Customer Reviews

St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen

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I have been waiting a long time for this modern reissue of Ramsay's classic work. Wilson's edition does not disappoint. The book is beautifully printed (the old editions were so dreary) and now includes over a hundred color photos of relevant sites and images. These images are carefully placed near the texts that they illustrate. Also maps, charts and colorful sidebars have been added. Ramsay's work in Turkey is, and remains, the basis of all subsequent investigations - and Wilson is well qualified to follow in his footsteps. This book is a must for those who are interested in the expansion of Christianity into Asia Minor, Greece, and to Rome. This edition now presents a complete picture of the life of the Apostle Paul - it is a foundational work.

Deftly edited by Mark Wilson and now published in a newly updated and revised edition, St. Paul: The Traveler And Roman Citizen by Oxford University's first professor of classical art and archaeology William M. Ramsay (1851-1939) is a breathtaking, full-color, guide and history of Christianity's premier missionary and apostolic father St. Paul, both before and after his conversion in Palestine. Originally published in 1939, this new edition of St. Paul: The Traveler And Roman Citizen has been enhanced with materials that the author Ramsay published subsequent to his book, as well as enhanced for the reader with more than one hundred color photographs, including many of the holy land where St. Paul once lived and traveled. A vivid, thoroughly researched, highly recommended study guide for any who wish to learn more about St. Paul's missionary travels.

Great work by a first rate scholar turned apologist. Much of his works are free on the internet but you will want to get this for your library. If you are seeking not to be told what to think but more so to establish a strong historical grammatical basis for taking Acts and many of Pauls Epistles then you will find this valuable. One thing I notice and like from Dr. Ramsay is his passion for truth and the literal interpretation of the text. He also has a sympathy to the writer of the text (being a historian himself) knowing that Luke wrote Acts for the reasons he states and does a great job of pointing out Luke's style. So many commentaries try to read in various theological suppositions and motives that it is quite refreshing to read the work of a man who is just seeing if the literal can be taken and being cautious about adding to what is written..(Very cool that he is humble enough to say he doesnt know if he doesnt know!) I see that by just establishing the historical facts and taking the bible in the literal as the readers would have likewise taken them...that Luke indeed says what he means and means what he says. This is important since so many other epistles are intimately connected to the book of Acts . I think Ramsay makes a very compelling argument on the strong foundation of Acts and Its almost like Edersheims works...you just cant beat a commentator that has actually gone to the places...retracing steps and conveying things that being there in person can only convey. .. Check out some of his other apologetic works as well... he's a firecracker for sure! There is just something admirable in the Pauls,Cs Lewis', McDowells.. and Ramsay's coming from the side of skepticism and ending on the side of Regeneration by God's precious Grace! ...How Jesus does shine through those who have indeed tasted and have seen that the Lord is good.

Ramsay's work is a classic and the updating of this edition by Mark Wilson adds much. Although the work is over a century old, it is still an easy read with an immense volume of useable information. The color photography throughout is quite pleasing as well. Christians who believe in the miraculous will take issue with Ramsay's attempts to explain away anything "non-scientific" but his position is understandable in view of the era in which he was writing. Still an excellent addition to any believer's library.

Excellent update on a classic text that re-defined notions of archaeological support for Luke's accounts in Acts. Beautiful hardbound book, coffee-table paper and picture quality. Language updated for the more modern reader and pointed more at the lay-person rather than the professional historian.