Ben-Hur: The Story Behind the Book that Inspired the Movies

By Jerry Newcombe

A remake of Ben-Hur movie is about to hit the movie screens. What’s fascinating to me is the story behind the book, which has also inspired two previous movies—the 1925 silent version and the 1959 movie-of-the-year, starring Charlton Heston. That version won 11 Oscars, more than any other movie before it and has only since been tied by Titanic (1997)...........But what’s the story behind the book? It didn’t begin as a Christ-honoring work at all. According to writer E. A. Rowell, Ben-Hur was initiated as an attempt to demote Christianity.

In the latter half of the 19th century, one of America’s best known unbelievers, Robert Ingersoll, was talking with a friend, General Lew Wallace, about theology. They both agreed Christianity was nonsense......To Read More....