This book brings together a number of articles by the late Brother Tom Barling originally published in The Testimony magazine. The book is lovingly introduced by Reg Carr, who writes of Brother Barling’s “lasting legacy of Bible scholarship” of which this book is just part (p. 3).
The book follows the apostle Paul’s journey from Caesarea (chapter 1) to Rome (chapter 14), tracing each stage of the several voyages. Along the way the author notes various interesting details, whether about the Roman dependency on grain from Egypt, or the size and capacity of ancient vessels, or the occasion and ferocity of storms in the Mediterranean. The main purpose of the book is retell in the journey of Paul in its historical context, but there is subsidiary purpose of demonstrating that Luke’s account coheres with historical and geographical information. Once again we have evidence of the veracity of Acts and of Luke’s skill as documenter.
The book is well researched, drawing on both ancient and modern sources. The author considers with balance and care issues that have sometimes drawn confusion or even scepticism. Yet the book is neither dry nor dull. The author engages with the reader into the story of Paul’s journey and drops into his narrative comments about the character of Paul, Luke and others in the account. The short chapters make it an easy read and the book is aided by maps and photos printed on gloss pages in the centre of the book.
The book is accompanied by three appendices: firstly, Brother Barling’s account of his own journey across the Aegean (reprinted from The Christadelphian) and two short essays by Tony Benson and Ed Wright respectively. It is also worth noting the cover design, which, consistent with The Testimony’s recent covers, is well-judged and attractive.
The only minor criticism is that chapters sixteen to twenty-five are titled only “Supplementary study (x)”, which is uninformative and belies the interesting content of these essays. It might have been preferable to either edit these essays into the other chapters, or at least title them appropriately.
Review of “The Early Earth” by John Whitcomb (1972)