A group of scientists obtains permission to examine the Shroud of Turin. Several features lead the team to be convinced that it's an authentic burial shroud, but there is some question as to whether it could possibly be Jesus' image. During his examination of samples taken from the shroud, one geneticist discovers some cells--living skin cells. He speculates that they could be skin cells left by the buried person, after his resurrection. He secretly uses the cells to clone the person, successfully cloning Jesus himself.
That cloning sets the stage for book one James BeauSeigneur's Christ Clone Trilogy, In His Image. The clone, Christopher, is really a secondary character in the action of the book, but as world events swirl around him, it becomes clear that there's something special about this young man. The Middle East is in turmoil, the Dome of the Rock has been destroyed and the Jewish people are rebuilding the temple. Christopher has become a leader in the U.N. just as the U.N. has risen to a more prominent role in world affairs.
BeauSeigneur draws heavily on biblical prophecy (as you might expect). Whether he does so in a way that is faithful to the message of scripture, well, who can say? At times I wondered whether BeauSeigneur is writing as a Christian, or whether he's simply writing speculative fiction with biblical themes. Christopher seems to embody the character of Christ in many ways, yet BeauSeigneur also draws on New Age elements as well. (As a side note, while the language is fairly mild, I think his use of four-letter words would keep his books off the shelves of Christian bookstores.) I will be interested to see how Christopher continues to develop throughout the trilogy. Is he the reincarnation of Christ? Or the Antichrist? I guess I'll have to keep reading. . . .
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