Christian Faith

Christian Faith is a major theme in The Good Lord Bird. The entire contents of the novel are fictionally attributed to a true history found after a fire in a church, written by one church leader in the words of his friend.

The main character's life is dominated by two men, both of them extremely religious. The first is Henry's Pa, whose primary occupation and passion is preaching the gospel to customers of Dutch Henry's Tavern while he cuts their hair. He considers himself a Bible expert, despite the fact that he cannot read and sometimes becomes confused about the contents of the book. When Pa and John Brown meet, it is their mutual love of the Christian Bible that bonds them. Henry is passed from the custody of his Pa to the custody of John Brown, whose whole purpose in life is to be...