Pauline and Other Studies in Early Christian History

Pauline and other Studies in Early Christian History by William Mitchell Ramsay (Illustrated) I. Shall We Hear Evidence Or Not?II. The Charm Of PaulIII. The Statesmanship Of PaulIV. Pagan Revivalism And The Persecutions Of The Early ChurchV. The Worship Of The Virgin Mary At EphesusVI. The Permanence Of Religion At Holy Places In Western AsiaVII. The Acts Of The ApostlesVIII. The Lawful AssemblyIX. The Olive-Tree And The Wild-OliveX. QuestionsXI. St. Paul's Road From Cilicia To IconiumXII The Authorship Of The ActsXIII. A Study Of St. Paul By Mr. Baring-GouldXIV. The Pauline ChronologyXV. Life In The Days Of St. Basil The Great**********************************************The life and the nature of one who has influenced human history so profoundly as St. Paul must be studied afresh by every successive age. His character is far too wide and all-embracing to be comprehended by the age in which he lives and on which he exercised his immediate influence. He is at once outside and inside it: he works on it both from without and from within. He has caught in some degree the eternal principles which sweep through all time, and express themselves in momentary, passing form in each successive age. Thus he transcends the limits of time and speaks to all ages; and his words will be differently understood in different ages, for every age finds that they respond to its peculiar questions. Hence every age must write afresh for itself — one might almost say, every man must write for himself — the life of St. Paul; and the words in which he strove to make his thoughts comprehensible to the raw converts, who needed to be trained in power of thinking as well as in the elementary principles of morality and conduct, must be rendered into the form which will be more easily understood in present circumstances. The attempts to do this must always be imperfect and inadequate, and yet they may make it easier to penetrate to the heart which beats in all his writings. But the aim of the historian should always be to induce the reader to study for himself the writings and work of St. Paul.In venturing to lay before the readers a study of that character, it is not necessary to claim, in justification of the attempt, peculiar qualifications or insight: it is a sufficient excuse, if one can claim to be putting the same questions that others are putting, and to be one among many students animated by a similar spirit and the same needs.In the case of St. Paul most readers are already familiar with the events of his life, with the original authorities on which every biographer and student must depend, and with some modern presentation of the facts. But opinion has varied much in recent years as regards the bearing of these facts, and the estimate which should be set on them as indications of the character and aims of the Apostle. Hence, in the present state of the subject, the most important feature of a new study of his career consists in the general interpretation which is to be placed on the facts, and in the spirit with which the work is undertaken; and it is advisable for the writer in the outset to make clear his general attitude towards the critical points on which the difference in opinion turns.The fascination of St. Paul's personality lies in his humanity. He is the most human of all the Apostles. Read more