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Oriental/Asian | Philosophical | Religious | |
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"Hello," says a neatly dressed lady. "Welcome to our church. I hope you liked the service."
"Well, it was interesting," says the man, "although I was hoping to see someone speaking in tongues."
The lady laughs, "Well, it sometimes happens in Pentecostal churches but we can't guarantee it. Come again next week and you may see it. I am the greeter, and just in case you do, what is your name ?"
"Adrian."
"Hello, Adrian, welcome once again to our church," says the lady.
"Hello, Greta."
"I'm not Greta, I'm Lydia."
"Oh, I thought you said your name was Greta."
"I am the greeter," explains Lydia, rolling her eyes upwards. "I wondered if you would come again - oh, I suppose you still want to see someone speaking in tongues."
"Yes," says Adrian. " The Book of Acts mentions speaking in tongues and I wanted to see what it is like. Someone told me that if I went to a Pentecostal church I would see for myself."
"Well, we cannot guarantee a performance," says Lydia coldly. "Church is for worship, and if that is what you want, you are welcome, but if you think it is like a circus, you can leave us alone. Can I ask why you are so interested in speaking in tongues ?"
"I'm writing a book about Saint Paul."
"Oh, really ? That's different," and she suggests they sit together. During the adult Sunday School Lydia whispers, "I am impressed that you can find verses in the Bible so quickly, even in obscure books like Titus. Your research must be quite thorough."
"It is."
During the Praise and Worship part of the service two of the older women get up and twitch and shout, and utter strange words as they stomp around in the church. Lydia realises that Adrian has probably seen all he wants and she tries to think of some other way to keep his interest. After the service she asks, "Adrian, you obviously know a lot about Saint Paul. I wonder if you would like to give a short presentation about him at our Friday evening Youth Meeting. I'm sure the teenagers would be very interested."
At the Youth Meeting Adrian asks, "Where did Saint Paul's conversion take place ?" and all the youngsters know it was on the road to Damascus "Why was he going to Damascus ?" Someone says, "Because he had letters from the High Priest in Jerusalem to round up all the Christians in Damascus and bring them back to Jerusalem ." "Why did Saint Paul, who was still called Saul then, choose Damascus ?" and no-one answers, so Adrian continues, "I think Saint Paul was very curious about these new Christians. He had probably been in Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion and so had possibly seen Jesus, from a distance, and certainly heard about all the miracles. Also he had helped at the stoning of Stephen, although he had made sure he didn't actually take part . He had been taught by the famous teacher Gamaliel and so he had perhaps wanted to apply Gamaliel's 'if it be of God' test to this new sect. He needed to know more, but he dare not risk his reputation as a traditional, orthodox Jew by secretly meeting Saint Peter or one of the other apostles. Who secretly met Jesus to find out about him ?" Someone remembers Nicodemus . "Yes, but it was easier for Nicodemus because that was at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, but much more difficult for Saint Paul because the Christians were now being persecuted. I think Saint Paul choose to go to Damascus, which was about four day's travel away, because he would have at least four days on the way back to interrogate the Christians and get eyewitness accounts of Jesus. He could do this without any trouble for himself because they would be his prisoners. Clever, eh ? But then something unexpected happened on the road to Damascus." Everyone claps in appreciation.
After the Youth Meeting Lydia says, "Adrian, that was very good, and they all loved the quiz you presented afterwards - a really good way to help them remember the things you had explained to them. You seem to have a fresh view of Saint Paul."
"Well, I try to get away from the usual church one of a sort of superman being continually pushed by the Holy Spirit, and so being almost as holy as Jesus, but rather a real live person, beset with problems, trying to do his best."
"Trying his best to serve the Lord," suggests Lydia, "as everyone, including you, should do. Surely you know what the crowd asked at the day of Pentecost ?"
"Yes. They asked, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' ."
"And Saint Peter said, 'Repent, and be baptized' . Now you know what to do, Adrian."
" 'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian' ."
Lydia replies angrily, "I hate it when people quote the Bible to show how clever they are, without really meaning it, and I can tell that you don't mean it. To you church, and the Bible, is just something to study."
"Well, what is wrong with studying ? Saint Paul commended the people in Berea for studying."
"True, Adrian, but you have to be a doer of the Christian message, not just a hearer. ."
"Well, I believe in God," says Adrian, "and now I go to church, what more is there ?"
"Let me write down my 'phone number, perhaps you would like to come and talk sometime."
"Thanks for coming over, Adrian," says Lydia. "What did you think of church on Sunday ?"
"Not much," says Adrian. "The sermon was dreadful. Some ministers seem to have to find someone to attack whenever they speak, It is either modern youth, the unsaved, other pastors preaching prosperity, people of other faiths, the rest of the world, the rich or some other group of people. I particularly hate hearing ministers attacking intellectuals, like yours did on Sunday. I think they do it to cover up their own ignorance and feelings of insecurity, and to keep their congregation thinking they are superior. I totally reject the idea that discovery is worthless, and that knowledge can only come by inspiration. Do they read Hebrew, or Greek ? I suppose they reject Saint Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin , or John Wycliffe who used Saint Jerome's to make the first English translation ."
Lydia tries to change the subject. "Why did you choose to write a book about Saint Paul ?"
"Money," says Adrian, smiling, and when Lydia looks surprised he continues, "I was fortunate. I met a fairly rich man on a 'plane once and we got talking. Eventually we got round to the subject of the Bible, and I told him some of my ideas about Saint Paul. Later he contacted me. We had a very long discussion and in the end he gave me money to write a book."
"Just like that ?"
"Well, not quite, and since then we have met often and recently he told me why he wants the book, in his name of course. He wants to impress his parents by becoming famous, because his older brother has done so well. His brother owns a factory in Bangladesh which knits sweaters, and his factory supplies sweaters to most of the clothes shops in England. Also the man liked my ideas."
"I like your ideas too. What have you have been working on recently ?"
"Recently I've been researching about Saint Paul's health. He must have been quite a strong person because he tells us that he was beaten several times, survived three shipwrecks and he was once stoned and left for dead . So it intrigued me as to what his "thorn in the flesh" might be. I concluded that is must be poor eyesight, which he refers to in Galatians , and also when he writes with large handwriting . Perhaps he never fully recovered after being blinded for three days on the Damascus road ."
"But Ananias restored his sight," says Lydia.
"Only that he could see something . The 'scales' possibly damaged the outer surface of his eyes so that shapes always appeared distorted. Maybe he could only see 'men as trees walking' ."
Lydia says, "I'd like to read everything you have written so far. Can you e-mail it to me so that I can put it on my computer to read ?"
