The Twelve: The Lives of the Apostles After Calvary (Paperback)

~ (Author), C. Bernard Ruffin (Author) "It is appropriate that we begin our study with the life of the "rock" upon whom Christ founded His Church..." (more)
Key Phrases: apostolic college, other apostles, fishing business, James the Righteous, John the Baptist, Holy Spirit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

What did the twelve apostles do after Calvary? Where did they go? C. Bernard Ruffin has woven Scripture, tradition, and historical documents to re-create and outline the lives of each of Christ's closest followers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor; Revised edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879739266
• ISBN-13: 978-0879739263
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,755 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An indepth documentary..., October 5, 2000

By	NYJ (Atlantic Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

... for the Christian who also happens to be a history buff. This book attempts to address the question "What happened to all of the Apostles after Jesus died?"

The book is divided into chapters which address each Apostle. Drawing from the New Testament, each chapter provides detail on each Apostle and his role in Jesus' ministry, it also attempts to give a character analysis (personality, etc) on each Apostle. The book then tries to give a full indepth history on what each Apostle did based on extra-biblical sources (for example Eusebuis' "History of the Church"). The book also relies on local stories that are generated on each Apostle (for example St. Thomas and his ministry in India). It is in no-way a definitive history on each apostle, but it does try to give a fully detailed history given the limited amount of material. The prose is excellent, making this a very easy-to-read book. For anyone who is interested in the history of the Christian Church, and would like to read up more on the Apostles, I would highly recommend this book.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Taking a Stab at Apostolic History, January 27, 2003

By	Barry E. DeWalt (Redding, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Bernard Ruffin has written a delightful explanation of the history of each of the twelve apostles. I found this book to be very easy to read. The topic, however, is a bit difficult to grasp considering the question of the reliability of many of the source documents upon which Ruffin must rely.

Several apocryphal works are cited in support of Ruffin's chronicle of the Apostles' lives. The validity of the story depends upon the reliability of the source documents. To that end, there is much in this book that is speculation. We simply are not in a place to accurately judge these apocryphal works, except to say that the early Church Fathers (for reasons of their own) did not adopt these works into the canon of the New Testament. Because the rule of canonicity excludes these works, they must be looked at with some hesitance.

Ruffin makes this point himself. The value in his work is its honesty in this regard. Ruffin reports merely what has been set forth in these apocryphal works. He makes no judments about their reliability because his intent is to simply report what they say. In short, whether they are reliable or not is not Ruffin's focus nor can he be faulted for not coming to definite conclusions.

This being said, I find that this work is more of a chronical of what has been said before. Its value is that Ruffin has put these materials in one handy reference for the reader. This being his goal, he has succeeded marvelously.

I recommend this work to anyone interested in the question of "What happened to the Twelve?" You won't be disappointed.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring and learning experience, November 16, 2000

By A Customer

This well balanced book is a must for all those interested in learning about the lives of the Apostles. The author explores all that it is known from history, tradition and legend that is relevant to the facts about the lives of the Apostles. Once I finished reading the book I learned many facts of the Apostles from their first meeting with Christ, to their martyrdom. This book was an inspiring and learning experience. I could identify myself with some of the Apostles and at the same time realize that they were common people like we all are, who lived a saintly life and accomplished the mission given by Our Lord to spread the word to all nations.