John Dominic Crossan, the eminent historical Jesus scholar, and Jonathan L. Reed, an expert in biblical archaeology, reveal through archaeology and textual scholarship that Paul, like Jesus, focused on championing the Kingdom of God––a realm of justice and equality––against the dominant, worldly powers of the Roman empire. Many theories exist about who Paul was, what he believed, and what role he played in the origins of Christianity. Using archaeological and textual evidence, and taking advantage of recent major discoveries in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Syria, Crossan and Reed show that Paul was a fallible but dedicated successor to Jesus, carrying on Jesus's mission of inaugurating the Kingdom of God on earth in opposition to the reign of Rome. Against the concrete backdrop of first–century Grego–Roman and Jewish life, In Search of Paul reveals the work of Paul as never before, showing how and why the liberating messages and practices of equality, caring for the poor, and a just society under God's rules, not Rome's, were so appealing. Readers interested in Paul as a historical figure and his place in the development of Christianity •Readers interested in archaeology and anthropology

Stand on the shoulders of giants!Have you ever wished you could have a mentor like the Apostle Paul—someone trustworthy to guide your spiritual development and ministry? Tony Cooke, author, teacher, and student of church history, has assembled a panel of the greatest Christian spiritual leaders of all time, curating a profound, yet...

JOHN W. MAUCK provides an exciting new way of understanding the Book of Acts. With great skill and powerful arguments, the author contends that Acts was written primarily to defend Paul for his forthcoming trial in Rome. After reading Mauck's volume, the read we will not only gain a fuller understanding of Acts, but also obtain rock-solid arguments for defending Christianity and understanding its Jewish roots. What's Inside: A fresh study of Acts as a legal "brief" Insights gained from understanding of Roman law Numerous Charts that outline Luke's "argument" Recorded speeches viewed as "witness testimony" A section-by-section review of all of Acts A powerful apologetic defending the claims of Christianity Endorsements: "The book is a terrific addition to any lawyer's library. It makes the Book of Acts come alive with new and useful insights." -- Samuel B. Casey, Executive Director, Christian Legal Society "It makes a constructive, fresh, and fascinating contribution to the understanding of Acts." -- Dr. Donald Hagner, Author of Matthew in WBC, Fuller Theological Seminary

Draws on St. Paul's letters and other early sources to reveal the apostles' sharply competing ideas about the significance of Jesus and his teachings while demonstrating how St. Paul independently shaped Christianity as it is known today.

Film star. Icon. Agitator. Martyr. Paul Robeson was a prize-winning scholar and the greatest footballer of his era, even before he ascended to global superstardom as a singer, Hollywood actor, and activist. The son of an escaped slave, Robeson stunned audiences with ‘Ol’ Man River’ and Othello, as his passion for social justice led him from Jazz Age Harlem to the mining towns of Wales, from the frontiers of the Spanish Civil War to Stalin’s Russia. Charismatic, eloquent, and handsome, he had everything — and then lost it all for the sake of his principles. Jeff Sparrow traces Robeson’s troubled life and stellar career, in a story that traverses the arc of the twentieth century and illuminates the fissures of today’s fractured world. From Black Lives Matter to Putin’s United Russia, Sparrow visits the places Robeson lived and worked, exploring race in America, freedom in Moscow, and the legacies of communism and fascism in Europe. Part travelogue, part biography, this is a tale of political ardour, heritage, and trauma — a luminous portrait of a remarkable man, and an urgent reflection on the crises that define us now.

The story of Paul is one of irony, the New Testament depicting him at the martyrdom of Stephen holding the assassins' cloaks. Then this same Paul is transformed into the biblical archetype for someone suffering for their faith. He becomes so entrenched, it would appear that he had walked with the Christians all his life, that he was the one who defined the faith, eventually being called the "second founder of Christianity." But much of what we think we "know" about Paul comes from Sunday school stories we heard as children. The stories were didactic tales meant to keep us reverent and obedient. As adults reading the New Testament, we catch glimpses of a very different kind of disciple--a wild ascetic whom Tertullian dubbed "the second apostle of Marcion and the apostle of the heretics." What does scholarship tell us about the enigmatic thirteenth apostle who looms larger than life in the New Testament? The epistles give evidence of having been written at the end of the first century or early in the second--too late to have been Paul's actual writings. So who wrote (and rewrote) them? F. C. Baur, a nineteenth-century theologian, pointed persuasively to Simon Magus as the secret identity of "Paul." Robert M. Price, in this exciting journey of discovery, gives readers the background for a story we thought we knew.