Some time later Adrian telephones. "Lydia, I am in rather a fix. I need somewhere to stay for the night, and I wonder if..."
Adrian comes by taxi and brings lots of things, a TV, a hi-fi, a computer and swivel chair, and boxes of books, clothes and food."
"What's all this ?"
"I can't move to my new flat until Saturday."
"Oh, so, actually, you want to stay here for three nights, and with all this stuff. Are you behind with your rent and running away ?"
"Please, Lydia."
"What about your rich friend, the one who wants the book ? Have you spent all the money he gave you, and so you can't ask for any more until the book is finished, and it isn't finished yet ? Well, I suppose I must, but you'll have to sleep on the sofa."
Later that night Lydia hears a timid knock on her bedroom door, "I can't sleep. May I come in ?"
"No, you can't," shouts Lydia. "You stay on the sofa or you and all your stuff will be on the street in the morning," and she locks her bedroom door.
On Saturday, as Adrian is packing all his things to leave, he gently asks Lydia, "Thanks so much for letting me stay, but actually I need some money to pay in advance for my new flat. I'll soon be able to pay...."
"No, no, no !" she shouts. "Just get out of my flat and get out of my life. And find another church."
A few days later Adrian telephones Lydia again. "What do you want now ?" she asks angrily.
"Lydia, someone has stolen my computer and I have lost all that I wrote about Saint Paul."
"Good, it serves you right."
"But, Lydia, do you still have the copy I e-mailed to you ? Is it safe on your computer ? Did you read any of it ?"
"I haven't read it, and I'm going to delete it."
"Oh, Lydia, please don't. Please."
After a moment Lydia says, "There. My computer is saying, 'Are you sure you want to delete Saint Paul ?' and I am clicking on the 'Yes' button, there it goes, all gone. Ha !"
"Lydia, Lydia, you don't know what you have done. That's nearly a year's work. Oh Lydia," Adrian cries.
That night Lydia can't sleep. "What have I done ? What he told us at the Youth Night was very good, so I have deleted so much good writing about Saint Paul. How could I do such a stupid thing ? Oh, Lord, I'm sorry, really sorry. The book was for Your glory. Please tell me what I can do."
She eventually gets to sleep and in the morning wakes up thinking, "I know, I can ask the I.T. man at work to rescue it."
Lydia and the I.T. man go to her flat in the lunch break. He says, "luckily you didn't use the computer after you made the deletion, or it may have been overwritten. There, all recovered."
"Oh, thanks," and Lydia gives him a hug.
In the evening Lydia starts to read Adrian's 'Life of Saint Paul'. She reads about Saint Paul's letters. All the letters, except the Epistle to Romans, were written to congregations that Saint Paul knew, and indeed he reprimands some of them . He can do this because he knows that the person who will read the letter to the congregation, because most Christians were from the uneducated poor and slave classes, knows how Saint Paul preaches, and so can read the letter as Saint Paul would speak. However Saint Paul had never met the congregation in Rome, and so had to be very careful how he wrote, to prevent any misunderstanding. He probably spent several weeks writing and re-writing the epistle, and so we have his masterly discourse to read today. She finds what Adrian has written is so fascinating that she soon rings Adrian and invites him over.
"Oh Lydia, thank you ever so much for saving all my work, you're an angel."
Lydia feels embarrassed and changes the subject. "Adrian, tell me how you did your research."
"Well, the first thing I did was to read the Book of Acts, because there is so much about Saint Paul in it, making notes of anything it said about Saint Paul. Next I had to read all his letters, looking for more clues, and then I put it all together. Well actually, as you have seen, I have been working on certain themes, such as Saint Paul's attitude to women."
"Oh, tell me," says Lydia.
"Well, Saint Paul was probably a member of the Sanhedrin, the powerful religious court in Jerusalem, and this would explain how he got arrest warrants from the High Priest , and how he was at the stoning of Stephen . However, to be a member of the Sanhedrin you had to be over 30 and married, as having children was thought to broaden one's experience and compassion."
"And Jesus was 30 when he started his ministry. Perhaps 30 is a significant age."
"Yes, Lydia, it probably is. Well, Saint Paul says he was a Pharisee, and the son of a Pharisee , so his orthodox Jewish father would have made sure his son married into a similar family. He was also a freeborn Roman citizen , so was almost certainly wealthy. Perhaps his father was a rich Jew who had seen the advantage of buying Roman citizenship."
"Yes, but what has this got to do with his attitude to women ?"
"Patience, please, Lydia. You remember that after Saint Paul's conversion he spent three years in Arabia . Even Jesus needed only forty days in the wilderness, so what was Saint Paul doing ? I believe he made several trips home to Antioch trying to convert his wife to Christianity, but that she could not accept it and the social stigma that then went with it. After three years he gave up, and he and his wife parted for the last time. She was almost certainly a wealthy Jewess, so able to support herself without needing Saint Paul, but either too proud or too traditional to follow Saint Paul and become a Christian. Later when Saint Paul saw that Saint Peter and the other apostles were able to take their wives with them on their missionary journeys , Saint Paul must have felt bitterness towards his own wife , and disillusioned with women in general. This may account for his rather dismissive attitude towards women, in spite of some women supporting him in his ministry , and his female companion Thecla that Eusebius mentions."
Lydia is silent for a while. "So, you aren't really interested in the Christian doctrine ?"
"Not really," admits Adrian. "I leave all that to good church people, like you."
"I'm not so good really," admits Lydia slowly. "I treated you very badly. I wanted to destroy all your work, the only copy in the world, and that was unforgivable, and yet you reacted so well. I'm really impressed. You didn't curse or shout. How could you be so calm about it all ?"
"That's a long story."
"Go on, I'm listening"
"Oh, okay, but I will have to go back several years. When I was at school we had to go to an army camp every year for a week's military training. We had the usual practice with rifles, map reading and so on, and there were also many short courses for us, but there was no choice. We went to a different camp each year, and one year when I was either at Aldershot or Kinmell Park near Rhyl in North Wales - I can't remember which, a captain called out, 'You, you and you, follow the sergeant,' and about eight of us ended up on a course for unarmed combat."
"So, you were 'volunteered'."
"Yes, that's right," laughs Adrian. "The sergeant was a very good instructor. It was not so many years after the war and there were still a lot of soldiers around who had gained experience during the war. He had been an instructor in unarmed combat, and he was good, very good. He showed us how, if we were attacked from behind, which had been a favourite trick of the Japanese, we could turn it to our advantage, and kill our attacker."
"But you need a weapon to kill, don't you ?" asks Lydia.
