around his subject (though I did not spend any time attempting to verify any of what I was learning of the history he shared, so...). I did not hear any history that conflicted with what I did already know... until... but I'll get to the spoilers.

We learn interesting info about the fishing occupation. I found that very interesting. He does touch on (and validate) some of what I have heard about the geography and weather and their influence on life in that area, particularly for fishermen. I was very encouraged and was looking forward to seeing how he would wrap a story around the biblical account of Peter's adult life.
It didn't take long for things to begin to take a lot of discouraging turns.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

I had to remind myself occasionally that this was intended to be a novel focused on Peter. Some incidents over the course of the earthly ministry of the Lord that I anticipated reading Slaughter's account of were omitted, and I would realize that Peter was not involved in this event or that. So kudos to the author for sticking to what Peter himself experienced (or perhaps experienced) and resisting the temptation to include an account that Peter would not have had first-hand knowledge of.

However, I did keep an eye out for omissions, at least subconsciously, and one occasion I was curious to read the author's perspective on follows Peter's acknowledgment of Jesus as "the Christ, the son of the living God" (Matthew 16).

Of course this high point for Peter was noted. But Slaughter completely skipped over Peter's rebuke of Jesus. Something so conspicuous in the gospels, including Mark's gospel, which the author was keen to remind the reader numerous times as being from Peter's own testimony, surely should have been included in an account of Peter's life.

The omission was so glaring that, once I had looked back and made sure I hadn't missed it, and had read far enough ahead to be convinced that it was not going to be covered, I became suspicious of the motives of the author. A fair and accurate attempt to present the life of Peter cannot leave this incident out.
Sure enough, as I continued reading - - and I should note that I was tempted to set the book aside once I realized the omission - - I saw more and more evidence that the author was not so concerned about accuracy as about elevating the status of Peter.

Page 199: Slaughter claims that Peter was the only one who "fully understood what was...happening" at Pentecost.

P209: The author claims that when Peter and John encountered the beggar on their way to Solomon's porch (Acts 3), "John would have passed the beggar by" but Peter took the initiative to interact. Granted, Luke mentions Peter first (v4) but by no means does he indicate or even imply that John did not have the same intention as Peter.

P218: In the incident with Ananias and Sapphira, far too much is presumed about Peter's perspective and how the incident affected him. It is very evident that this is yet another attempt to further exalt Peter's character - beyond what Scripture clearly indicates.

P236: Starting here (if not sooner), the author claims numerous times Peter's conviction, at odds with James, of the call to go to the Gentiles, in spite of Acts 10 and later when he and Paul confronted over Judaism.

P237: Claims Peter alone announced the need for what were to be called "deacons". Scripture says "the twelve" announced this (Acts 6:2).

P242: Claims Peter, so to speak, saw something in Saul's eyes, and repeatedly suggests that Peter alone (with the exception of Barnabas) was accepting of Paul with little hesitation. P259 is a rare exception.

P250: According to the author, it wasn't Barnabas, as Acts indicates (9:27), that gave Saul his opportunity to explain himself, but Barnabas and Peter.

P314: In direct conflict with what Paul makes clear in Galations 2:11ff, the author claims Peter "*started out* sitting with "people he knew", in an apparent attempt to, again, cast Peter in a better light than Paul clearly states.

Further, there are omissions and implications that are problematic even if they do not necessarily indicate an attempt to glorify Peter.
- He fails to include an account of Jesus's ascension.

P222: I am not a Roman Catholic, so my problem with the wording here regarding the potential for Ananias and Sapphira's salvation may not be one that Roman Catholics would have. But that doesn't matter. Slaughter's choice of words here is at best, very poor: "...instead, he might enable sinners like Ananias and Sapphira to save their souls for eternity". We do not "save our souls". That is the work of Christ.

So while I enjoyed Slaughter's writing, in terms of his skills as a fiction writer, I cannot recommend this novel due to the challenges above. The truth is too important.

[Chels S · Rating 1 out of 5]

No mention of the Mother of God.....funny how protestants have such a diabolical hatred for the mother of someone they claim to love?

[Karfallan]

ISBN 9789500204620