Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a series on “The Dear and Glorious Physician” - Luke. The image is an icon of St. Luke.
(c) 2008 Phil Corr, Ph.D.
I am nearing the end of Taylor Caldwell’s majestic historical novel on Luke the Gospel writer. Doubleday published “Dear and Glorious Physician” in 1959, after forty six years of research and writing, according to the author.
It is a tour de force of creative writing that weaves together artistic license with rigorous historical research. She brings various Gospel characters into Luke’s life.
While I do have a few quibbles of a historical nature, the most significant disagreement I have with her is on the ethnicity of Mary and Jesus. Caldwell presents them both as Northern European in appearance, when in all likelihood they were Middle Eastern Semitic in countenance.
Caldwell does provide a fascinating discussion in a rare footnote on the subject of world wide darkness at the time of Jesus’ death. Writing on page 420, she presents the following evidence: “An enormous earthquake occurred at this hour in Nicaea. In the fourth year of the two hundred and second Olympiad, Phlegon wrote that ‘a great darkness’ occurred all over Europe which was inexplicable to the astronomers. The records of Rome, according to Tertullian [a second century Christian], made note of a complete and universal darkness.
The title “Dear and Glorious Physician” is drawn from a letter of Paul. Luke eventually became Paul’s doctor.
Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name. He also wrote the Book of Acts, which is so important to understanding the early years of the Church. If you read Acts carefully you will notice that it at times switches to a “we” narrative. Those sections have to do with Luke being present during those events.
Because the “we” narrative begins when Paul is in Toras (Troy), some people wonder whether Luke is the “Man from Macedonia” who appears to Paul in a vision. That vision or dream leads to Paul entering Europe to proclaim the Gospel and plant churches.
Phil Corr’s work on the web can be seen at: haystack06.org and fccofcc.com
