The Pauline Circle
Overview
The Pauline Circle Paul, writes F. F. Bruce, attracted friends around him as a magnet attracts iron filings. The New Testament evidence for Paul’s wide circle of friends is plentiful, both in Paul’s own writings and in the Book of Acts. In this book, Bruce, who is widely known as one of today’s foremost Pauline scholars, looks at several of Paul’s closest friends and associates as well as several of the countless co-workers, hosts, and hostesses he encountered in his life and ministry. Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Luke, Priscilla and Aquila, Onesimus, and Mark are among those discussed in terms of both their relationship to Paul and their relationship to the early church. Bruce surveys the biblical evidence for the stories of these people, placing it against its first-century background, and examining the relationships that underlie the New Testament references. The result, written in Bruce’s usual engaging and accessible style, is a fascinating look at the men and women who surrounded Paul and influenced the New Testament church.
Top Highlights
“who wrote without any dependence on Paul’s letters” (Pages 42–43)
“There are about seventy people mentioned by name in the New Testament of whom we should never have heard were it not for their association with Paul, and over and above these there is a host of unnamed friends.” (Page 9)
“Ananias proved himself a friend in need to Paul in Damascus, Barnabas performed the same service for him when he returned to Jerusalem as a believer.” (Page 15)
“Barnabas, in fact, is a man of whom nothing but good is reported. Luke sums up his character by saying, ‘he was a good man’” (Page 16)
“It would be rash to say that Luke did not know any of Paul’s letters,” (Page 43)
- Title: The Pauline Circle
- Author: F. F. Bruce
- Publisher: Kingsley Books
- Print Publication Date: 2017
- Logos Release Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Paul, the Apostle, Saint; Christian saints › Turkey--Tarsus--Biography; Tarsus (Turkey) › Biography
- ISBNs: 9781912149179, 1912149176
- Resource ID: LLS:PAULINECIRCLE
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:09:12Z
F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) was known worldwide as the "dean of evangelical scholarship"—a reputation earned by a lifetime of scholarship, teaching, and writing. Trained in classics at the University of Aberdeen and Cambridge University, he taught at the Universities of Edinburgh, Leeds, and Sheffield before serving for nearly twenty years as the Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester in England. During his distinguished career, he wrote many outstanding commentaries and books, including Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free; Israel and the Nations; New Testament History; The Books and the Parchments: How We Got Our English Bible; Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament; and The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? He also served as general editor of The New International Commentary on the New Testament.