- Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: Zondervan Publishing House (1 Nov 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0310243165
- ISBN-13: 978-0310243168
- Product Dimensions: 22.7 x 15.5 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,204,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Book Description
Walter Wangerin brings us a dramatic, fictionalized retelling of the life of Paul based on biblical texts and extensive on-site research. Readers gain a new appreciation for the sacrifices of the apostles and the early believers and gain new insights into the life of the early church.
From the Back Cover
An intimate portrait of a complex individual through whom God was at work, turning the world upside down
With vivid imagination and scholarly depth, award-winning author Walter Wangerin Jr. weaves together the history of the early church with the life story of its greatest apostle--Paul. Wangerin begins to unfold Paul’s incredible life by imagining the childhood and early family life of a boy then called "Saul." A fierce prosecutor of Christians before his conversion, Paul never lost his fiery dedication, boldness, and strong personality. After his shocking encounter with God on the road to Damascus, he applied his formidable strengths to spreading the gospel. Wangerin deftly reveals Paul’s character through each stage of his life, and enables us to see Paul the person, living and complex, viewed through the eyes of his contemporaries: Barnabas, James, Prisca, Seneca, and Luke. Paul’s rich interaction and brilliant dialogue with friends and foes, leaders and slaves, Jews and Greeks, creates a swift and intense historical drama around the man who spread the seed of the Gospel to the ends of the known world.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
THERE WAS A VOICE in the morning. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THERE WAS A VOICE in the morning. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
I am so glad this book was written. I picked it up while on holiday at a friend's house and she didn't see it again for months... At first I wondered whether I'd manage to follow it, because there are several narrators and for me it was like being introduced to a roomful of people at a party when you are afraid you'll never remember them all. The initial chapter had me hooked, though, and after a while I began to get used to which character was which. By halfway through the book I was thoroughly enjoying it and glad I persevered.
Paul himself comes across as a very human but compelling character, with many weaknesses but with an experience of God that keeps him going despite discouraging setbacks. The whole book seems well-researched (around 50 references in the 'shorter' bibliography!) and gives a strong flavour of what life was like around the Mediterranean coast during the first century AD. It really helped me appreciate the cultural conflicts brought about through an emerging new faith that changed the views of thousands of Jews and non-Jews. It also puts into context many of Paul's teachings in his letters, so I feel I have a better understanding of why he wrote some of the things he did.
Paul himself comes across as a very human but compelling character, with many weaknesses but with an experience of God that keeps him going despite discouraging setbacks. The whole book seems well-researched (around 50 references in the 'shorter' bibliography!) and gives a strong flavour of what life was like around the Mediterranean coast during the first century AD. It really helped me appreciate the cultural conflicts brought about through an emerging new faith that changed the views of thousands of Jews and non-Jews. It also puts into context many of Paul's teachings in his letters, so I feel I have a better understanding of why he wrote some of the things he did.
Format:Paperback
Easy and gripping reading, very well researched historical and sociological background, although the learning sits easily. It is not a difficult book to read and I found it so worthwhile I passed it on and bought a second copy. Can only recommend it.
Format:Paperback
I have always been interested in Paul as a real life character, what I mean by this is that I have always imagined how he lived his life on a day to day basis. I know you can probably deduce this n that about his life from the books he wrote but if like me you havent got a lot of knowledge about the Roman empire at that time, then its a bit hard to fill in the gaps. So when I first read this book, i was just happy at the fact that Wangerin had done the research into how the Romans lived then and related that research to Paul's life and when i read further and saw that, the book is almost written word for word like Paul's actual books, I was sold. As you read through the book, you will notice that Wangerin does not ad lib to the extreme, he pretty much combines all of Paul's books into a chronological Novel (stating the obvious here I know) which details how Paul might have ended up writing what he wrote, the people he might have met, the places he might have gone.
Wangerin also manages to give other people from Paul's books a story and a background especially in terms of Priscilla, I mean she plays a vital part to Wangerin's story. The way Wangerin portrays the relationship between Paul and Priscilla is almost scary because of how intimate the relationship seems, but then you realise that this is not sexual intimacy but a godly intimacy, Priscilla looks at Paul almost as her mentor in the things of God, she understands his fight and is always there to support him whenever he needs support and what makes this interesting is that Priscilla's husband is fully aware of this and is also supportive of his wife being a shoulder to lean for Paul.
Appeal
This is a very interesting Novel and I think it will definitely appeal more to those who already have some background knowledge about Paul and his works (xtians). I can guarantee you that once you read this book, you will have a different outlook on all of Paul's letters as I said before simply because of how Wangerin puts this book together. I mean he spends some time looking at how the circumstances might have lead to Paul writing to Timothy, he looks at how Paul suffers at the hands of other Christians and Pharisees, he adds commentary to the contention between Paul and Peter and how it might have arisen, he looks at the super apostles, he looks at his trial and being incarcerated and finally he talks about the proverbial thorn that the Lord has afflicted him with.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book - as you would expect from any book, there were a few things that sort of shook me a bit especially my initial reaction to Paul and Priscilla's relationship but at the end, I could see what the writer was trying to do. Don't be scared of reading the book because it is in no way, shape or form blasphemous and the writer does not expose anything contradictory about Paul's life that his letters don't tell us already.
Wangerin also manages to give other people from Paul's books a story and a background especially in terms of Priscilla, I mean she plays a vital part to Wangerin's story. The way Wangerin portrays the relationship between Paul and Priscilla is almost scary because of how intimate the relationship seems, but then you realise that this is not sexual intimacy but a godly intimacy, Priscilla looks at Paul almost as her mentor in the things of God, she understands his fight and is always there to support him whenever he needs support and what makes this interesting is that Priscilla's husband is fully aware of this and is also supportive of his wife being a shoulder to lean for Paul.
Appeal
This is a very interesting Novel and I think it will definitely appeal more to those who already have some background knowledge about Paul and his works (xtians). I can guarantee you that once you read this book, you will have a different outlook on all of Paul's letters as I said before simply because of how Wangerin puts this book together. I mean he spends some time looking at how the circumstances might have lead to Paul writing to Timothy, he looks at how Paul suffers at the hands of other Christians and Pharisees, he adds commentary to the contention between Paul and Peter and how it might have arisen, he looks at the super apostles, he looks at his trial and being incarcerated and finally he talks about the proverbial thorn that the Lord has afflicted him with.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book - as you would expect from any book, there were a few things that sort of shook me a bit especially my initial reaction to Paul and Priscilla's relationship but at the end, I could see what the writer was trying to do. Don't be scared of reading the book because it is in no way, shape or form blasphemous and the writer does not expose anything contradictory about Paul's life that his letters don't tell us already.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
