{"id":2021,"date":"2009-08-03T11:24:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-03T16:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=2021"},"modified":"2009-08-03T11:24:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-03T16:24:00","slug":"the-sacred-cipher-by-terry-brennan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=2021","title":{"rendered":"The Sacred Cipher by Terry Brennan"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a><\/strong><\/span> <\/strong> book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n
Terry Brennan<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

and the book:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sacred Cipher<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kregel Publications (July 1, 2009)<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/strong>\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Terry Brennan has had an extensive career in journalism, winning several awards, including the Freedoms Foundation Award for editorial writing. Terry served eleven years as the vice president of operations for The Bowery Mission in New York City and is currently a management consultant.<\/p>\n

Visit the author’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $13.99<\/address>\n
Paperback: 352 pages
\nPublisher: Kregel Publications (July 1, 2009)<\/address>\n
Language: English<\/address>\n
ISBN-10: 0825424267<\/address>\n
ISBN-13: 978-0825424267<\/address>\n<\/blockquote>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Prologue<\/p>\n

1889 \u2022 Alexandria, Egypt<\/p>\n

Only three types of buyers entered the Attarine\u2014the foolish, the fraudulent, and the forewarned. The foolish, who acted on whim instead of wisdom and expected to fleece an ignorant Egyptian native; the fraudulent, expert in identifying wellcrafted forgeries, anxious to pass them on for great profit; and the forewarned, who searched for treasure but were wise enough to employ someone who knew the ways, and the merchants, of the seductive but evil-ridden Attarine.<\/p>\n

Spurgeon knew the risk. But treasures awaited in the twisting, narrow stone streets snaking away from the Attarine Mosque.<\/p>\n

He had Mohammad, he had a gun, he had money\u2014and he had God.<\/p>\n

Peering down the darkened alley, Spurgeon worried that, maybe, he didn\u2019t<\/p>\n

have enough.<\/p>\n

Mohammad entered the alley and disappeared from view. The alley was gray-on-gray, denied sunlight by overhanging, second-floor balconies adorning almost every building, their shuttered windows barely an arm\u2019s length from each other. Joining with the dark was a riot of refuse; crazed, cadaver-like dogs; and powerfully pungent, unknown odors.<\/p>\n

The Attarine District was home to the greatest concentration of antiquities dealers in Alexandria, both the illicit and the honorable. A person could buy almost any historical artifact along the ancient streets of the Attarine. Some were even genuine. And Charles Haddon Spurgeon was on a treasure hunt.<\/p>\n

He held his breath; he held his heart; and he stepped into the dark.<\/p>\n

At the first fork, Mohammed Isfahan was waiting. Spurgeon\u2019s heart slowed its pounding pace. Mohammed confidently led the way, weaving in and out of the shoppers and the strollers who clogged the tight byways. It was early morning, before the sun began to scorch the stones, and Spurgeon was grateful for the moderate breeze off the Mediterranean. At his size, the heat sapped his strength and soaked his shirt within minutes. Though the morning was warm, Spurgeon hoped to get back into his hotel, under a fan in a shaded corner of the dining room, long before the withering heat began blowing from the Sahara. On one of his regular trips to the Middle East, Spurgeon was trolling for ancient biblical texts and Mohammed, recommended by the hotel\u2019s concierge, promised he knew where to look.<\/p>\n

Now fifty-six, he was England\u2019s best-known preacher, and he grudgingly accepted the considerable influence and power he had earned as pastor of London\u2019s famed New Park Street Church for the last thirty years. Spurgeon was the first to admit preaching was his passion.<\/p>\n

But Spurgeon was also the first to admit that books were his weakness. He typically devoured six books per week and had written many of his own. Now, scuttling through the twilight of the dusty alley, Spurgeon sought to slake that hunger in the shops of the Attarine.<\/p>\n

Rounding a curve in the street, Mohammed paused alongside a curtain covered doorway, pulled aside the curtain, and motioned for Spurgeon to enter. Inside the shop, not only was the atmosphere cooler, but it also carried the rich scent of old leather, soft and smooth like musty butter. Mohammed bowed reverentially as the proprietor emerged from the rear of the shop. He was a small man of an indeterminate age. What defined him were hawk-like, ebony eyes overflowing with wisdom, discerning of character, and surrounded by a brilliant white kaffiyeh. Mohammed spoke rapidly in Arabic, bowed again, and then stepped back as the proprietor approached Spurgeon.<\/p>\n

