Review: In the Footsteps of Paul

I received “In the Footsteps of Paul” by Ken Duncan through Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Bloggers program. With this book I was glad that Thomas Nelson only requires a two hundred word review. The book is mostly a picture book with verses from the Bible, statements from other author and the occasional comment by the author mixed in. I am finding it difficult to know what to say. With many of the pictures, Ken Duncan reveals himself to be a talented photographer with an eye for beauty, but I also had the sense that I had seen these pictures before. As I flipped through the book, I kept noticing how similar many of the pictures were to some of the pictures I’ve seen in Bible dictionaries and Bible encyclopedias. So the pictures are a kind of mix between photos of the areas Paul visited and religious stuff. I don’t care much for religious stuff.

The Bible quotes appear to be direct quotes, though I didn’t verify each one. The authors with quotes in the book are respected individuals. As for the rest of the text, this is not a scholarly work, but rather a travel journal containing the author’s opinions. This is made most clear on page 117. Speaking of the vow mentioned in Acts 18, the writer says, “perhaps the fulfillment of the vow at Cenchrea partly explains his apparent eagerness to get to Jerusalem, so that he could offer sacrifices.” I don’t know who the editor was at Thomas Nelson, but he let one slip through. The veil was torn in two when Jesus died. Hebrews 10 tells us that Jesus, our High Priest, sat down after he completed his sacrifice. The need for sacrifice ended at Calvary. Making it an incorrect guess on the part of the author that Paul might have been headed toward Jerusalem for that purpose.

Then there’s the thing that makes me glad I didn’t purchase the book. On the back cover, on the barcode sticker are three words, “Printed in China.” Let me understand this. The Chinese are persecuting Christians, but we turn around and pay them to print Christian books? Where is the logic in that?