Ron Cantor’s new novel, Identity Theft, ask a hard question that is near and dear to his heart – how can a modern-day Jew come to believe that Jesus was and is the Hebrew Messiah?
Q: WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS WRITING IDENTITY THEFT?
I initially wrote Identity Theft as a teaching book for Christians to understand the Jewishness of Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the New Covenant. However, just before sending in the manuscript, I sensed that God would have me rewrite it as a novel, the story of a Jewish man seeking truth, who has a supernatural with an angel who then introduces him to a variety of characters from a teen-ages Holocaust survivor to John the Baptist.
As I rewrote it, I realized that not only will this open up the eyes of Christians, but Jews as well. We have already received an email of a Jewish man who came to faith in Yeshua after reading the book. In addition, I hoped that Identity Theft would equip Christians to reach out to Jewish people with sufficient sensitivity and knowledge.
Q: HOW DO YOU CHOOSE WHICH STORY TO WRITE?
As this is my first novel, it was quite easy because I did all the research first, writing an actual theological book. All I needed to do was build a story around it. I was quite nervous at first, but once I started writing, it flowed at an amazing pace. I wrote the novel part in four weeks, after nine months of research. Often I would find myself in tears, as I would so identify what the story. It was a great experience.
Q: WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE STORY WHERE YOU DREW ELEMENTS FROM REAL LIFE?
The protagonist, David, is a Jewish young man searching; I was once a Jewish young man searching for truth. While he is not me, I did draw from my life to create him.
Q: WHICH CHARACTER IN IDENTITY THEFT SURPRISED YOU MOST?
Without a doubt the angel. As the story went on, his sense of humor developed in a way that surprised me. He and David bond in a wonderful way.
Q: WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?
Identity Theft Two of course… and I am thinking of righting a Zombie novel, where the cure is hidden vials of the Blood of Jesus that were taken over 2000 years ago. It is based on a dream I had. We will see if I can find time to write it.