Product Description

Onesimus is a slave. Eirene is a rich merchant's daughter. Onesimus longs to gain his freedom and Eirene's love. However, he doesn't realize where true freedom lies. He wants nothing to do with Jesus Christ. His master, Philemon, may follow the teachings of the Christ and his apostle Paul... but Onesimus has other plans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77307 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Patricia St. John spent 27 years as a dedicated missionary to North Africa and was also a prolific children's writer. Her books are loved and treasured around the world. Some have been turned into stirring films. Gripping adventures which cover real life issues are her hallmark.

Customer Reviews

Incredible
I first read this book when I was about twelve--then the book was fascinating. I re-read it about a month ago (I am currently nineteen), and it was incredible. Obviously coming from a Christian perspective, the book was very uplifting, but just as another book, it is truly wonderful. It captures the essence of the early wave of Christianity in Rome, including the accurate portrayl of the persecution, but doesn't spend time dwelling on it. The only thing slightly inaccurate was the portrayl of Onesimus as a gladiator. The psychological and emotional stages were effective, but it seems as though the author had seen "Spartecus" and borrowed the fight scene and gave it a different ending. Moreover, the condition of the gladiators was greatly downplayed. But despite this slight shortcoming, the book kept my attention. Also the dialogue in several situations is somewhat juvenile, but the speakers usually were quite young, so the situation remains suitable. I highly recommend this book.

Entertaining; Slight Blimp on the 'Corny' Meter
This is a novel for young adult readers that provides a thoroughly fictional account behind the letter of the Apostle Paul to the man named Philemon (for those who don't know, Paul's letter is included in the canon of New Testament scripture as the Book of Philemon, right in there with Paul's more public letters to the churches at Rome, Galatia, etc.). St. John took the few facts to be gleaned from the letter (primarily, the facts that a disciple of Paul's named Onesimus was a runaway slave belonging to another Pauline disciple named Philemon - and that Paul brokered Onesimus' return to the house of Philemon) and constructed a rich background that gives the reader a colorful (and questionably accurate) picture of early Church life in Greece and Rome. Like a first-century Forrest Gump, Onesimus appears in all of the important venues of the day. For his time and place, it doesn't get much more interesting than watching a pagan orgy in Ephasus, living through the earthquake at Laodicia, enjoying the praise of Nero in the gladiator ring, and, most significantly, receiving the personal counsel of Paul himself. Whew! Well St. John's Onesimus does it all. I read this aloud to my kids, and they enjoyed it and were drawn into the drama. St. John does a nice job of 'bringing the characters to life' and pulling the reader into the story emotionally. And, by the way, Onesimus is a very unlikeable and ruthless scoundrel most of the way through this novel - St. John's intent exactly. Oddly, St. John injects more than a bit sensuality in this work, and in reading this to the kids I found myself editing on the fly from time to time (too much admiration of one another's lithe bodies and muscle tone for my reading). Overall, a nice work and wasn't as corny as it could have been (for Christian fiction written in the mid 20th century). Just remember - Paul's letter was real, but this is made-up!

Captivating instructive historically accurate
TWICE FREED, by Patricia St John has made a real impact on our family. We read it aloud and found it both CAPTIVATING and INSTRUCTIVE. The author basically tells a story about Onesimus and his slave-master Philemon--two lesser known characters from the New Testament. The story line, depth of character development, and ease of reading will appeal to CHILDREN; The remarkable true-to-the-first-century AD grasp of early Christianity, history, social structure, geography and Bible characters will fascinate more MATURE READERS who have an interest the Bible.

Patricia St. John manages to follow Onesimus from Colosse to Ephesus, Laodicia, etc. and eventually to Athens and Rome. Along the way Onesimus keeps running into those who have been saved and caught up in this strange upstart religion: Christianity. Short of telling the whole plot, Philemon (the master) becomes a Christian as well as many in his household. Onesimus (the slave) resents/ hates his master and through the book is running not only from his master, but from the Christ whose people keep popping up in his life and demonstrating their Savior's love.

WE WERE ENCOURAGED by reading this book to be more like those Christian people who keep popping up in the lives of those running from the One we so love. We've read several of this author's books and have come to appreciate her ability portray real characters with an eye to what is going on at the level of the conscience.

I had a friend of mine who has a PhD in NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES and has visited these archeological sites numerous times read the book and tell me what he thought of the book in terms of historical details. He felt that they are very accurate in most cases.

I'M RECOMMENDING the book to Christians both young and old, but probably the intended audience is 10-20 range. PARENTS, especially--read it aloud to the family; talk about it. I pray that you'll be blessed by this book as we have been.