Jon StojanIt was a chance conversation at work that sparked David Barnard’s interest in the Shroud of Turin, purported to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, eventually inspiring him to write his book Kidnapping Jesus, the first of an action-adventure tetralogy that examines themes such as the role of religion in society and the moral and philosophical implications of resurrecting the deceased.
According to Barnard, he was working as a car dealership salesman when he asked a customer what he did for a living. The customer replied that they were a scientist for NASA and was part of the team that examined the Shroud of Turin. Barnard’s interest in the Shroud grew, and he began researching it, eventually using it as a major plot device for Kidnapping Jesus, which he co-authored with Samuel L Brodie.
Barnard served with distinction in both the US Marine Corps and the US Army, having trained in tank operations, ranger duties, and parachute jumping. After his military service, he became a police officer for five years, where he served on different units including the SWAT Team, Special Reaction Team, and Street Crime units, leading multiple investigations. His experience in the uniformed services serves as a window into military culture and operations, which play a large part in the series.
“We wanted readers to feel like they were right there with our characters, experiencing the tension, camaraderie, and challenges of a high-stakes military operation,” Barnard says.
According to Barnard, he became interested in writing as a way to pass the time during slow shifts when on patrol. After sharing his work with others, he was encouraged by their positive feedback leading him to continue writing.
The main character of Kidnapping Jesus is US Marine John Elder, who was also the main character of some of the short stories Barnard wrote when he was still part of the police force. Elder is the leader of a six-person squad of Marines who are entangled in a conspiracy that leads to them stealing the Shroud of Turin and delivering it to George Hastings III (The owner of Bio Tech 150) who goes on to extract genetic information from the blood to engineer the birth of a child, who is believed to be the Second Coming of Jesus. The subsequent books in the series will deal with the social turmoil and religious conflict following the child’s birth, while Elder’s team protects him from various factions that threaten his safety.
While doing research for the books, Barnard studied the teachings and history of the three major Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – and how they contributed to the Jesus story. He also traveled to various holy sites in the Middle East to interact with religious scholars and learn from them.
“Humanity has really come far from the time of Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate symbol of love and peace,” Barnard says. “But, sadly, we keep repeating the same patterns of conflict, with so many wars fought in the name of religion but are actually used by leaders as a way to maintain power and control over people. As I traveled the world and wrote these books, I realized that we humans agree on more things than we disagree on, and the world will be a much better place if we all focused on what we have in common.”