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Saint Paul and the Seven Churches
"This is a historical guide to the major Turkish sites associated with Saint Paul, and to those sites of western Asia Minor know in Revelation as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse. It aims to summarize what the archaeological record and written sources tell us about these sites, and to use these manuscripts and ruins to illuminate how the people who lived and died here helped to transform the ancient world."
- GenresHistory
143 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 14, 2023
This book which I picked up in Turkey more than a year ago but only read now because of a Revelation seminar by Tom Schreiner, just made me feel like doing a road trip round the five remaining churches that I have not been to. The glossy pages of this book was not only a visual treat but also a treat for a mind inquisitive about the places in Paul’s journeys and the seven churches.
I like how the author, a lecturer at Stanford, structured this book which reads like a history book and travelogue, in a progressively pyramidal way. It begins with a history of the region commencing from the 16th century BC Mycenaean Greeks and ends in the Ottoman period, before getting more granular by going into the places that Paul journeyed to, and then specifically into the seven churches.
Quite often I wished that there were footnotes on the pages because the author introduced facts and accounts completely new and at times fascinating to me. Shame that for such an impressive bibliography at the end of the book, the sources could not be attributed to the specific point that the author made.
I like how the author, a lecturer at Stanford, structured this book which reads like a history book and travelogue, in a progressively pyramidal way. It begins with a history of the region commencing from the 16th century BC Mycenaean Greeks and ends in the Ottoman period, before getting more granular by going into the places that Paul journeyed to, and then specifically into the seven churches.
Quite often I wished that there were footnotes on the pages because the author introduced facts and accounts completely new and at times fascinating to me. Shame that for such an impressive bibliography at the end of the book, the sources could not be attributed to the specific point that the author made.
April 1, 2024
I was so excited when I saw this book at a souvenir/coffee shop in Laodicea that I did not even realized what was wrong with this book. I even got confused about the two saints. I blame not only the author but also the editor of this book for not having enough knowledge and research for its accuracy. Come on, read atleast the introduction of the Book of Revelation. John's name was written there as the author of the letter!
The title of this book is WRONG.
Saint Paul, who wrote seven letters is not the right person related to the seven churches(Ephesus, Laodicea, Thiyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Smyrna, Pergamum) that is also being referred to this book. The name of that saint is Saint John of Patmos who the bible says the same John the Apostle, who history believes to be the cousin of Jesus, etc. (other historians thinks this John who wrote the Revelatiom and John the apostle are two different John but whatever, thats not the issue of this book)
So what's wrong with this book? It should be titled as Saint John and the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation because the seven letters to the seven churches written by Saint Paul was Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica -- a totally different churches and those letters were even written for its people and not to the church.
I hope the author and publication would correct this.
The title of this book is WRONG.
Saint Paul, who wrote seven letters is not the right person related to the seven churches(Ephesus, Laodicea, Thiyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Smyrna, Pergamum) that is also being referred to this book. The name of that saint is Saint John of Patmos who the bible says the same John the Apostle, who history believes to be the cousin of Jesus, etc. (other historians thinks this John who wrote the Revelatiom and John the apostle are two different John but whatever, thats not the issue of this book)
So what's wrong with this book? It should be titled as Saint John and the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation because the seven letters to the seven churches written by Saint Paul was Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica -- a totally different churches and those letters were even written for its people and not to the church.
I hope the author and publication would correct this.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews