Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Readers also credited Wallace's novel with making Jesus's story more believable by providing vivid descriptions of the Holy Land and inserting his own character of Judah into scenes from the gospels. One former alcoholic, George Parrish from Kewanee, Illinois, wrote the author a letter crediting "Ben-Hur" with causing him to reject alcohol and find religion. Parrish remarked: "It seemed to bring Christ home to me as nothing else could". Others who were inspired by the novel dedicated themselves to Christian service and became missionaries, some of them helping to translate "Ben-Hur" into other languages. This kind of religious support helped
Ben-Hur (2016 film) them free. Despite his anger, Messala finds the strength to forgive Ben-Hur and is reconciled with him and his family. Together, Ben-Hur, his mother, sister, Esther, and Messala accompany Sheik Ilderim's caravan as they leave Jerusalem. In 2013, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired Keith R. Clarke's script, an adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel "", which is in the public domain. In April 2014, Paramount Pictures and MGM announced that they would co-produce a new version of "Ben-Hur", based on the novel, with Mark Burnett and Roma Downey serving as producer and executive producer, respectively. MGM had previously released two films based on