People of the Book
Quotes from the Book
To a bibliophile, there is but one thing better than a box of new books, and that is a box of old ones.
Does a bibliophile ever have enough room on his shelves? The answer is obvious: get more shelves.
I'm thinking that, collectively, men are only slightly more observant than mollusks.
Her hair was pulled back so severely, it would have won approval from the Spanish Inquisition as a method of torture.
A Bible-quoting group of killers. I don't like it," Barker rumbled, his chin buried in his coat. "Murder and faith make nasty bedfellows.
A Welshman is always glad to add to his private store of tales.
You can’t ride one ass to two fairs.
People don’t read their Bibles. They hire pastors to preach to them. And some pastors will preach total nonsense if it will tickle the congregations’ ears enough to open their purses. There are some very rich and very gullible people in the Reverend Mr. Brunhoff’s church. And they’ll defend the delusions he’s indoctrinated in them to the death.
Actually, you’ve shown the problem in microcosm. The entire thing is all about nationalism, and you know how that is sweeping across Europe. Being ‘chosen’ gives people license to do just about anything they like, from expanding into other countries’ territory, to wiping out undesirable people within one’s own borders. And the more a country prospers, the more they feel that God is on their side, and the more arrogant they become. In America, they call it ‘Manifest Destiny,’ this idea that all they do is ordained by God.
Jesus was a Jew from the line of David. Those paintings make him look like Siegfried from a Wagnerian opera. New Man, indeed! They look upon Christ as the first of a super race, the Aryan race, who must watch over their ‘inferiors’ and exterminate them, if necessary. Have you ever heard such distorted history? He makes it sound like the Jews sit in their ghettoes, plotting the domination of the world.
The English are not barbarians. But if I said, ‘Those Jews are taking our jobs, our homes, and pretty soon our women; let’s teach them a lesson,’ I’d probably clear the room. It’s how mobs start. Most of the men in pubs are half bored, looking for something to do, and anxious to air their grievances.
thing. If the Bible says that the Jews are His chosen people, we ought to take it seriously.
Architecturally, it’s not much different from the Tabernacle this morning,” I said to Barker. “That’s because the builder was a Quaker. Jews were prohibited from building for themselves.
One of the demands of the Church of England in 1700 was that the synagogue not attempt to attract converts with an ostentatious entrance.
A Bible-quoting group of killers. I don’t like it,
People don't read their Bibles. They hire pastors to preach to them. And some pastors will preach total nonsense if it will tickle the congregations' ears enough to open their purses... And they'll defend the delusions... indoctrinated in them to the death.
So the Jews are still the chosen people?" I asked, somewhat doubtfully. "If you are a Christian, you must believe it so, because the Bible never contradicts it. A blood covenant is eternal. God never changes. I know it's more congenial to think we [non Jews] are the chosen people, but one can't build a strong biblical case for it.
Prayer?" I asked. "Of course. If you're not connected to the source of all knowledge, you're no better than a telephone when one of these lines is down." He gestured with his stick at the wires above our heads.
It seems strange to find a Baptist such as yourself so well acquainted with Jewish customs," I said. "Yes, well, knowledge is a good thing. If the Bible says that the Jews are His chosen people, we ought to take it seriously.
Rather large crowd," I whispered to my employer. "I thought he had no family." "The fact that he had no family is why the crowd is so large," Barker explained patiently. "It means that the entire community becomes his family. Also, the Jews have great respect for the teachers of their children.
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About Will Thomas
About the book
An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his apprentice, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar.
When a student bearing a striking resemblance to artists' renderings of Jesus Christ is found murdered -- by crucifixion -- in London's Jewish ghetto, 19th-century private detective Barker must hire an assistant to help him solve the sinister case. Out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved," the eccentric and enigmatic Barker chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man whose murky past includes recent stints at both an Oxford college and an Oxford prison. As Llewelyn learns the ropes of his position, he is drawn deeper and deeper into Barker's peculiar world of vigilante detective work, as well as the dark heart of London's te
Book details
- First published
- 2004
- Author
- Will Thomas
- Genre
- Mystery
- Goodreads rating
- 3.93 (9k ratings)
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