The Scribes: A Novel about the Early Church by Peter Rodgers is available for free on Kindle for a limited time (now through 10/4) [HT: Evangelical Textual Criticism Blog]. This book introduces textual criticism and describes how life was like in the early church. It is a counterpoint, in novel form, to Bart Ehrman’s insistence that the early scribes tended to correct the text rather than seek to preserve it carefully.

This is a second edition, with the first having been published in 2000. Here is the publisher’s description of that first edition:

The Scribes is the first in a series of historical novels. The book is set in Rome in the years 179-180 A.D. Its protagonist is Justin, a young scribe of the Roman church, named after Justin Martyr. He is helped in the copyist’s tasks by two friends, Marcus and Rufus. His teacher in Rome had been Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, who was beginning to write his Against Heresies when the novel takes place.

The story begins when the Roman church receives a visit from a wealthy ship merchant from Alexandria in Egypt and his daughterm, Juliana. This appealing young woman is a student in the catechetical school in Alexandria, and is also a scribe for her church. Justin is attracted to her, but troubled by her manuscript. Her St. Mark begins differently. He has the longer ending (Mark 16:9-20) and she does not etc. For Justin This is very unsettling. His primary aim in life is to copy with scrupulous fidelity the text of the gospels, as the church in Rome has receieved it. But the church in Alexandria has perserved a different type of text. He is determined to get to the bottom of this puzzle, and as he does, he develops a romantic interest in Juliana. But she has returned to Alexandria. How will he pursue the relationship?

The opportunity comes when Bishop Eleutherus of Rome sends Justin and Marcus to deliver letters to various churches throughout the empire. Their final destination is Alexandria.

TRAVEL… with Justin and Marcus as they visit churches in Cornith, Athens, Ephesus, Antioch, and Alexandria.

MEET… the remarkable leaders they encounter: Dionysius of Cornith, Athen agoras of Athens, Pinytus of Cnossus, Theophilus of Antioch, the aged Hegesippus and the young Clement of Alexandria.

JOURNEY… with them to exotic places like Cnossus in Crete, Oxyrhyhchus in the Nile Valley and Crocodilopolis in the Fayum in Egypt.

EXPERIENCE…with them the many hazards that could befall a traveller or a manuscript: sorms, pirates, arrests, theft, greedy customs agents, eager booksellers, heretical groups, unscrupulous innkeepers, scribes who improve the style of their texts.

JOIN… them as they face the challenge of different readings in the texts, different methods of copying, different interpretations among the churches, and strange gospels among the Gnostics.

Preview a small sample of the book here.

About the author: Fr. Rodgers is the Priest-in-Charge at St. Andrew’s and a professor currently teaching New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. Fr. Rodgers is the Rector Emeritus of St. John’s Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. He is also an Associate Fellow of Timothy Dwight College at Yale University and holds degrees from Hobart College, General Theological Seminary, and Oxford University. Before coming to St. John’s in New Haven, Dr. Rodgers was curate for student ministry at the Round Church in Cambridge, England. He has published numerous journal articles on the text of the New Testament, and is the author of several works including Knowing Jesus (IVP, 1982) and The Scribes (AuthorHouse, 2000). In October, 2011 he published his newest book: Text and Story (Wipf and Stock).

Take advantage of this offer and pick up this interesting novel free this week. After 10/4, it is only $2.99 for the Kindle version.