THE EVIDENCE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL'S LIFE: From Top Persecutor of Christianity to Leading Missionary

In the 18th Century, when deists and atheists were quite popular among the elite, Lord Lyttleton and his friend Gilbert West (who were both convinced that Christianity was a farce) set out to disprove Christianity once and for all. West set out to unravel the case for the resurrection of Jesus and Lyttleton set out to show that Paul's conversion was for some reason other than having actually seen Jesus risen from the dead. When they met again, they had both come to the conclusion that Christianity was indeed true and published their findings in the works linked to below.

VIDEO SUMMARY OF LYTTLETON'S ARGUMENT

Here is a 30-minute video from my friend Erik Manning that summarizes Lyttleton's argument:

*"How Investigating Paul's Conversion Turned a Skeptic Into a Christian Apologist"

SUMMARY OF LORD LYTTLETON'S ARGUMENT FOR THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY FROM THE CONVERSION OF PAUL by Erik Manning

(about 7 pages published on his blog on September 19, 2019): 

*"The Power Of Paul’s Testimony: How Investigating Paul’s Conversion Turned A Skeptic Into A Christian Apologist"

SUMMARY OF LORD LYTTLETON'S ARGUMENT FOR THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY FROM THE CONVERSION OF PAUL by J.L. Campbell 

originally published in 1910 in volume 5 of the 12-volume collection of articles entitled The Fundamentals and edited by R.A. Torrey:

*"Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of Paul" (13 pages in the original printing) 

LORD LYTTLETON'S FULL ARGUMENT (126 pages): 

*Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul : in a Letter to Gilbert West, Esq (1754) by George Lyttleton. FREE at Internet Archive. 

*NOTE: Some day I would love to be able to find the time to update this argument (as solid as it is) because there is so much more that could be said.

THE CASE FOR THE RESURRECTION BY GILBERT WEST (Lyttleton's Friend referred to above)

*Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. FREE here.

Lord Lyttleton (1709-1773)
Public Domain Image

FREE ONLINE CLASS: A Study in Paul's Letter to the Philippians

Here are links to my class on Paul's letter to the Philippians, which I taught at Ligonier Christian Church between October 11, 2020 and December 2020:

VIDEO OF THE CLASS SESSIONS

*Week 1: Introduction and Background

*Week 2: Philippians 1:3-18

*Week 3: Philippians 1:19-30

*Week 4: Philippians 2:1-11

*Week 5: Philippians 2:12-18

*Week 6: Philippians 2:19-30

*Week 7: Philippians 3:1-11

*Week 8: Philippians 3:12-4:1

*Week 9: Philippians 4:2-9

*Week 10: Philippians 4:10-23

RESOURCES

FREE RESOURCES

Below are a few of my favorite classic commentaries on Philippians and they are FREE! (in alphabetical order, not order of recommendation)

*Barclay, William. Philippians (Daily Study Bible). FREE!

*Lightfoot, Joseph Barber. Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians (Revised Edition: 1868, 1888). FREE! Lightfoot is one of the giants of 19th Century New Testament scholarship and his influence is still felt to this day. This is a technical commentary for which knowledge of Greek and early church history will be very helpful if not necessary.

*Moule, Handley C.G. Philippians Studies: Lessons in Faith and Love (1898). FREE!

*Moule, Handley C.G. The Epistle to the Philippians (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). (1893). Explains Greek words to the English reader. FREE! Online version here. PDF version here.

*Moule, Handley C.G. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians (Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges). (1923) FREE! Online version here. PDF version here. This is a technical commentary for which knowledge of Greek will be very helpful if not necessary.

*Nicoll, W.R. (editor). Expositor's Greek Testament. Philippians by H.A.A. Kennedy (1902, 1910). (Kindle version is $3). Might be cheaper at Ebay. FREE at Internet Archive. Also FREE at StudyLight and Hathi Trust. This is a technical commentary for which knowledge of Greek will be very helpful if not necessary.

*Robertson, Archibald T. Paul's Joy in Christ (1917). FREE!

*Robertson, Archibald T. Word Pictures in the New Testament (1931). FREE! The title link will take you to the Philippians section of an online version of this classic work. Many other versions of it are available online.

*Vincent, Marvin R. A Critical And Exegetical Commentary On The Epistles To The Philippians And To Philemon (Volume 38 of The International Critical Commentary Series). (1897, 1950). Also FREE at BiblicalStudies.org.uk. This is a technical commentary for which knowledge of Greek will be very helpful if not necessary.

*MASSIVE FREE LIBRARY ON PHILIPPIANS at Precept Austin. Tons of excellent FREE resources here.

MORE RECENT COMMENTARIES:

*Hellerman, Jospeph H. Philippians (B&H Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament). I highly recommend this to anyone with a knowledge of koine Greek. Those without abilities in koine Greek will probably find this a very difficult work to consult.

*Rienecker, Fritz and Cleon Rogers. Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament. Probably cheaper at Ebay. My favorite go-to first resource for studying the New Testament since I first learned to read Greek. Very concise and helpful overview of key Greek words in every verse of the New Testament.

*For reviews of other more recent commentaries on Philippians: See Best Commentaries, Tim Challies, Bible Sumo and Ligonier.org.

ARTICLES ON FIRST CENTURY PRISONS

*McRay, John. "Stench, Pain and Misery." FREE! A brief article by a top scholar on the history of New Testament times.

*UNRV Roman History site. "Roman Prisons." FREE! A brief but well written article that accurately speaks of Roman prisons in general. There were exceptions to some things stated here, but in general this is a nice overview.

*Rapske, Brian M. "Prison, Prisoner" on p.827-30 of IVP Dictionary of New Testament Background (First Edition: 2000), edited by Craig Evans & Stanley Porter

*Yamauchi, Edwin & Marvin R. Wilson. "Police & Prisons" on p.1408-10 ("D. The Greco-Roman World: Rome") in Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical & Post-Biblical Antiquity (Complete in One Volume)