Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could find a Bible that was illustrated in such a way that it gave you a sense not only of what life may have been like, but what it looked like as well? We read of some many towns and cities in the Bible but unless you have a Bible map and a modern day map, it is hard to trace where the locations of those cities or towns might have been. The Illustrated Life of Paul by Charles L. Quarles does just that utilizing the letters that the apostle Paul wrote to many of the churches of the New Testament from the towns of Corinth, to Thessalonica, to even the cities of Ephesus and Smyrna.
Except for the Lord Jesus Christ himself, no person has been more influential in the history of the church than Saul of Tarsus who would later be renamed Paul. Paul's influence upon the early church's most cherished convictions is so clear and powerful that scholars debate whether Paul is a mere follower of Jesus or the actual founder of Christianity. Paul himself settled that debate when he described Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of the church and the head of the church. Paul insisted that Jesus has preeminence in all things, in both the church he founded by his death and resurrection and the creation he fashioned by his indescribable power.
Approximately sixteen chapters of the book of Acts focus on Paul's persecution of the church, his conversion, his missionary labors, and his arrest and imprisonment. Paul laid more bricks in the foundation of the church than any other apostle. He wrote thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. Nearly half of the New Testament documents bear his name. Although some of Paul's letters are brief compared to other New Testament books, his epistles comprise approximately 1/4 of the total volume of the New Testament. Paul's influence on the development of Christianity is without parallel. He was a highly effective Christian missionary and church planter and is a key interpreter of Jesus' life, death, resurrection and return. Except for Jesus of Nazareth, no man's life has been more fascinating. It truly does provide the reader more background detail about the cultures, the cities and towns as well as people surrounding the ministry of Paul along with some amazing photos throughout the books as each chapter is dedicated to a portion of Paul's life and travels along the way.
I received Illustrated Life of Paul by Charles L. Quarles compliments of B and H Publishing Group for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside of a free copy of the book in exchange for my personal and honest evaluation. I love being able to take this book side by side with the Bible and get a truly visual perspective of what is happening either through the book of Acts or even in the time of one of Paul's letters. We know that there is more than went on and this background is key along with the photos to give the reader a broader view of the urgency of the letters for example or what was happening in the day as the church began to grow and at times get divisive. For me this makes a wonderful visual commentary to aid me in my daily Bible reading in regards to the life and ministry of Paul and thus rates a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion. I would love to see these for all the books of the Bible!!! It makes it truly come to life in a more powerful way.
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good review.
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