Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrong.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (Habakkuk 1:13) - "The habit of reading CNN news
- is very much like alcoholism or drug addiction;
- he does it; he regrets it;
- he swears he will never do it again,
- but the next morning he does it
- with a great deal of remorse." (The Author, God on Trial)
Religions have miserably failed to explain our existence or who we really are. Philosophy has never ceased trying. According to Plato ultimate reality does not exist. This world is a mere imitation of the real world. There is a fine line between what is real and what is not. This line can easily be crossed. Once it is crossed, our world becomes what the great Stephen Hawkins debates, a mere possibility
– all things are mere possibilities Episodes of hallucination and reminisces of his past including religious and sexual abuses lead to a staunchness to bring God to justice. His reality destroys him and his wife, Sofia. Events unfold; in interludes of Plato's unreal world, his wife, Sofia's throat is slit killing her. Several investigations take place. He is finally identified as the murderer and while the police try to arrest him from his sister Savanna's house, he, with his make-believe friends, run. He receives a fatal gunshot. Later, as Savanna, his sister, reads his indictment of God, she gets intrigued, hires Nathan Jenkins, a shrewd barrister who successfully persuades the International Court on Human Rights to hear the case. Savanna is befuddled to hear breaking news: "The International Court accepts the indictment of God. God, indeed, is on trial."   -
"God
on Trial" A Novel by Sabri Bebawi BUY on Amazon
and on KINDLE
HOLLYWOOD BOOK REVIEWS
Title: God on Trial Author: Sabri Bebawi
Publisher: Create Space
ISBN: 978-1491212035 Pages: 280, Paperback/KINDLE
Genre: God on Trial, "The Indictment of God;" A Mystery Novel by Sabri Bebawi
Reviewed by: Krista Schnee, Hollywood Book Reviews
Date Review Completed: October 15, 2013
For the main character of Sabri Bebawi God On Trial, each moment brings a torment of some kind. The character is extremely intelligent and yet disturbed by thoughts that never cease, as well as memories that evoke strong responses, eventually leading to a confusion of time and current reality. Indeed, as time progresses, the confusion grows worse; his reality rarely merges with truth. Paranoia and hallucinations take over his mind and thoughts, provoking dangerous responses on his part.
As this deterioration advances, his connection with his wife becomes tenuous in that she is not able to understand the dimensions of his personal reality. He may have little intellectual connection with his wife, but one portion of his thoughts remains largely coherent. In an attempt to gain some recompense for his suffering—and possibly to protect others from similar problems—he wishes to put God on trial. With little sleep or rest, he begins to gather the data needed for such a task even as his life begins to fall apart. His rage against God takes on new proportions as he develops the case; reviewing Holy Scripture, he in fact finds God culpable in the most heinous of crimes against humanity. The case envelops his imaginings, isolating him from those who care about him most.
This disturbed man is presented in Bebawi novel as a remarkably compassionate person who has experienced the worst of life in his various ailments. He is certainly representative of much of the reader's own private questionings of God and the trials that are faced by even the most innocent. Even in the midst of obvious hallucinations, he provides a lucid argument against God, definitely not the ravings of a madman.
And yet mental illness is one of his problems, the most prominent one during the action of the novel. Following his thoughts through various mental states, the writing in Bebawi book is chaotic but not confounding; it is more disconcerting in that the reader witnesses the suffering of such a kind and intelligent man in the midst of mania and delusion. Bebawi skillfully leads the reader through the meanderings of his mind and leaves the indelible impression of a man who did not deserve his fate. Too, the writing is obviously sympathetic toward those with mental illness without being condescending or overly dramatic in its representation.
By presenting the argument against God within the context of the thoughts of a mentally ill person, Bebawi may be providing a “safe” place for such discussion. Some may dismiss the case that the character is developing as that of delusion, and yet there are those in the novel who find it remarkable. Following the main character as he gathers his information from the various religious texts, the reader may make a similar conclusion. Or, if religious, he or she might simply find a common ground with this man in his suffering and the rage caused by it. Bebawi leaves such a decision up to the reader and his or her conscience.
