Reviewed January 2008

After hearing all about this novel on Gibson's Truth Driven Thinking podcasts I purchased the book. After finishing it I'm not sure I enjoyed it. The story of Bill and Ian's friendship and the "discovery" of a great truth is almost unreal. I did not bond with the characters. I cried when Ian's dad died, and read quickly turning the pages hoping to get to the great truth. I'm not sure I liked Gibson's habit of giving away the future, i think I might have enjoyed the unfolding events more if I didn't know what was about to happen. The religious facts were a bit interesting but unreal when happening during a real conversation. Not sure what I thought of this book, maybe time will help me develop a more likeness for it.

1-2008 ( )

A Secret of the Universe:
A Story of Love, Loss, and the Discovery of an Eternal Truth
Stephen L. Gibson
Truth-Driven Strategies
576 pages
Hardcover $26.95
978-0-9793880-0-2

Lifelong friends Ian and Bill begin down the path of Midwestern middle class marriage, family, jobs, and neighborhoods. Then, tragic events push Bill deep into the comfort zone of his family and Christian fundamentalism, while Ian takes off on a quest for truth, examining all beliefs through the lens of reason. A rift in the friendship grows into a chasm as Ian delves into an endeavor that may detonate the foundation of Christianity.
Through his employer, Ian meets a group of scholars who open a door to knowledge that both stuns and captivates. This path of inquiry is hidden in plain sight, known by some historians and biblical scholars, yet concealed from the public by academic reluctance to spotlight such a provocative theory without comprehensive proof. It is Ian who spearheads the task of bringing together scientists and theologians to assemble proof for the theory that one character describes as “revealing a secret of the universe.”
Ian’s questions, however, lead him to reveal just how out of step he is with his Midwestern community. “At some point, I just need to stop letting people believe I’m still the guy they’ve always known,” he says. Though the cost of Ian’s quest is apparent to others (“These guys must have a death wish”) he is not self-reflective, driving himself to see the project through to the end. The bonds of friendship and community draw the two friends together again when the shadow side of faith sends the world into chaos, and an even deeper secret emerges.
Author Gibson takes the hard questions head-on and weaves multiple points of view, including the omniscient storyteller, allowing the reader enough distance to step out of the story and dig into the references in the back of the book. In fact, several characters are actual researchers and theologians, set in fiction. Fans of Gibson’s nonfiction release, Truth-Driven Thinking, will recognize the author’s dedication to the quest for truth, and many readers who delight in a well-researched cautionary tale might find themselves dog-earing pages and taking notes as they enjoy the story. (August)
Carol Lynn Stewart

“Ian wants answers his faith can’t provide, so he abandons traditional religion and its magic, mysticism, and supernaturalism, turning instead to science and reason. Bill’s path has become that of a devoted Christian who sees the bountiful harvest that can be achieved through spirituality and faith. When profound revelations lead each friend to uncover shocking historical “secrets” in support of his own worldview, their odyssey plays out on a global stage, with tragic consequences. Only by embracing the inherent mystery and pain of their quest do Ian and Bill make the discovery that really matters, a genuine secret of the universe.”

I’ll have to be honest-I read this book with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, being a Christian Agnostic, I already knew what the “secret” was before I even started reading, and I was interested in seeing how the author approached the subject matter. On the other hand, some of the principles the author was to touch upon were also some that deeply concerned me.

A book which came to mind while reading this was The Hamlet Syndrome: Overthinkers Who Underachieve by Adrienne Miller and Andrew Goldblatt. At the end of this book, they suggested the “Hamlets” of the world were those who could open the eyes of the world to what was going on around them through espousing such principles as tolerance, curiosity, critical thought and skepticism, associative thinking, and seeing the consequences of actions.

These, and much more, can be seen in this novel of “love, loss, and the discovery of an eternal truth”, and I daresay that Stephen Gibson is one of those “Hamlets”. Using fiction, he takes us into the lives of believers and non-believers, to broach the subjects of religion, sex, philosophy, metaphysics, and other volatile subjects to help the reader see things from alternate perspectives.

Although written primarily for Christians, the material is suited for more spiritually-mature Christians due to some of the “adult” content, but people of all persuasions, religious or not, will see themselves reflected in some way in the characters of this novel.

One point of contention for me, however, is this-why do Christians, in novels, always seem to justify or explain virtually everything by quoting scripture? This always makes Christian characters seem like they have no minds of their own, that they never do anything wrong, and that they’re better than everyone else. In some ways, this novel seems to talk down to the reader, too; is written very simplistically like many Christian books I’ve read; and often drags on with pages of uninteresting scenes of “modern life” until it reaches something characters can argue about, discuss, or pontificate upon.

Still, there’s so much here to give readers something to think about, and meditate on, so it’s probably worth your while to grab a copy and see yourself in it. ( )