"No, this was completely unarmed and so made no noise, and anyway you don't usually have time to use your knife, but one swift blow to the right place is all you need."
"Ugh."
"War is like that, I'm afraid. Well the sergeant loved instructing us and he made us practice a lot, and at the end of the course the captain came and asked us if we had enjoyed it. We all said yes, and then he told us, "Well you've had your fun, chaps, now, serious, serious, you must forget everything you learned here.'"
"Oh, did you ?"
"Well, I didn't think anymore about it, not it until several years later. Someone made me angry at work and I only just stopped myself in time. I really frightened the other person and I lost the job because of that. It made me realise that I hadn't forgotten, and nor could I. It's like riding a bicycle, even if you don't ride for many years, you never forget how to do it."
"I hope you will never use that on me," laughs Lydia.
"I think you'll be safe, but I realised that I had come close to killing someone, and I didn't want to spend the next ten years in prison for manslaughter, so I tried different ways of not getting angry, because it wasn't other people I was afraid of, it was myself. I developed various phrases like,"That sounds like something the army taught you."'it's only money,'
'un-requested advice is seen as criticism,'
'I can get another one,'
'it will all be forgotten in a year or two,'
'it's the same for everyone,'
'we are all happy brothers and sisters,'
'what's the worst that can happen ?'
'encourage people in what they want to do,'
'I'm just trying it on,'
'It's worse for other people,'
'getting ready for the next time,'
'today is for tomorrow,'
'when you're under attack, keep your head down.' "
"Yes, and it applies in many other situations," says Adrian. "Anyway, I think of these things automatically now. There is one which has been especially useful. This is where I pretend I am my own solicitor who would say something like,because this makes me unemotional about my situation, and several times this has given me a big advantage over people arguing with me. Many people have been impressed at how calm I remain."'my client wishes to point out such and such,'
"Like me," says Lydia. "Which one did you think of when I deleted all your work ?"
"I automatically thought,and this stopped me getting angry with you."'I will just have to do it all again',
"Amazing," says Lydia, and then she asks, "How did your computer get stolen ?"
"Well, I moved into my new flat in a hurry..."
"Yes, I remember," says Lydia laughing.
"And it was before the landlord had time to change the lock, so I think the previous tenant must have given his key to a thief. Now, Lydia, it's late, I'd better leave."
"Yes, and I'm going to read more about Saint Paul before I go to bed. See you at church on Sunday."
"Adrian," Lydia telephones, "you weren't at church on Sunday. Is anything wrong ?"
"No, nothing is wrong. You taught me about praying, worshipping and reading the Bible, and I can do all these things at home, so there is no need to go to church."
"Oh, yes there is. What about learning, studying, and listening to sermons ?"
"I can do all that at home, too. On T.V. the God Channel has many good sermons and Bible study sessions to choose from, so these days there is really no need for people to go to church."
Lydia has heard this argument many times, and feels that she is losing it, and Adrian.
Next day Adrian telephones, but Lydia is ready. "What about taking Communion ? I suppose you simply pour out some supermarket grape juice at home, and tell yourself that Jesus meant this when He took the Last Supper with His disciples."
"Well, I admit that I have to go to church for Communion, and also I have to go to church when I need some Christian support...."
"You selfish pig," she shouts, and then repeats sarcastically, "'I have to go to church when I need some Christian support'. If everyone behaved like you, no-one would be at church and there would never be anyone to give any Christian support, as you call it. Do you think you are a Christian ? Well, you're not. You're only half a Christian."
"What do you mean ?"
"The other half of being a Christian is doing things for other people, 'The Law of Christ' as Saint Paul calls it, surely, as someone who is writing about Saint Paul, you must know that ?"
"Galatians chapter six verse two," says Adrian dryly. "To bear one another's burdens."
"And," continues Lydia, pleased that Adrian at least knows the verse, "you have to meet people at church to be of any use to them. And don't think that just because you are new to the church that you cannot be useful. You are clever and you know the scriptures, if only by word, so come to church and be prepared to help someone who asks you."
"Alright, Lydia, but not this Sunday."
"Why not ?"
"Because there is a lecture I want to attend. It's an open lecture about Saint Luke."
"An open lecture. What's that ?"
"It means that it is open for anyone to attend, and free. Actually, I was telephoning to see if you wanted to come with me. The lecture is by Professor Leibnitz , the man who recently discovered a very early Gospel of Saint Luke, so he may have some ideas about Saint Paul also."
Lydia thinks, "Church or Adrian. Which to choose ? Church or a lecture about Saint Luke ?" She pauses. "Adrian, I can't decide just now. I'll have let you know, but I think I ought to go to church."
"How was your lecture, Adrian ?"
"Very good. How was church ?"
"Oh, Adrian. Church has been wonderful recently. The Friday night prayer meeting was excellent. It made me feel on top of the world. Everything the pastor said seemed to resonate with my soul, and I wanted to shout, "Yes, yes, yes." All the time I felt there was a light and that all I wanted to do was to reach for the light. Nothing else mattered. I still had this feeling as I drove home. I was aware of my surroundings, so I was okay to drive, and yet I felt so wonderful."
"So I expect the next day was rather a let down, then ?"
"Not at all. Of course I had to work on Saturday, which is the busiest day for our salon. Normally I hate Saturdays because the customers are fussy and picky, and sometimes rude. But I didn't notice, or if I did notice these things they didn't bother me. I did my work well, some customers even complimented me, but all I could think of was wanting to get to the light. At church on Sunday I still had this feeling. The service went so well, and there were so many people there. Everyone seemed so wonderful, I could have kissed everyone. I spent the rest of Sunday lying on my bed thinking of getting to the light, and keeping the light in my life for ever. I didn't want to eat or answer the telephone, even when my friends rang, I just wanted the light, and to think about the light, and to be filled with the light."
"Oh, quite an experience, Lydia. Was the light like the one people say they see when they have an out-of-body experience, while they are briefly clinically dead ?"
"Yes, I think it must be the same. Now tell me about the lecture."
"Well, Professor Leibnitz told us why he had thought there must be an earlier Gospel of Saint Luke, and how he discovered it, and then there was some trouble at the end when he asked for questions."
"Not from you, I hope."
"No, of course not, Lydia. Remember, I was hoping to take you."
"Because it was free ?"
