Paul The Traveller

The life of the first-century man born Saul of Tarsus, who went on to become Paul the Apostle, by the acclaimed historian and author of Thermopylae. Paul, born into Asia Minor’s Jewish aristocracy and a passionate student of scripture, was part of the crowd that killed Stephen, a deacon regarded as the first Christian martyr. But on the road to Damascus, Paul experienced a miracle that would change his life and in turn change history. His conversion left him convinced that his true master was the man who would come to be known as Jesus Christ. Drawing on his vast command of ancient history and blending it with superb storytelling skills, author Ernle Bradford weaves a tale that takes the reader from city to city as Paul spreads the teachings of Christ despite being beaten, stoned, and shipwrecked. It’s a thrilling tale and stirring biography of a man whose devotion and rhetorical genius laid the groundwork for the religion that soon swept the civilized world. Written by a historian known for immersing himself in his subjects, which range from the ancient world to World War II, this is a fascinating look at the convert who helped shape Christianity as a worldwide force.

In PAUL THE TRAVELLER, acclaimed historian and bestselling author of THE GREAT SIEGE Ernle Bradford breathes new life into the story of Saint Paul - the thirteenth apostle. Born into Asia Minor's Jewish aristocracy and a passionate student of scripture, Paul was part of a crowd that killed Stephen, a deacon regarded as the first Christian Martyr. But on the road to Damascus, Paul experienced a miracle that would change his life and in turn change history. This conversion experience convinced him that his true master was the man who would come to be known as Jesus Christ. Drawing on his vast command of ancient history and blending it with superb story-telling skills, Bradford weaves a tale that takes the reader from city to city as Paul spreads the teachings of Christ despite being beaten, stoned and shipwrecked. It's a thrilling tale and stirring biography of a man whose devotion and rhetorical genius laid the groundwork for the religion that soon swept the civilized world.

Sir William Mitchell Ramsay was a British archaeologist and New Testament scholar. Initially, he was one of the biggest Bible critics of his day. However, after decades of research, by his death in 1939, he had become the foremost authority of his day on the history of Asia Minor and a leading scholar in the study of the New Testament, as well as the advocate for the trustworthiness of the New Testament. There were many Bible critics of the early 19th century like there are today, who questioned Luke’s accuracy as a historian. Furthermore, they maintained that the history in Acts was merely invented in the middle of the second century A.D. The author of this book, the British archaeologist and Bible scholar Sir William Mitchell Ramsay was one who believed these things. But after a lengthy investigation of the names and places mentioned by Luke, he declared: “It was gradually borne in upon me that in various details the narrative showed marvelous truth.” This classic defense of the book of Acts was, again, written by a scholar whose initial motivation was to disprove Luke's authorship. After many years of research into the internal evidence of Luke’s books, he became one of the greatest advocates for the authenticity and accuracy of Luke's accounts. We have taken some liberties with Ramsay’s book in that we tweaked the title. We updated his archaic English and changed the UK English to US English. We have added many Bible background chapters and an appendix that we now consider this book a 12th edition. I am most certain that Ramsay would not mind the enhancements that we have made that have made a great book and even better book that can grow the faith of its readers.