Paul’s Anatolian Harbors- by Mark Wilson

Sometimes, the best things come in small packages, or in this case books.    This book is only 120 pages long but it is loaded with information and beautiful pictures of the various harbors along the coast of Turkiye (i.e. Anatolia).  Had Mark chosen to do all the harbors Paul visited outside of Turkiye, for instance in Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, and Italy the book could have been considerably longer. But considering the detail research and work that went into this book which focuses on Anatolian harbors we should be especially happy to have this detailed reference work.   What it shows is while Paul often travelled by land, he just as often, or perhaps more often traveled by sea, covering more distance the latter way.

One of the difficulties in doing a book like this is because so many of the harbors in that country have silted up, or been destroyed by tides, and other factors, so there is not as much interesting ruins to depict.  Yes, Nero’s lighthouse at the port of Patara has been recently reconstructed (in fact it has happened since the last time I visited there), but it takes real skill to imagine  the harbors in many of these places being a lively site full of boths, and trade, when what you see is often just what you see above on the cover of Mark’s book.

It is reassuring and refreshing that Mark takes quite seriously Luke’s accounts in Acts, not only in terms of places and place names but also the accuracy of Luke’s reporting.  Paul and his co-workers really did travel to all these place and log all those miles for the sake of sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ.  And yes, such travels could be quite dangerous.  Consider Paul’s own report in 2 Corinthians 11: “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶ I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. ²⁷ I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”   And this report is about things that happened to Paul before the last ten years or so of his ministry!!  It does not include the famous journey and shipwreck on the way to Rome as a prisoner of Roman jurisprudence.

This book should be in every Christian college and seminary libraries, not to mention in church libraries, and the libraries of serious students of the Bible.   The New Testament is not merely  ‘chicken soup for the soul’ or some kind of spiritual document written by gurus. It is a book all  about history, salvation history caused by the ministry of Jesus himself and his followers.  Christianity is an historical religion like Judaism, and as such is not merely a philosophical reflection on life or fractured fairy tales based in myths  It is about real people, real events, and in the case of Paul real travels to real places to share the good news and convert (successfully) real people.  Thank you Mark for reminding us of the historical grounding of our faith.