\u201cSalaam aleikum,\u201d he said, bowing his head toward Spurgeon, who was startled when the man continued in perfectly cadenced English, \u201cand peace be with you, my friend. It is an honor for my humble shop to welcome such a famous man under its roof. May I be permitted to share with you some tea and some of our little treasures?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wondering about the origin of the shopkeeper\u2019s English, Spurgeon responded with a bow of his own. \u201cSalaam aleikum, my brother. You honor me by using my language in your shop. But I must ask, how have you any knowledge of me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, the name of Spurgeon has found its way down many streets. I am Ibrahim El-Safti, and I am at your service. My friend, Mohammed, tells me you are interested in texts that refer to the stories of your Nazarene prophet, is that correct?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be honored to review any such texts as may be in your possession,\u201d said Spurgeon. He took the chair and the tea that were offered by El-Safti and waited quietly as the shopkeeper sought and retrieved three books. While Spurgeon studied the books, one in Aramaic, one in Greek, and the last in an unknown language, Mohammed and the shopkeeper retired through the doorway, stepping<\/p>\n

outside the curtain.<\/p>\n

Spurgeon slipped into a scholar\u2019s zone, focusing intently on the words before him. But the breeze turned, pushing aside the curtain in the door and carrying the words of Mohammed and El-Safti into the shop and up to Spurgeon\u2019s ear\u2014one well-trained in Arabic, among many other languages.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat of the scroll?\u201d Spurgeon heard Mohammed ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not speak of that scroll in front of this infidel,\u201d El-Safti countered, his voice stronger and more virile than it had been earlier. \u201cYou know what our tradition holds; this scroll would be of great benefit to the infidels, both the Jews and the Christians. We are to hold it in trust and keep it out of their hands at all costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou speak like an imam,\u201d Mohammed said. \u201cNo one knows what is on that scroll; no one has been able to translate its meaning. How do we know what it contains?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spurgeon forgot the books in his lap. He heard a more interesting story floating on the breeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it can\u2019t be read, is there any difference in whose hands it rests? I believe the English preacher would pay handsomely for the privilege of owning something he doesn\u2019t understand. Ibrahim,\u201d said Mohammed, \u201clook at me. It could pay for your daughter\u2019s wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not tempt me, Mohammed,\u201d El-Safti said. \u201cThat scroll has remained here for two generations, and no one has ever requested to see it. Quiet, now, and let us see what may interest the Englishman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spurgeon attempted to return his attention to the books, but his eyes were pulled back to the men as they entered through the curtain. El Safti reverted to his perfectly subservient composure as he stepped before Spurgeon. The only thing out of place was an amulet \u2014 a Coptic cross with a lightning bolt flashing through on the diagonal\u2014that slipped from the neck of his robe as he came<\/p>\n

through the doorway.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo these books meet with your interest?\u201d El-Safti asked.<\/p>\n

Spurgeon rose from the chair and handed the books back to El-Safti. \u201cI am disappointed to tell you, my friend, that you may have been swindled. The book in Aramaic is a fraud, and a poor one at that. The Greek, I have two copies in my library. And the third is in a language I have not seen before, but does not appear to be Semitic. Tell me, do you not possess anything more authentic?\u201d<\/p>\n

A moment\u2019s silence passed through the shop. El-Safti\u2019s pitch black eyes flickered with offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy humble apologies,\u201d El-Safti said. \u201cYour reputation as a scholar is well earned, Dr. Spurgeon. But perhaps I do have something that you would find interesting. It is very old, but of indeterminate age.\u201d El-Safti walked to the back of the shop. \u201cIt is an infidel\u2019s mezuzah, nicely etched, wrapped in a very colorful piece of Moroccan silk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disappointed in the books, Spurgeon\u2019s interest increased at the mention of silk. His niece\u2019s birthday would be upon him when he returned to England. Perhaps there was a prize here, after all.<\/p>\n

El-Safti slipped into a small closet at the rear corner of the shop and could be heard snapping the hasp on a lock and moving a chain. Silence, then a stream of Arabic epithets, as El-Safti recoiled from the closet.<\/p>\n

\u201cForgive me,\u201d he said, his wild eyes looking first at Spurgeon and then at Mohammed. \u201cIt is gone. The scroll, it is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

First fear, then unbelief, fought for dominance in El-Safti\u2019s weathered face. His hands trembled as he wrung them together.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllah has punished me for my greed,\u201d El-Safti said, slipping back into Arabic. \u201cMohammad, remove this infidel. And hurry back. We must think. We must find the scroll. We must find it before it is lost forever.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2021"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2032,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021\/revisions\/2032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}