A Nickel for a Robe – What a Buy!

Many years ago, I happened to go to a library book sale where books were selling for five cents each. I don’t remember if I bought anything else, but I did come home with a copy of Lloyd C. Douglas’ book, The Robe. It sat around, untouched, for several months until a time when I happened to be down with the flu, and therefore had time to read it.

I have never read a novel that has affected my life more. Having just finished reading it again, it has again had a profound impact on me.

The story line revolves around the Roman Tribune who was put in charge of the crucifixion of the Savior, and how that affected his life. My feeling when I first read the book was, that while I had always believed in the Savior, I had only seen him from a great distance. Reading the novel, I felt, helped me to see him up close, as it were, and to come to know him better.

I would strongly recommend the book to anyone who likes to read a good novel, or anyone who has an interest in the history, philosophy, or government of that time period. Through the various discussions of the characters, these are all contrasted with the teachings of a man named Jesus.

The book is very well done. If there is anything I would criticize, it might be the 'romance' slant of the story, which seems to be a bit Hollywood-ish. But that's only a small part of the book and doesn’t detract from the spirit that is conveyed by the story. The book left me with renewed inspiration to put less emphasis on 'religion' and more on simply living as Jesus taught.