Adrian ignores this and explains what Professor Leibnitz said. "He said that Saint Paul must have known the stories of Jesus' miracles and wise sayings, but he never seems to mention them in the Book of Acts or in his letters , and yet people in the churches he founded must have wanted to know more about Jesus. After all, the other religions, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Babylonian etc all had some dealings between their gods and mortals, but with Christianity there were real people still alive who had seen and even touched the Christian god. Saint Paul had never met Jesus, so his knowledge of Jesus was second hand at best. He must have realised that there was an urgent need for a definitive first-hand written account about the life of Jesus, especially for new converts who lived too far away from Judea to meet anyone who had known Jesus. This must have become apparent on his first missionary journey, so that when he returned to Antioch in AD 48 he decided to do something about it. Saint Luke lived in Antioch , so Saint Paul asked Saint Luke to go to Judea and write down all he could find out about what Jesus had said and done. Professor Leibnitz thinks this may be what Saint Paul meant when he referred to 'my gospel' , meaning that he had commissioned it. However, I don't agree. I think these verses simply refer to the good news which Saint Paul believes and preaches. Saint Luke says that he investigated everything from the beginning, and emphasises that he was in time to get eye witness accounts for what he wrote. "
"AD 48 was only about 18 years after the resurrection, wasn't it ?"
"Yes, but even so, Saint Luke had to be quick to interview Mary while she was still alive, as she was about 65 years old by then , and she was the youngest person to remember what happened around the time of Jesus' birth . Joseph had already died , so Mary was the only one who remembered Zacharias in the temple, John being born to Elizabeth , Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, the shepherds, prophetess Anna at the temple, Jesus at the temple when he was twelve years old etc, which all appear in Saint Luke's gospel only. We have to thank Saint Luke for preserving Mary's Magnificat prayer , Simeon's prayer and Mary's feelings . Saint Luke must have also interviewed other apostles like Saint Peter. Saint Luke's research produced what Professor Leibnitz calls the rough-Luke gospel, although this is not an altogether new idea , and which Saint Paul used wherever he preached and founded churches. Actually your namesake might have been one of the first people to have read it."
"How's that ? I know Lydia was a seller of purple in Philippi ."
"Well, Saint Luke joined Saint Paul in Troas and Lydia was the first recorded convert after that. This also makes her the first European Christian, although in those days Asia Minor and what we now call Europe were just parts of the same Roman Empire. Saint Luke seems to have stayed for at least six years in Philippi, possibly with Lydia."
"Perhaps he married her."
"I don't think so, as apparently he never married . He may have had so many requests for copies of his rough-Luke gospel that he stayed in Philippi for a long time to dictate them all, and then sent these to other churches round about. Since he had met so many people who had known Jesus he was probably much in demand as a speaker anyway. After all, Saint Luke had probably become the most knowledgeable person about Jesus, after the original apostles like Saint Peter."
"Interesting. But I always thought Saint Mark's was the first gospel to be written, not Saint Luke's," says Lydia.
"Well, yes. Many scholars think that of the three synoptic gospels, Saint Mark's was the first to be written."
"I've heard the phrase 'synoptic gospels' before. What does it mean ?"
"The word synoptic comes from two Greek words meaning 'alike seeing', and it is used to describe the gospels of Saints Matthew, Mark and Luke, because they are all biographies, detailing Jesus' ministry, sermons and miracles and so on. However Saint John's gospel is from a different viewpoint, as it concentrates much more on the thoughts and mission of Jesus. Anyway, many scholars think that Saint Mark's gospel was written soon after AD 70, because of Mark 13:1-2, that Saint Matthew wrote his later, in about AD 80, and that Saint Luke wrote his gospel in about AD 85, certainly after AD 70 because of Luke 21:5-6 and 19: 41-44. Saint John's gospel was written last of all, possibly to stabilise doctrine in the face of growing heresies."
"AD 70 was when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, wasn't it ?"
"Yes," says Adrian. "The Roman general Titus, who was the son of the emperor at the time, Vespasian, destroyed Jerusalem after one of the worst sieges in history, and all the remaining Jews had to leave Jerusalem, rather like when they went captive to Babylon. So this Diaspora, dispersion of the Jews, was a momentous event in their history. Anyway, in AD 85 Mary would have been over one hundred years old, so Saint Luke must have interviewed her well before then. Professor Leibnitz thinks that Saint Luke published what the professor calls the rough-Luke gospel in AD 51, and that Saint Luke later re-published his gospel in the polished form that we have today in about AD 75. Saint Luke needed to revise his biography of Jesus with a slightly different perspective as several things had changed."
"What had changed ? Not Jesus' sayings and miracles ?"
"No, but several other things. Jerusalem, the holy city of the Jews, had been destroyed, and this needed some sort of explanation as to why God would allow this. And the Jews, God's chosen people, had been scattered, and now also there were Christians spread throughout the Roman Empire. Saint Luke's original rough-Luke gospel had been intended for converts to Christianity from Judaism, but now he needed to write for gentile converts from pagan religions, who had no knowledge of Jewish traditions like the moral code of the ten commandments, but without antagonising the emperor-worshipping Romans. Also Jesus had not returned - many expected to see the Second Coming in their lifetime , and finally the Romans had killed Saint Paul, Christianity's greatest missionary. Also perhaps Saint Luke used this opportunity to incorporate corrections and additions from other sources , particularly the long account of the week before the crucifixion ."
"So rather a lot had changed," says Lydia.
"Yes, and unfortunately there is the danger that the process of re-writing to produce a polished version loses some of the original spontaneity. You can see this by comparing Luke 4:1 and Matthew 4:1 which say that Jesus was LED by the Spirit into the wilderness, whereas Mark 1:12 says the Spirit DRIVETH him into the wilderness. Unfortunately there is no mention in John. Professor Leibnitz says that Saint Luke tried to make sure that all the copies of the rough-Luke gospel were destroyed. Many scholars think that there was an early source, which they call Quelle , which in German means 'the source' or perhaps 'the unknown source', which Saint Mark used. Later Saint Matthew and Saint Luke either used Saint Mark's gospel and/or the Quelle source for their gospels."
"When was the Quelle source written," asks Lydia.
"Well, apparently scholars have dated the Quelle source, linguistically at least, to AD 40-50 ."
"Oh, that fits in well with Saint Luke doing his interviews in AD 48. So, I suppose Professor Leibnitz thinks the rough-Luke gospel and the Quelle source are the same."
"Yes, and that explains the difference in style between Saint Luke's gospel and the Book of Acts."
"Although they were both written to the same person, Theophilus ."
"That's right, Lydia. Theophilus in Greek literally means 'God-worshipper' and shows that Saint Luke was writing for a gentile readership." says Adrian. "Professor Leibnitz suggested that Saint Luke's reverential attitude to Theophilus might mean he was addressing the person who commissioned the work, Saint Paul himself. Also that the 'certainty of the things you have been taught' refers to Saint Paul's personal need for the truth of all that he had learned from others."