This intricate story is so captivating with such vivid, detailed characters, that readers will fall in love with this book. Even within the space of a short novel, Sabri Bebawi is able to present difficult—and often private—questions of life, God, and reality in the harsh existence of a mentally ill man. Through smooth prose that expresses the man's desires, Bebawi provides the reader with not necessarily the answer to whether or not God is guilty of crimes against humanity, but rather the context in which to begin answering those questions. The fictional space of the book provides only the beginning of this discussion, and yet it is a powerful beginning.
God on Trial, "The Indictment of God;" A Mystery Novel by... |
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- Synopsis
BOOKDAILY -
The protagonist is a fifty-six-year-old English teacher, born and raised in Egypt, and a mediocre writer. He lives with his pretty Italian wife, Sofia. He suffers many illnesses. In addition to his epilepsy, he is repeatedly in an out of hallucination periods. He reminisces the past often. He indulges in deep thoughts of world current events that disturb his inner being. Having been brought up a religious Coptic in Egypt, he sees God as a negative force tormenting the human race. He is determined to impeach God and bring him before the International Court of Human Rights. He communicates with characters that do not exist in the realm of reality. Juliana, a lawyer, and Morris Maigret, an ex-detective gradually emerge as his alter ego. They help him with drafting the complaint against God and protect him against his unreal fears and paranoia. He is convinced that a friend of his wife's Sofia named Monica, but he sees her as Marina and in his delusion, he believes Marina is married to an Arab terrorist named Morsi. In his phantasm, he sees Marina and Morsi as a threat and believes that they defaced his front door with the slogan "Blasphemes Bastards" for trying to impeach God. An imaginary investigation takes place where detectives Salvo Bruno and Raul Del Rio leads to the discovery of a terrorist cell that intends on blowing up Disneyland. When the FBI is informed, they take control of this investigation that is not in the realm of reality. Sofia, his wife, who is confused, though she knows he wants to impeach God, has no idea what her husband is up to or with whom he is talking. When she finally realizes something is terribly wrong with her husband's mind, she takes him to the emergency room at Long Beach Memorial. A psychiatrist named Dr. Sporty sees and diagnosis him with schizophrenia. While Dr. Sporty is in the process of admitting him, Juliana and Maigret help him escape. They persuade him that his wife, Sofia, is a danger to all of them and their endeavor to prosecute God. He escapes and Juliana and Maigret persuade him that he must kill Sofia. They plan the murder, and even though he refuses to do the killing himself, Juliana takes the knife and stabs and slit the throat of Sofia while she is in the shower. Real life investigation ensues. Real Detectives Heidi Kemble and Mica Bauer find him in the shower holding his wife Sofia in a pool of blood with a knife in hands. He tells them that Juliana and Maigret killed his wife. They move him to his sister, Savanna, until the investigation is completed. Investigations show that all the characters and events he mentioned did not really exist. They discover he is a schizophrenic. They get a warrant for his arrest for the murder of his wife. They go to Savanna to arrest him, but he is persuaded by Juliana and Maigret to run. The police order him to stop but to no avail. A uniformed police officer fires a fatal shot that kills him. A few days later, in the real world, Savanna reads his indictment of God and becomes intrigued. She consults with an attorney friend, Nathan Jenkins, who also becomes intrigued and file the complaint with the International Court. A few days later, while Savanna is cooking in the kitchen, she hears breaking news where a stunned anchor declares: "God, indeed, is on trial." 
- I received this kind note from my Cardiologist and friend, Grammy Award Winner, Dr. Mike Vasilomanolakis, Here it is:
Mike Vasilomanolakis Dear Sabri, I received the novel yesterday and want to thank you so much not only for the novel but for the kind acknowledgement. I hope my Grammy distinction can bring some additional credibility. .
I have not read the novel yet. As soon as I do I will write a comment on Amazon or if you'd prefer elsewhere.I am really looking forward to reading your fascinating novel. I hope all is good with you.
Congratulations Brother Sabri I am so proud of you. Mike V.
Thank you Dr. Mike.
Sabri Bebawi. God on Trial, "The Indictment of God;" A Mystery Novel by Sabri Bebawi
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