Freemason Lew Wallace wrote "Christian" book Ben Hur. Well isn't that something.

April 10, 1827 - February 15, 1905

Lawyer, governor, Union general in the American Civil War, American statesman, and author, best remembered for his historical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, the best-selling American novel of the 19th century. He served as governor of New Mexico Territory from 1878 to 1881, and as U.S. Minister to the Ottoman Empire from 1881 to 1885.

Initiated : December 15, 1850

Passed : December 20, 1850

Raised : January 15, 1851

Fountain Lodge No. 60, Covington, Indiana

Affiliated : June 3, 1895 Montgomery Lodge No. 50, Crawfordsville, Indiana

Source: William R. Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, 1961

http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/wallace_l/wallace_l.html