Here is the companion volume to Encounters with Jesus which I think you will enjoy and is a perfect little Valentine’s gift. Here’s the description on Amazon….
“As a New Testament character of note, the Apostle Paul is second only to Jesus. In this companion volume to Encounters with Jesus, Ben and Ann Witherington draw on the biblical text and deep knowledge of historical context to bring alive the reactions of several contemporaries to the famous apostle and his words and deeds. Here we hear from friends and companions as well as passing acquaintances and outright enemies of Paul. Including many photos and illustrations, this book helps us to see Paul from many vivid points of view that all up add to a compelling and revealing portrait.”
And here are two reviews….
“In Encounters with Paul, Ben and Ann Witherington bring Paul–and his varied and widespread web of connections–to life in this imaginative, yet well-informed, collection of ‘reminiscences’ of Paul and his impact as told by friends, rivals, proteges, and partners. This is a winsome and accessible entry point into the social networks and ministry of the apostle.”
–David A. deSilva, trustees’ distinguished professor of New Testament and Greek, Ashland Theological Seminary
“In Encounters with Paul, a sequel to Encounters with Jesus, my beloved friends Ben and Ann Witherington offer us valuable and enjoyable insights into the apostle Paul by creatively, yet responsibly, imagining what twenty-five individuals–ranging from Gamaliel to Phoebe to Nero to Luke–might have said regarding him had they been given the chance. A pleasurable read that engages and energizes one’s biblical, historical, and theological imagination, this is another worthwhile project from the Witheringtons!”
–Todd D. Still, dean and professor of Christian Scriptures, George W. Truett Theological Seminary
This is a perfect little book (130 pages) to introduce people to the sort of impressions Paul made on both friends and foes. Paul was a remarkable, formidable person in so many ways, and humanly speaking Christianity would not have turned out as it has without the mission and ministry of the apostle to the Gentiles. John Donne once said ‘wheresoever I open the letters of St. Paul, I hear thunder, a thunder that rolls throughout the earth’, but to understand that comment you need to not only read his letters, but think about him as a real historical person whose impact was not only like being thunderstruck, but like being pierces to the heart by theological and ethical lightning.
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