"Theophilus was Saint Paul ? Well, that's an original idea."
"Yes, and rather far fetched I think, although apparently some prominent early Christian leaders might have thought so. Anyway, most scholars agree that the idea of Saint Luke's gospel and the Book of Acts being written by the same person goes back a long way . Professor Leibnitz observed that both books end on a positive note, with the church growing and the gospel being preached without problems. He also noted that Saint Luke's gospel starts by mentioning Rome, with the taxation by Caesar, which was why Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem when Jesus was born. The action then moves to Galilee , through Samaria and Judea , and ends in Jerusalem with the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Whereas the Book of Acts continues from the Resurrection with another birth, that of the early Christian church in Jerusalem , then moves in the opposite direction, to Judea and Samaria , and ends with Saint Paul in Rome ."
"A sort of cycle centred on the Resurrection,
"Yes, and this plan helps support the idea that Saint Luke intended to write the rough-Luke gospel and follow it with the continuing story of the growing Christian church - the Book of Acts."
"But why beginning and ending in Rome ?" asks Lydia.
"Well, the early Christians, and indeed the Jews, had to be careful to show respect for Rome, the superpower of the day, although of course neither would ever worship a Roman emperor."
"In spite of the state religion proclaiming the Roman emperor as one of the Roman gods," says Lydia.
"Yes, and Professor Leibnitz gave an interesting additional reason to support the idea of Saint Luke's gospel and the Book of Acts being written by the same person."
"What's that ?" asks Lydia.
"Well, you'll be interested that it is Saint Luke's attitude to women, which is quite different to Saint Paul's. Women had a very low position in Jewish society, as evidenced by orthodox Jewish men having to offer thanks daily that they had not been 'born a gentile, a slave or a woman' . Saint Luke's gospel features more female characters and with more emphasis on the role of women in Christ's ministry than the other gospels. He devotes significantly more attention to women, and widows in particular. Saint Luke is more sympathetic to the oppressed and downtrodden, as the impoverished are generally praised, while the wealthy are criticised. Saint Luke tells his birth narrative of Christ from Mary's point of view , although this might simply show his professional interest as a physician, which might also explain why there are so many more references to healing in Saint Luke's gospel. Saint Luke writes of Elizabeth, of the prophetess Anna , of the widow at Nain , and of the woman who anointed Jesus' feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee . Saint Luke gives us details of Martha and Mary, and Mary Magdalene. Apparently some scholars have suggested that linguistic differences show that Saint Luke obtained some of his material from another writer. However Professor Leibnitz defended Saint Luke's authorship by suggesting that Saint Luke interviewed people like Mary in their Aramaic language, which he recorded, and when he later translated it into Greek he preserved the Aramaic style."
"To make it sound more authentic, I suppose," suggests Lydia.
"Probably, and this must be why Saint Luke seems to go out of his way to get details of the women involved in the various incidents he describes. Clearly the story in the Book of Acts of Saint Peter and the serving maid, Rhoda , must have been an eye witness account, probably Rhoda's, and Saint Luke seems to enjoy including her name. Similarly the story of Ananias and Sapphira , rather than of Ananias and his wife, may indicate that Saint Luke felt sorry for the lady who died because she obeyed her husband. The detail , suggests that this is another eye witness account."
"How fascinating," says Lydia.
"It is. Professor Leibnitz then went on to point out that the Book of Acts is more like a collection of incidents, stories, sermons etc kept in order, like someone's journal, and so different in style to Saint Luke's gospel in the Bible. The gospel of Saint Luke that we have in the Bible is a very polished biography with a consistent style, as if the author had revised it many times, and this is why Professor Leibnitz calls it the polished-Luke gospel. Also he thinks that Saint Luke may have been planning to write a polished version of Acts, but, perhaps fortunately for us, he never completed it. Most scholars think that the Book of Acts was written in about AD 62, because there is no more detail about Saint Paul, nor reference to his letters, and so, when Acts 1:1 refers to the 'former treatise', it must refer to a version of Saint Luke's Gospel that existed before AD 62, which Professor Leibnitz calls the rough-Luke gospel."
"And that's what he found ?"
"Yes, Professor Leibnitz hoped that a copy of the rough-Luke gospel might still exist somewhere and he spent many years searching in the Middle East. One day he heard of an antiquities dealer in Beirut who had something interesting. He went to Lebanon and bought this scroll. The scroll was in rather a fragile condition but he was able to read it and make notes before he left Lebanon. He kept the scroll in a vacuum flask to preserve it in the dry atmosphere of the Middle East, and brought it back to England. He took it to Oxford, to a laboratory that specialises in reading very old manuscripts, and opened the vacuum flask in front of several people who were experts in restoring ancient manuscripts. To everyone's horror there was only powder and very small pieces of parchment in the flask. The powder was carbon-14 dated to around AD 60 but nothing could be read from the fragments. Naturally there was great disappointment. It is assumed that during the aeroplane flight the reduced cabin pressure forced open the vacuum flask and that the air trapped in the leather of the manuscript suddenly expanded and shattered the leather into dust. Most fortunately Professor Leibnitz had made notes in Lebanon, which he later published as the rough-Luke gospel."
"What does it contain ?"
"Well, there is much that is in the polished-Luke gospel of course, but no references to the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, and one previously unknown miracle and a new parable."
"Oh, tell me," begs Lydia.
"The miracle of the balance tells how Jesus and his disciples were in a market one day. A poor woman wanted to buy some flour and she was begging the merchant to let her have more. The merchant asked Jesus, 'Rabbi, tell me what I should do ?' The eager scribes gathered round. 'My balance is fair,' the merchant continued, 'and the price is right. Should I give more to this woman because she is poor, or should I keep to the price set by the law ?' Jesus touched the balance as if examining it, and it moved, indicating that the pan needed more flour. The surprised merchant added more. Jesus touched the balance again, and again the merchant had to add more flour This happened several times until the pan was completely full, and Jesus told the woman to take her flour. 'You have done the right thing,' Jesus told the merchant."
"Oh, that is a nice miracle," says Lydia. "What is the new parable ?"
"Well, poor people always carried a basket wherever they went in case they found something, firewood for instance, that might be useful. You remember that after the feeding of the five thousand they collected twelve baskets' full of left-overs, and that is how the baskets happened to be there. Well, Jesus told the story of a man who collected everything he found, so that his house was full of things that might be useful. One day he was ill, and he had to ask his friend, who was a judge, to come and help him. He didn't like to bother his friend the judge, because he knew he was so busy, but this was an emergency. When the judge came, he could hardly get through the door because there was so much stuff in the house. The judge asked about all the things, and told the man that it was all this stuff that was making him ill, and that he would only get better if he shared everything with all the people who lived near him."
