Customer Reviews

Paul On Trial The Book Of Acts As A Defense Of Christianity

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As someone who has written a book on the relationship of historical evidence to the book of Acts (Evidence and Paul's Journeys: An Historical Investigation into the Travels of the Apostle Paul), I wish that I had had John Mauck's book in hand while doing my research.

Mauck, a seasoned attorney, cogently argues the case that the book of Acts was written as a pre-trial document for the Apostle Paul, while Paul was awaiting trial before the emperor Nero. Although I am not sure that this thesis is finally proven, Mauck weaves together enough fascinating strands of evidence to suggest the very real possibility that Acts was just such a document. At the very least, he establishes that Acts was deliberately written with the legal status of Paul - and of Christianity - in mind.

The casual Bible student too easily views Acts as simply an account of Paul's missionary efforts, without recognizing the key role that law and litigation played in his career. Paul was a controversial figure, who did not back down when proclaiming his message in the cities and provinces of the Roman empire. Acts describes in detail the court fights and imprisonments that Paul underwent for the sake of the gospel.

To understand Acts, and the radical character of early Christianity, it is necessary to understand the legal strategies of Paul and his opponents. John Mauck takes us into the middle of that legal battle and gives us new insights into the formative period when the gospel was first proclaimed to the Roman world.

Paul on Trial concludes that the Book of Acts was originally a legal brief written to Theophilus, the chief pretrial fact investigator for the infamous Roman Emperor Nero. As the son of the author, I like to think of dad's book as an adventure/detective expedition into the heart of the New Testament and the politics and real people whose decisions, actions and proclamation shape the world we live in. It helps to have familiarity with Acts, but Mauck does a good job of serving both the scholar and the neophite Bible reader. Bottom line: this answers a theological question that has baffled scholars for centuries, and it does so in compelling fashion. A great read for anyone interested in Roman law or Christianity.

I'm proud to call him my father.

Drew Mauck

I read this book about 2 years ago, and am still fascinated by its premise and the well-reasoned approach used to support that premise. Mauck's writing is clear and compelling, and got me thinking about the Book of Acts in a far different way than I ever had before. To the best of my knowledge, there is no other book that treats Acts as a legal document and Mauck's arguments gripped me to read further and revisit the Bible itself in light of this idea.

I am neither a law student nor Bible scholar, just a Christian interested in learning more about my faith. I highly recommend Paul on Trial to anyone who is interested in more fully exploring the early Christian church and Paul's challenges in spreading the Gospel.

Paul on Trial does a great job of examining the Bible's Book of Acts and other historical information to show that the future of Christianity hung on whether the Emperor Nero would decide that the religion the Apostle Paul was preaching was truly Jewish or was an illegal new religion. Mr. Mauck's book incorporates powerful legal, religious, and political forces that impacted early Christianity. Then, with a lawyer's insight, Mauck brings to life how Luke has crafted a legal strategy to convince Roman officials of Paul's innocence and of the legality of Christianity. For anyone who wants to strengthen their Christian faith, or is searching for the truth behind Christianity, this is the book to read.

I found that this is not a book that can be read quickly, it is more like a text book that I could only take in smaller portions in conjunction with going through ACTS in a small group Bible Study. I would like to know who the people are that are slamming this author, I would really like to know their arugments against his theory, because this is very powerful stuff, Canonization of the Bible speaking...not even Chuck Missler or Hal Lindsey thought of this theory before Mr. Mauck.

I simply can't think of a reason why anyone would doubt his theory that Luke wrote what has become to be known as Acts as a defense of Paul and the earliest Jesus/Gospel followers...and he pulls the book of Luke into the same theory, although the title doesn't mention this fact. At a minimum, Acts should have been titled "Acts of the Holy Spirit", more so than "Acts of the Apostles", as many refer to it. But now after reading this book, Acts should be retitled in all new pressings of Protestant Bibles to more reflect this book's arguments.

This will probably be his only book, unless someone un-earths some new letters or documents in an archeology dig in the middle east that were written for the same trial-type cause. This was a job well-done, by someone who gets it that we worship the Jewish faith fulfilled. God Bless.

There are far reaching implications which will most likely compel the thoughtful reader to rethink their view of both Christianity and Judaism. Anyone seeking truth with an open mind will find a lot to think about.Warning, the truth is out there!

It is not enough to know WHAT a writer said, we must know WHY he said it, in order to truly understand the work. My opinion is that Mauck the attorney has absolutely NAILED IT, to be quite colloquial. Acts is a poor history, but it is an excellent "elogium" (legal statement of facts required by Roman authorities), and seen as a legal document, we now understand why Luke wrote, and why he didn't write, about various things.
Since reading Paul On Trial several years ago, plus other works, I have written my own (history-emphasized) commentary on Acts and taught it several times in classes. Whether in print or in class, my teaching now has Mauck's Paul On Trial as the starting point and framework!

I am still reading this book, but want to provide a comment. This book is worth the effort to read,study, and contemplate. I agree with all of the preceding reviews. For me, Mr. Mauck's book is functioning like a good brass or gold polish. It is stripping away the grime and tarnish of twenty centuries as well as my own understanding and appreciation of the Book of Acts, cleaning and polishing it right down to it's original design details and shape. I am now seeing things in Acts and the Gospel Of Luke that either I never was aware of before or have always wondered about but didn't know more. This book is wonderful because in its way, it reveals Christianity as it is, a uniquely radical, powerful phenomenon that is supernaturally guided and fueled, not the pervasive, almost ambient cultural Christianity that we all tend to take for granted, for good or ill.

I am a long time student of the Bible and a lay minister in our church. This book has helped me "conceptualize" the books of Luke and Acts and will surely help me "speed-understand" the points in each book in relation to the larger inspired work and inspired word of God. The book is very well written and if you are reading this review, it should be in your library too.

I found this book to be an easy-to-read and thought-provoking discussion of the theory that Luke wrote primarily as a means of explaining Christianity to Roman officials, and to give them a reason to believe in Jesus themselves.

My only disappointment was how little attention was devoted to the concept of inspiration. Was Luke inspired to get at the truth? This idea is only hinted at, though I suspect the author agrees Luke was, in fact, inspired.

Regadless of that point, it is well worth reading as it greatly increases one's understanding of the Roman world Paul inhabited.