The Apostle: A Life of Paul

This book answered questions and helped me discover a great respect for this man and his wisdom and dedication to his belief in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It was a very fascinating and well written, researched study of a man deserving of it.

John Pollock is an accomplished biographer. I've not read his other books yet, but his biographies include Billy Graham, DL Moody, and Wilberforce. Reading his work on Paul was perfect timing. I'm leading a men's Bible Study working our way through Paul's letters (started with Philippians, now Thessalonians, next Ephesians). The Apostle, together with Warren Wiersby's Be Series, has become essential to my preparation for Bible Study. What Mr Pollock has done for us is use context and history to more fully flesh out the man Paul. All while flawlessly preserving Scripture. While Mr Pollock is very careful to explain his rationale when topics require conjecture or best guess, I find his research and historical value complete. Paul's life in Scripture already reads like an adventure novel to some degree. Mr Pollock takes it to the next level though, filling in the gaps. He not only expands on Biblical principles, but does an amazingly thorough job of sharing Paul's conversion and missionary journeys. And it's written in an easy to read way meant to feel like an exciting novel rather than simply a non-fiction biography. Outstanding book to simply read and enjoy, or as a research tool. Highly recommend either way, but especially for students of Paul's writings, life, and leadership.

Perhaps no figure in Western history has been as controversial as the Apostle Paul, a man who, through his own mighty personal transformation, transformed the course of that history. Virtually every major historian, philosopher, and theologian has weighed in with an opinion on his tempestuous and profoundly dedicated life, and in a biography aimed at the general reading public rather than the scholar, John Pollock has written a life of Paul that, although carefully researched, moves and fascinates at the pace of a fine historical novel. Mr. Pollock carefully examines the arguments of the modern anti-Christian bias -- he writes as a believer, although a non-believer can be comfortable with this book -- and emerges with a triumphant Paul. Flawed, brilliant, scholarly, and eloquent -- possessed of "...an unbreakable love for the Jewish people," his Apostle endures cold, hunger and thirst; derision, flogging, shipwreck, abject loneliness and the periodic depression dictated by his nature, and holds fast to his mission with a prodigious energy and the vision of a fulfilled Messianic Judaism that endures for his long lifetime. Pollock evokes the cosmopolitan cities of the ancient world -- Tarsus, Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Athens, and Rome -- with their rich stew of races, ethnicities, cults, and religions, with a clarity, simplicity, and wealth of detail which alone make the book worth reading. He memorably conjures the Holy of Holies, Jerusalem, as it existed under Roman rule. One learns much of Roman and Jewish Law, as well as the workaday lives of the people of the ancient world. But it is the towering and undaunted (though often tormented) figure of Paul, "...his motives, aims and priorities...his attitude toward his mistakes when he recognized them... and what he was willing to die for..." that dominates the book. All readers of Paul's epistles will have favorite chapters in this book; for some it will be his speech to the mocking Athenians on the Areopagus; for others, the famous Second Corinthians; and for still others, the dramatic opening chapters which relate the martyrdom of his rival St. Stephen through the machinations of Paul and his faction; the self-inflicted psychic wound that eventually brought about Paul's spiritual metamorphosis, and which haunted him all his life. Those who have never read Paul will receive an education in the life of one of Christianity's greatest formative figures. For all readers, it will be a glimpse at a man whose presence in the ancient world which produced him was as radical and astonishing as the appearance of a mighty saint would be in the not-so-different, self-absorbed, and faulty world of today.

I'm having a hard time thinking of words to describe the impact on me of reading this well written historical narrative of the Apostle Paul's life. There are familiar stories, and familiar towns . . . about a man I thought was familiar before I read this. But as I read about the events in order of sequence (the New Testament doesn't organize Paul's letters by date) in a narrative style I gained a sense of time (i.e. I didn't know that after Paul's conversion over a decade goes by before he goes out on a missionary trip) and space (great descriptions of landscapes, travel distances and conditions by foot or ship) and local culture (so . . . they didn't tell me about public nudity in Sunday School). I also ended up getting out a world Atlas and googled the towns to help me follow along and visualize the story. I don't know why in my mind I lumped all of these Mediterranean "Bible Towns" in a similar location because they are spread out, encompassing what is now at least 8 different countries. Anyway another thing that shattered my "happy Sunday School story images" was the fairly tame but necessarily awful descriptions of the brutal punishments, grotesque prison conditions and also the astonishingly perverted social norms and realities of the various towns and cities. I'll never view an ancient Greek temple quite the same . . . um . . . ever. Still it's all tactfully described by Pollock in a PG-13 style that would be suitable and maybe helpful for teenagers . . . given what they already see every day. My only criticism of this book is that the author (as he admits in the notes) sometimes trades historical certainty (or uncertainty) for good drama in certain instances. Paul's life clearly doesn't need hyperbole. But Paul's message is without a doubt completely clear by this story. To the Jews who mostly didn't get it he basically said "you were waiting for the Messiah - It's Jesus." To the non Jews of whom an unknown multitude did get it he basically said "you were waiting for someone - It's Jesus." Anyway if you are wondering if you should read this book I would subtly say . . . read this book.

The author filled in so many more details about Paul's life as he researched it. We were also given some details about his personality and feelings.

I throughly enjoyed this personal interpretation of Paul’s life. Taken from many sources and much geography the reader journeys with Paul from childhood to death as he first opposes then proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ to a world (much like today) filled with immorality, politics and doubt. You will feel much closer to his story/life after reading this book than

Go back in time and live alongside the Apostle Paul. Witness the stoning of Stephen, the transformation from Saul to Paul on the Road to Damascus, his journeys throughout Asia Minor, Greece and the Middle East spreading the Gospel and sowing the seeds of Christianity for the Lord. Excellent writing combining historical facts and blending it with vivid descriptions of the lands where Paul visited. Use Google Earth and go to some of these locations and transport yourself back to experience what Paul saw as he walked along dirt roads with the Mediterranean Sea or the mountains in the distant background. I highly recommend this book for anyone who truly wants to know Saul of Tarsus, better known as our Paul the Apostle.

Since the Apostle Saul wrote more than 50% of the New Testament, and the Book of Acts details his travels and evangelism, I wanted an accurate, highly readable book on the life of Paul, to perhaps gain insight into his life, his struggles, etc. This book certainly fulfills my expectations. Author John Pollock, brings Paul's life and journey's into historical perspective. Following the outline of the Book of Acts, Pollock fills in the details of Paul's life to give the reader a much better understanding of Paul, a passionate Pharisee Jew who turns his back on the Judaic traditions and becomes a follower of the Way, Jesus of Nazareth. The details of the difficulty of travel, the opposition and persecution he faced, are put into perspective for the modern reader. Paul suffered greatly at the hands of the Jews for his decision to pronounce Jesus as the Messiah, but after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, he was absolutely convinced of the deity of Jesus and being the passionate forceful man he was, he fearlessly promoted Jesus as Lord of all. His evangelism cost him his life, but Paul, even in chains in Rome refused to stop preaching Jesus as Lord' He was content in all circumstances, even in prison, for he was absolutely convinced he was doing the work of the Lord. This is no simple fast read. If the reader wishes to get the most out of this book, I'd suggest that the Book of Acts be read simultaneously in keeping pace with the narrative of the book. There are gaps of time in the Book of Acts that are not readily apparent. This book fills in those gaps. Finally, it is important to note that the author does not ever write a fictional account of Paul's life. Whenever there is speculation, the author clearly states so, and gives several possible scenarios, but never intrudes on history or invents history for Paul. I like that he does not fabricate details that are not based on historical fact. kone