Faith, Grace and Heresy

About the Book

His views catapulted him into the pages of Time Magazine, but also made him the target of a confidential War Department Intelligence report. As a Preacher or traveling map salesman, Charlie Jones was a man ahead of his time. Leading was his gift, and twenty years before the civil rights movement exploded in the South, Jones was fighting for the rights of minorities and women. To students and professors that filled his Chapel Hill church, he was an inspiration and a visionary. He led demonstrations and sit-ins, always championing peace. He and his wife opened their house and their lives to the service of their community. To a conservative church hierarchy, however, he was a liberal heretic to be deposed. But his opponents failed to appreciate that the greater truth for which he stood would inevitably cast into shadow the dogma and doctrine of any single church organization—no matter how powerful.

Sixty years after Jones began his ministry, those he inspired still gather in Chapel Hill to honor his memory. This book is a testament to a man who knew that love could conquer hate, and devoted his life to showing that all people are indeed created equal.

About the Author

Grandson to the heretic himself, Mark Pryor was born and educated in England. He moved to North Carolina in 1992, writing for several newspapers while working on this book. He and his wife Sarah are currently studying law at Duke University, and will graduate in May 2002.