"It sounds rather like a 'Mr. Men' story , but I think I see who the judge is meant to be," says Lydia. "Was that the end of the lecture ?"
"Yes, and then Professor Leibnitz asked for questions. I wanted to ask if he had any ideas about the dating of the Book of Acts, but then a man disrupted the meeting, by shouting that Professor Leibnitz was a fraud, and handing out leaflets to everyone. The Professor's secretary said this often happened at his lectures and asked me to leave my telephone number. Then I came home."
Lydia glances at her watch, "Oh, no, look at the time ! I must go. See you tomorrow."
"Hello, Adrian," says Lydia. "Can I see the leaflet that you got from the man who caused the disturbance at the lecture ?"
"Yes, here it is. The man seems to be a newspaper reporter. It says he was doubtful about Professor Leibnitz' story and tried to do an experiment to prove or disprove it. He went to Lebanon and bought an old manuscript. He kept it in a vacuum flask and flew back to England with it. He arranged to open the flask in the same Oxford laboratory that Professor Leibnitz had used, but on the night before, two men burst into his hotel room. One of them held him at gunpoint while the other looked for the flask, then opened it and crushed the manuscript, which was still intact, to powder. The newspaper man accuses Professor Leibnitz of arranging this to prevent his own story being disproved."
"The lengths some people will go to for their reputation," says Lydia.
"And that's not all. The newspaper reporter's leaflet says that critics of Professor Leibnitz think he wrote the rough-Luke gospel himself, so that he can either be famous for discovering it, or famous for being so knowledgeable about the gospel of Saint Luke that he was able fool all the experts. They think he went to Lebanon, bought some AD 60 manuscript, crushed it himself and put in the vacuum flask to show at Oxford. When challenged, Professor Leibnitz says he cannot find the antiquities dealer to prove his story because of the intensifying civil war in Lebanon. Recently a student has criticised Professor Leibnitz because the rough-Luke gospel includes Luke 22:43-44 and 23:34, although of course the original was not separated into chapters and verses, or even sentences, as there was no punctuation in those days."
"I've often wondered who divided the Bible into chapters and verses," says Lydia.
"Oh, well," says Adrian, "it was Stephen Langton, who was Archbishop of Canterbury, who divided the Bible into chapters , and John Wycliffe who used these in the first Bible in English . Nathan, a Jewish rabbi, divided the Hebrew Old Testament into verses and Robert Estienne, also known as Stephanus, divided the New Testament into verses . The Geneva Bible used these chapter and verse divisions, and so have nearly all versions of the Bible since, including William Tyndale's, which was the forerunner of the famous King James' Version ."
"You really are quite an expert, Adrian."
"Maybe. Anyway, some early polished-Luke gospel manuscripts do not include Luke 22:43-44 and 23:34 . It is most unlikely that the rough-Luke gospel had these verses, which were then omitted in first editions of the polished-Luke gospel, and then re-inserted in later editions of the polished-Luke gospel. There was no printing in those days of course, and copies of books were made by someone reading to a group of scribes who each wrote a copy. When verses were inserted in later versions it may be because a scribe knew his master would be interested in a particular point, and so asked the person doing the dictation for clarification. The scribe inserted the clarification, perhaps in the margin, which then got copied when copies were made from that version. Professor Leibnitz explains the omission of these verses by saying that when he found the manuscript in Lebanon he was copying in a hurry, and when he recognised a section of verses he didn't bother to write each verse, he simply made a note 'same as the polished-Luke gospel in the Bible'. His critics are amazed that someone who must know the polished-Luke gospel in ancient Greek word perfect, and is holding the earliest known version in his hands, would read it so quickly and not spot such omissions."
"Yes, it does sound a bit suspicious," says Lydia.
"Professor Leibnitz' secretary telephoned me. She wants to visit me tomorrow. She probably knows more. Do you want to meet her ?"
"No, sorry, I will be at church choir practice, but tell me what she has to say when I see you next."
"Adrian ? I am Venetia, Professor Leibnitz' secretary. We met briefly after his lecture."
"Yes, please come in," says Adrian.
"But I'm afraid Professor Leibnitz does not have any special ideas about the dating of the Book of Acts." They chat and eventually discover that they both know the same beach in Norfolk.
"I haven't been there since I was a child," says Venetia. "Do you think we could go there, before I have to return to the United States with Professor Leibnitz ?" and they plan a beach trip.
At the beach they sit on the sand and have a picnic. "Why is hardly anyone here ?" asks Venetia. "It was always a popular beach when I was small."
"It is mid-week and the schools haven't finished for the Summer holidays yet," says Adrian. Venetia says she wants to swim. After her swim she walks back to where they were sitting, holding her swimsuit in her hand. "I had a good swim. I was hoping you might join me. There was no one around so I swam with nothing on."
"So I see," says Adrian.
"What do you think ?" asks Venetia, kneeling in front of Adrian. Adrian looks at her and then she sits down beside him. "Kiss me," she whispers.
Adrian hands her a towel, saying, "Dry yourself and put some clothes on."
"Men," she says angrily as she gets up. "You spend most of your time keeping them away, and when you want one, they are not interested."
When Venetia is dressed she asks, "How old do you think I am ?"
"Early thirties," says Adrian sleepily.
"I shall be forty in a few months."
"Really ? They say life begins at forty," says Adrian.
"Yes, I know, but I wonder why people say that ? Is it just a comforting phrase ?"
"No, I think it might be true, because of how people feel about what other people think about them. When people are twenty they feel that other people think that they are similar to many others, perhaps because they are all engineering students for example. This makes twenty year olds think of themselves as pigeon-holed with lots of others, and so be compared with all these other people."
"So twenty year olds feel that they are continually being compared with everyone else in their group of twenty year olds."
"Yes, and so they feel that they must all behave in the same way, because no-one wants to be thought of as different or unusual. However, when they get to thirty, they have then done so many different things that there are now fewer people like them in their pigeon hole."
"Ah," says Venetia, "and so at thirty they feel there are fewer people for them to be compared with."
"Yes, and at forty they find they are now so different that they each have a pigeon hole all to themselves."
"And so they cannot be compared with anyone, and so they feel they are free to do whatever they like. So life really does begin at forty. Excellent. Thank you, Adrian."
Adrian pretends to be playing with some sand and says, "You obviously want me for something."
