Saint Peter

Saint Peter (Greek: Πέτρος Petros, Syriac/Aramaic: ܫܸܡܥܘܿܢ ܟܹ݁ܐܦ݂ܵܐ, Shemayon Keppa, Hebrew: שמעון בר יונה‎ Shim'on Bar Yona, Latin: Petrus; died c. 64 AD), also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simōn, according to the New Testament, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, leaders of the early Christian Church. The Roman Catholic Church considers him to be the first Pope, ordained by Jesus in the "Rock of My Church" dialogue in Matthew 16:18. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a major saint and associate him with founding the Church of Antioch and later the Church in Rome, but differ about the authority of his various successors in present-day Christianity.

The New Testament indicates that Peter was the son of John (or Jonah or Jona) and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis. His brother Andrew was also an apostle. According to New Testament accounts, Peter was one of twelve apostles chosen by Jesus from his first disciples. Originally a fisherman, he played a leadership role and was with Jesus during events witnessed by only a few apostles, such as the Transfiguration. According to the gospels, Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, was part of Jesus's inner circle,thrice denied Jesus, and preached on the day of Pentecost.

The Apostle

The Apostle is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Robert Duvall, who stars in the title role. John Beasley, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash, Miranda Richardson and Billy Joe Shaver also appear. It was filmed on location in and around Saint Martinville and Des Allemands, Louisiana with some establishing shots done in the Dallas, Texas area by a second unit before principal photography began.

The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. For his performance, Duvall was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Plot

Sonny (Duvall) is a charismatic Pentecostal preacher. His wife Jessie (Fawcett) has begun an adulterous relationship with a youth minister named Horace. She refuses Sonny's desire to reconcile, although she assures him that she will not interfere with his right to see his children. She has also conspired to use their church's bylaws to have him removed from power. Sonny asks God what to do but receives no answer. Much of the congregation sides with Jessie in this dispute. Sonny, however, refuses to start a new church, insisting that the one which forced him out was "his" church. At his child's Little League game, Sonny, in an emotional fit, attacks Horace with a bat and puts him into a coma. Horace later dies.

The Apostle (novel)

The Apostle is a spy thriller novel written by New York Times Bestselling author Brad Thor.The Apostle is the eighth book in the Scot Harvath series.

Plot

The Apostle follows the character of Scot Harvath as he is sent on a top secret assignment for the United States government to rescue Julia Gallo, a kidnapped American doctor. For her to be released, the ransom is the freeing of al-Qaeda member Mustafa Khan from Policharki Prison. Once there, Harvath discovers that this was not a simple kidnapping and that nothing is as it seems.

Reception

Critical reception for The Apostle has been mixed to positive, with Publishers Weekly calling the book "less than convincing".Booklist wrote that one of the subplots "seems to be from a completely different book distracts a bit, but the main story line will keep fans of action-driven thrillers reading." BookReporter.com praised The Apostle, citing that "Thor continues to top himself with each successive novel and reaches new and even more exciting heights with THE APOSTLE."