Paul of Tarsus

by Joseph Holzner

In Paul of Tarsus , Joseph Holzner weaves together the New Testament's often sketchy information about the life and mission of St. Paul into a unified and inspiring biography. With a novelist's ability to take you into a scene and a historian's rigorous concern for accuracy, he traces this noble Apostle's life from his early years as a disciple of the celebrated rabbi Gamaliel through his zealous persecution of the Church as a Pharisee, through his miraculous conversion, his tireless efforts to spread the Gospel, and his martyr's death in imperial Rome. Along the way, he provides instructive background information about the religious and social situation of Paul's times and the circumstances of his New Testament epistles. Here, then, is a complete and enlightening introduction to the Apostle to the Gentiles .

Genres: History, Religion, Biography

539 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1944

Reviews

[Marko Skender]

Knjiga daje (koliko je moguće) detaljan prikaz Pavlovih putovanja pokušavajući pritom rasvjetliti Pavlovo srce i mentalitet prije i poslije obraćenja. Knjiga također nudi prilično opširan opis Pavlovih suputnika i suradnika u evangelizaciji, kao i Pavlovog modusa operandi. Ono što vjerojatno nećete čuti na vjeronauku, a gotovo je esencijalno za razumijevanje odnosa (nekoliko frakcija) Židova i pogana, ova knjiga opisuje opširno.

S druge strane, povremeno autor za moj ukus pretjeruje u zanosnim opisima grčkih građana, gradova i općenito cijeloga povijesnog razdoblja maštajući pritom o onome što bi Pavao rekao/učinio i/ili sv. Luka zapisao da postoji zapis o tome. Time čini mi se da, iako možda s osnovanom sumnjom, mjestimično popunjava praznine koje je Providnost s razlogom ostavila.

Sve u svemu, korisno za svaku osobu koja želi produbiti znanje o sv. Pavlu, njegovim suvremenicima, protivnicima, suradnicima, o poslanicama i putovanjima.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is proving to be a gentle read, yet very informative. It reads much like Frank Sheed's "Life of Christ", in that it fleshes out the life of Paul using knowledge about the history and culture of the time and places Paul traveled.

I had trouble keeping track of when the author was discussing events recorded in Scripture and when he was filling in the blanks with other sources or general historical knowledge. This kept me running back to the New Testament to read whatever book he was discussing. Which worked to my benefit in the long run, so I should probably not be complaining, lol.

[Bill Rentschler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has done an amazing job of taking you back in time to the early church and its fragile beginnings. You were able to see Paul in his early years of Tarsus and the diversity of culture he experienced. You experience the blend of Greek and Roman, Jew and gentile, free and slave. As Paul goes on his journeys you see how he is helped by his friend Barnabas and developing relationships with Timothy, Mark, Silas, Luke and others. It was very easy to read this book and then follow with reading the epistles that correspond to the cities involved. St Paul was just the right man for the job. He was so instrumental in moving Christianity beyond and out of the synagoge to make the church truely universal and not merely a sect. Any serious christain should take the time to read this book. If you are not currently "on fire" for Christ this book should help you.

[Bob Lozano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite helpful introduction to the life of St. Paul, sheds a lot of light on his life, and consequently on his enormous contributions to Christianity.

The only reason I didn't rate it as a 5 is that there are a few slightly outdated spellings and word choices (this was written in the 1940s, I believe), but those are easy to bridge.

First rate book, well worth the time for anyone wanting to understand more about either a major portion of the New Testament, the man who wrote those letters, or the struggle to live and spread the faith in the immediate years after Jesus.

[Larissa Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t want it to end - St Paul’s life is so inspiring and this book was such a blessing to read.

[Nacho DR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imprescindible. Un gran libro que te permite conocer a ese gigante personaje de la historia universal que es Pablo de Tarso, una de las personas más importantes que ha existido por la grandeza y profundidad de pensamiento, que se refleja en sus extraordinarias cartas. Su vida es la de un aventurero, un hombre de acción, un atleta, un hombre alegre, trabajador, enamorado, intelectual y culto. Judío pero con una amplísima formación en la cultura griega, ciudadano romano. Su vida apasionada se transforma al conocer inesperadamente a Cristo, con el que no coincidió en vida. Es el gran apóstol de la Libertad. Una persona que sufrió numerosas veces prisión, que fue apedreado, azotado, que naufragó varias veces, que tuvo que huir y fue calumniado, rechazado por los de su raza y sometido a juicio y finalmente decapitado. Que recorrió todo el mundo conocido, en viajes en condiciones imposibles, que trató a los personajes más poderosos del momento. Todo cambió partir del descubrimiento de Cristo Jesús. “Mi vida es Cristo”, fue entonces su lema. Realmente es un libro de referencia, que te deja con muy buen sabor de boca, por el gusto de conocer a este gigante del pensamiento, al que se le ha dado el título de “columna de la Iglesia”, junto con Pedro. Además es también un libro de aventuras.

[MyNameIsTim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives very vivid descriptions of what life was like in the 1st century of the Roman Empire. It combines this with meticulous cross-referencing of both biblical and non-biblical sources to give a biography of St. Paul's life.

The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because some parts are quite a bit longer than they needed to be, and it doesn't cite its sources. Would be much better if it was 480 pages of writing and 50 pages of citations rather than 539 pages of writing.

Also, I'd be fascinated to find out how this book was published. The first edition was published in 1944... in German ... in St. Louis.

[Meg Hunter-Kilmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would have been excellent if only the author had:

1. managed to curb his anti-Semitism

2. pointed out when he was recounting fact and when he was speculating. There is an enormous amount of speculation in this book that a casual reader would certainly take for incontrovertible fact. This makes it hard to recommend this book to any but Biblical scholars, though it would otherwise have been useful to any Catholic intellectual.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliant biography of St Paul that brings the Acts and the Letters of Paul alive in a remarkable way. I deliberately read this really slowly because I didn't want to finish it and having finished it I just want to start all over again. I have a completely different perspective of St Paul now. He has been transformed from a two dimensional character into a man of flesh and blood and his Letters in context make so much more sense. Just amazing. I loved it.

[Ferdy Valdivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent profile of St. Paul put forward!

[Michael Choi · Rating 5 out of 5]

fruitful life

[Neoklis Lefkopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα αριστούργημα. Νοιώθεις να περπατάς κι εσύ στα βήματα του Αποστόλου Παύλου. Απίστευτη έρευνα ιστορική και εμβάθυνση.

[Sharie]

very informative

[Pablo Galiana]

Extensa biografía (530 pp.) de San Pablo, rigurosamente fundado en los datos bíblicos y en otras fuentes. Incluye tablas cronológicas y apéndices sobre aspectos particulares. Muestra las virtudes cristianas del Apóstol, su fidelidad a la vocación divina, su unión con Dios, su afán apostólico superando cualquier obstáculo... Expone la doctrina paulina, presentando el contexto en el que escribe (la cultura judía y la pagana), lo cual permite una mejor comprensión de las Cartas del Apóstol. Estilo sobrio. Libro de gran interés y utilidad para todos.

[Marilu · Rating 5 out of 5]

"La sangre de diversas razas separa los pueblos, la sangre de Cristo los une."

"Así como la culpa original del individuo sólo es participación de la culpa total por medio de los lazos de sangre que le unen con la cabeza pecadora de todo el linaje humano, Adán, del mismo modo sólo puede comprenderse la redención personal como participación de la redención común por medio de la unión con Cristo, cabeza de la humanidad redimida. Aquí nos encontramos en el corazón de la teología paulina."