"Yes," says Venetia slowly. "I want your book about Saint Paul to somehow expose Professor Leibnitz as a fraud."
"But you work for him. You are his secretary and researcher. What are you doing ?"
"I am fed up with him. Apparently when he was a student in Germany he was very popular, as well as being extremely clever. Then he came to Oxford to study, and that is where he specialised in Saint Luke's gospel, and when he made his so-called discovery. I thought I was very lucky to get the job of his researcher and secretary, especially when he became famous and he was appointed professor of New Testament studies at that prestigious American university, with lecture tours, honorary degrees and so on. But now he is quite a horrible person to work with, and also I am fed up with living in the United States. I want to come back to England. I don't like America, and I certainly hate its arrogant and hypocritical attitude to the rest of the world. Nor do I like the people much either. Almost all American people never use their brains. They never have any ideas of their own, they just repeat what they hear, like sponges soaking up what is on T.V."
"That may be true," says Adrian, "but it is hardly a reason to harm the professor's reputation."
"Oh, but there's more, much more. You remember the newspaper man at the lecture, don't you ? Well I telephoned him and asked him about the night when the two men burst into his hotel room. He told me something that he didn't tell the police. He said both men spoke in German and the man with the gun called the other man 'Flozzie'. Well, at a party once I met Professor Leibnitz' brother, who does not speak English, and he called his brother by a sort of family nickname - Flozzie."
"What ? So it was Professor Leibnitz himself, and his brother, who crushed the newspaper man's scroll."
"I'm sure of it. And also I hate all the politics of the academic world, as well as that fake German accent he puts on when he lectures - his English is really as good as yours or mine. But what particularly annoys me is the way he always takes all the credit for the research I do for him, unless perhaps he considers my reward is the honour of his lustful advances. Professor Leibnitz collects anything to do with Saint Luke's gospel, copies of course, he doesn't need the originals. I read ancient Greek, as I'm sure you do, and I did some research recently, all on my own, and it was quite exciting. You know that the old parchments were so precious that people often wrote on them again, perhaps upside down between the lines. Well, I found some photos of an old manuscript that had widely spaced lines of small writing. I wondered if this was second usage writing and that the original writing had faded away. I got a friend to do some digital enhancing of the photos and, sure enough, there were signs of some older, larger writing there also. I contacted the library who owns the manuscript and asked them to send it to a laboratory that would be able to make the original writing visible, and I got photos showing both sets of writing."
"So you read and translated the original, and now you want to publish these results ?"
"Yes, but Professor Leibnitz must have seen the photos on my desk and copied them, because a few days later I saw one of his e-mails about getting them published in the 'Journal of Biblical Literature' , and in his name."
"So much for friendly rivalry in the pursuit of knowledge," says Adrian.
"It's a cut throat world of 'publish or perish', and the only thing that counts is the number of papers you get published - in the correct periodicals of course."
"And after someone becomes famous, I suppose they have to spend the rest of their life doing 'Publish to Protect' to defend whatever it was that made them famous."
"Exactly," says Venetia, "and that's why I need to find someone who can put these photos on the Internet."
"Why on the Internet ?" asks Adrian.
"Because it's the only way to beat Professor Leibnitz. I can publish the written results as a 'letter' in the next issue, and refer to the photos on the Internet. Professor Leibnitz wants to publish a full-blown paper, including the photos, but that takes time because the periodical has to contact referees, so it will not be in the next issue, but probably the one after that."
"Ah, so you will get published a month before him."
"It's a quarterly actually. But I need someone to put the photos on the Internet, and soon."
"My friend knows an I.T. man who can probably help."
"Lydia," Adrian telephones, "Venetia needs someone to help her publish something on the Internet. Can your I.T. man at work help her ?"
"Hang on, Adrian. Who is this Venetia ?"
"Sorry, she is Professor Leibnitz' secretary and she needs to get some photos published on the Internet quickly."
"Oh, so you must have had a good meeting when she visited."
"Well, actually she told me about this at the beach."
"At the beach ? Did you two go to the beach ? You have never taken me to the beach. What's going on ? I suppose you went swimming together."
"Not me. She had a swim, though. She likes swimming with nothing on..."
"Oh really ? And I can guess the rest."
"No, Lydia, nothing happened. Surely you are not jealous, are you ?"
"Me ? Jealous ? Of course not. You have to be in love with someone to be jealous, and I am definitely not in love with you, Adrian. Good night."
"Adrian," Lydia telephones. "I want to meet your friend, Veni what's-her-name."
"Venetia. Well, she has to go back to the United States in a few days, so perhaps you can introduce her to your I.T. man at work, and he can help her with the photos."
"What are the photos of ? Her swimming with nothing on, I suppose."
"No, Lydia," says Adrian, trying not to laugh, "photos of an old manuscript actually, for a paper she wants to publish."
"Oh, really ? Okay then. Presumably it's not the real rough-Luke gospel. Adrian, I had an idea. You told me that Professor Leibnitz said Saint Luke destroyed all copies of the rough-Luke gospel, apart from the one Professor Leibnitz miraculously discovered of course."
"Yes."
"Well, Professor Leibnitz says he relied on antiquities dealers to find the scroll for him, but surely a better way would be to trace the journey Saint Luke must have made when he took the polished-Luke gospel to replace copies of the rough-Luke gospel, like Aladdin's uncle and his 'New lamps for old'."
"Lydia, you're a genius ! Of course. Manuscripts were so precious in those days that Saint Luke probably knew exactly where each copy was. And what's more, there is a section in the Jewish law book, the Talmud , that says that any writing containing the name of God, Yahweh or Jehovah etc, must not be thrown away when it is worn out, but has to be stored in a special place in the synagogue called a genizah. Many early Christians were converts from Judaism and would know this, so Saint Luke would not have been allowed to destroy copies of his rough-Luke gospel, but they would have been stored in the local genizah. This may explain how the Nag Hammadi texts and the Dead Sea scrolls have been preserved. That way is much more likely to turn up a copy of the rough-Luke gospel, and I think I know how Venetia can help us, in return for doing her photos."
"No problem, Adrian," says Venetia. "I have catalogued hundreds of scrolls and fragments about Saint Luke for Professor Leibnitz, and I remember one called 'Luke's Journal', although most people think it is a fake and of not much importance anyway. I seem to remember that it is very incomplete, and in particular does not cover Saint Luke's time with Saint Paul, but if it's going to be useful for your book, I'll certainly e-mail copies of the photos."
"Is Venetia back in the United States now, Adrian ?"
