JUDAS, MY BROTHER

Frank Yerby

An A Perceptual Shift Book Review

Without question, one of the best books I've ever read.

My father made my brothers and me read Judas, My Brother years ago. I'm incredibly grateful that he did.

I'll start with a warning: this is not an easy book.

The opening can be challenging to follow. Yerby spends considerable time establishing the historical world preceding the birth of Christ, complete with unfamiliar names, complicated lineages, politics, cultures, and history.

Stick with it.

Because what follows is nothing short of spectacular.

The story of the birth, life, and Passion of Christ is told largely through Nathan, the fictional brother of Judas Iscariot. Nathan witnesses these events without accepting the divinity of the man at their center.

And that's where this book becomes extraordinary.

Depending upon what you bring to it, I believe Judas, My Brother presents a compelling argument against the existence of God while somehow simultaneously presenting one of the best arguments for His existence.

Yerby doesn't make either conclusion comfortable.

Believer and nonbeliever alike are given something to wrestle with.

It's long. It's dense. At times, it's brutal. It demands something from the reader.

But the reward is beyond my ability to adequately articulate.

There are books you enjoy. There are books you recommend.

And then there are the handful that permanently occupy some space inside you.

Judas, My Brother has stayed with me in a way very few books have. Years after first reading it, I still find myself thinking about its questions, its characters, and the uncomfortable tension it creates between faith and doubt. It didn't simply give me a story I enjoyed. It gave me something I continue to wrestle with.

For me, Judas, My Brother is one of those rare books.

An absolute must-read, whether you believe in God, don't believe in God, or aren't quite sure what you believe.

And Dad, if you're reading this:

You were right about this one.