Customer Reviews

St. Paul the traveller and the Roman citizen (William M. Ramsay Library)

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Why is a book that was first published in 1895 still relevant to us today?

To begin with, Sir William Ramsay was one of the leading archeologists and scholars of the time. Secondly, and most interestingly, he became convinced of the historical truth of the Book of Acts -- of Luke's account of Paul's journeys -- as the result of his direct investigation of the archeological record.

As Ramsay himself wrote, he originally began studying Acts as a guide to the second century history of Asia Minor. Because he accepted the established scholarly authorities of the day, he started by believing that the Book of Acts was written a century after the events that it describes. However, he soon discovered that the actual historical data pointed to the middle of the first century as the only possible time of Acts' writing. More importantly, he found that the many small historical details of Paul's travels were dramatically confirmed by archeological and documentary evidence. He thus came to regard Acts as one of the most historically reliable documents of the ancient world.

Ramsay's famous book "St. Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen," broke new ground by demonstrating that historical reliability to a popular audience.

Is Ramsay's book still useful more than a century later? It is dated in some respects. A few of his conclusions have been superseded. Also, much additional evidence has been discovered. But anyone wanting to understand the relationship of historical evidence to the book of Acts will still find this book to be of use. It was the starting point for my own research, when I wrote my book "Evidence and Paul's Journeys." In many ways, my book is simply an updating of Ramsay's work.

I would highly recommend "St. Paul Traveller" to anyone who is interested in the Bible and historical evidence.

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Why is a book that was first published in 1895 still relevant to us today?

To begin with, Sir William Ramsay was one of the leading archeologists and scholars of the time. Secondly, and most interestingly, he became convinced of the historical truth of the Book of Acts -- of Luke's account of Paul's journeys -- as the result of his direct investigation of the archeological record.

As Ramsay himself wrote, he originally began studying Acts as a guide to the second century history of Asia Minor. Because he accepted the established scholarly authorities of the day, he started by believing that the Book of Acts was written a century after the events that it describes. However, he soon discovered that the actual historical data pointed to the middle of the first century as the only possible time of Acts' writing. More importantly, he found that the many small historical details of Paul's travels were dramatically confirmed by archeological and documentary evidence. He thus came to regard Acts as one of the most historically reliable documents of the ancient world.

Ramsay's famous book "St. Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen," broke new ground by demonstrating that historical reliability to a popular audience.

Is Ramsay's book still useful more than a century later? It is dated in some respects. A few of his conclusions have been superseded. Also, much additional evidence has been discovered. But anyone wanting to understand the relationship of historical evidence to the book of Acts will still find this book to be of use. It was the starting point for my own research, when I wrote my book "Evidence and Paul's Journeys." In many ways, my book is simply an updating of Ramsay's work.

I would highly recommend "St. Paul the Traveller" to anyone who is interested in the Bible and historical evidence.

I found this book to be very insightful. It gives you information about Paul that you would likely never discover elsewhere. This book is still very relevant as other reviewers have noted.

The author obviously takes a very careful and skillful approach to writing about Apostle Paul.

Unfortunately, the author lost me at certain parts (where seemingly excessive detail was given at certain minor points) and I found that the book would have appealed more to me if he looked at things from a macro-level a bit more.

But that being said, this book is exactly what it is intended to be. It isn't supposed to be surface level. A fine work indeed.

Sir William Mitchell Ramsay (1851-1939) was a Scottish archaeologist and New Testament scholar, as well as Professor of Classical Archaeology at Oxford University. He is now probably most remembered for his studies (in what is now Turkey and Asia Minor) of St. Paul's missionary journeys and of Christianity in the early Roman Empire, and for his endorsement of the historical accuracy of Luke and the Book of Acts.

In this 1895 book, Ramsay begins by saying, "The aim of our work is to treat its subject as a department of history and of literature. Christianity was not merely a religion, but also a system of life and action; and its introduction by Paul amid the society of the Roman Empire produced changes of momentous consequence, which the historian must study." He added, "It is, therefore, unnecessary to touch on the authenticity of the Epistles; but the question as to the date (of) the composition, and the author of the Acts must be discussed. If the main position of this book is admitted, it will furnish a secure basis for the Epistles to rest on."

He states later, "I began with a mind unfavorable to (Acts) ... It was gradually borne in upon me that in various details the narrative showed marvellous truth. In fact, beginning with the fixed idea that the work was essentially a second-century composition, and never relying on its evidence as trustworthy for first-century conditions, I gradually came to find it a useful ally in some obscure and difficult investigations."

Ramsay stresses the supernatural character of the books he discusses: "You must make up your own minds to accept it or to reject it; but you cannot cut out the marvellous from the rest, nor can you believe that either Paul or this writer was a mere victim of hallucinations." He added, "when Luke or Paul use such language as 'the Spirit suffered them not,' they refer to some definite and clear manifestiion, and not to a guidance which became apparent only through the results."

This book, like all of Ramsay's works, remains in print today as a testimony to its continuing value to students of the New Testament.

THis was not the book I ordered and I returned it. However, it arrived quickly and the sender replied quickly.