"Yes, Lydia, and she has sent me photos of 'Luke's Journal'. I think it is a genuine manuscript because we know from the Book of Acts, and in particular the shipwreck , that Saint Luke liked keeping a journal. I'm slowly going through it, tracing all the places he visited. I have already found a long journey Saint Luke made in the late 70's AD This could be his journey to replace all the copies of the rough-Luke gospel with his new polished-Luke gospel. I showed it to the rich man."
"Your patron. What does he think ?"
"He wants to meet you, to thank you for your 'New gospel for old' idea. He says that if I can find a copy of the real rough-Luke gospel it would be a be much bigger discovery than the Dead Sea scrolls, or the Nag Hammadi texts such as the Gospels of Thomas or Mary Magdalene. A diary account of Jesus' life and sayings, in the style of the Book of Acts, would be much earlier and fresher than any of the gospels we now have, and possibly be the world's most valuable book. This would undoubtedly be so different to Professor Leibnitz' fabrication that it would disgrace him as a fraud forever. All I need to do is to list all the places in Southern Europe and the Middle East that Saint Luke visited, check if any have monasteries that might contain an old library and get permission to visit. The rich man is so excited that he will pay for me to spend a year searching these monasteries and old libraries for the rough-Luke gospel, not to get hold of it but simply to photograph it and then translate it. If I don't find it, I simply go back to finishing the YALOP - the Yet Another Life Of Paul book."
"A year ? You'll be away for a whole year ?" asks Lydia, blinking hard to hold back the tears, "On your own ?"
"Oh, I almost forgot," says Adrian, smiling, "he said he will also pay for me to take a research assistant - if you are interested."
ASSUMED CHRONOLOGY
BC 18 Mary born BC 4 Bethlehem Jesus born 1-4 Tarsus Saul (Paul) born in Tarsus 30 Jerusalem Crucifixion 30 Jerusalem Pentecost 32 Jerusalem Saul witnesses Stephen's martyrdom 34 near Damascus Saint Paul’s conversion 34-36 Saint Paul in Arabia 41 Antioch Believers in Jesus first called Christians 45 Antioch Saul starts his 1st Missionary Journey and sees the need for a written record about Jesus. 45 Saint James' epistle written 48 Antioch Saul, now Saint Paul, returns to Antioch . Saint Luke is a Syrian of Antioch . Saint Paul asks Saint Luke to go to Judea, to interview everyone who knew Jesus, especially Mary, and write down everything he can find out about Jesus. 48 Saint Paul and Silas go to Jerusalem Saint Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch and stay a while 48 Antioch Saint Luke produces a series of notes, anecdotes, interviews, stories, similar to style of Acts - the rough-Luke gospel 49 Antioch Galatians epistle written 49 Emperor Claudius expels the Jews from Rome because of trouble with one 'Chrestus' 49 Antioch Saint Paul starts his 2nd Missionary Journey 51 Troas Saint Luke joins Saint Paul at Troas, and gives his rough-Luke gospel to Saint Paul 51 Philippi Saints Luke and Paul go to Philippi. The first European convert is Lydia . Saint Luke stays in Philippi. 52 Corinth 1 Thessalonians epistle written 53 Corinth 2 Thessalonians epistle written 53 Antioch Saint Paul ends his 2nd Missionary Journey 53 Antioch Saint Paul starts his 3rd Missionary Journey 54 Philippians epistle written 54 Rome Emperor Nero allows the Jews back to Rome 55 Ephesus 1 Corinthians epistle written 57 Macedonia 2 Corinthians epistle written 58 Corinth Saint Paul writes his epistles to Romans and Galatians from Corinth, He leaves Corinth and picks up Saint Luke in Philippi. They both go to Troas. Eutychus. Ephesus sermon 58 Jerusalem Saints Paul and Luke go to Tyre, Jerusalem 59 Jerusalem Saint Paul ends 3rd Missionary Journey 59 Jerusalem Saint Paul is arrested 60 Caesarea Saint Paul before Agrippa - "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" 61 Rome Saint Paul arrives in Rome 61 Rome Colossians epistle written 61 Rome Philemon epistle written 61 Rome General epistle to Ephesians written 62 Rome Acts written by Saint Luke 63 Rome Philippians epistle written 63 Jerusalem Saint James, the brother of Jesus, martyred 64 Rome 1 Peter epistle written 64 Rome Saint Paul is released 64 Saint Paul travels to Crete, Miletus, Colosse, Ephesus 64 Rome Great fire of Rome. Emperor Nero persecutes Christians 64 Ephesus Titus epistle written 64 Saint Paul travels to Troas, Macedon, Corinth 64 Corinth 1 Timothy epistle written 65 Nicapolis Saint Paul arrested 65 Rome Saint Paul imprisoned 65 Rome Hebrews epistle written 65 Rome 2 Timothy epistle written. Saint Paul possibly knew he had only days left to live so he wrote his last message to his beloved Timothy. 65 Rome Saint Paul martyred 67 Rome 2 Peter epistle written 67 Rome Saint Peter martyred 65-80s Saint Jude's epistle written 66-69 Apostle John exiled to the island of Patmos 70 Jerusalem General Titus destroys Jerusalem and the Temple 72 Rome Saint Mark's gospel to the gentiles written 75 Ephesus Saint Luke revises his rough-Luke gospel as his polished-Luke gospel. 75 Saint Luke tracks down all copies of his rough-Luke gospel and replaces them with the polished-Luke gospel. 80 Saint Matthew's gospel to the scattered Jews written 85 Ephesus Saint John's gospel written 86-87 Ephesus 1,2,3 John epistles written 95 Patmos Saint John's Book of Revelation written
CRITICISM
It is unlikely that when Saint Paul referred to 'my gospel' he meant that he had commissioned it.
The Theophilus - Saint Paul suggestion.
The imprecise chronology from the Resurrection to the start of Saint Paul's first missionary journey.
CONTENTS
Saint Paul's Damascus motive
Saint Paul's thorn in the flesh
Saint Paul's attitude to women
Keeping calm
Half a Christian
Church was wonderful
Saint Paul asks Saint Luke to write
Saint Luke's interviews
Saint Luke writes rough-Luke gospel
Synoptic gospels
Jerusalem sacked AD 70
Theophilus
Saint Luke attitude to women
Saint Luke's gospel and the Book of Acts
New miracle and a new parable
Division of the Bible into chapters and verses
Life begins at forty
Journal of Biblical Literature
Old manuscripts in synagogue
Chronology
Criticism
[(c) Martin, Saint Paul ideas 1972 Jan 16, Saint Luke idea 1982 Oct 31, story 2006 June 28 , 11612 words, revision 090104 ]
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