Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that never poses to be what it’s not.
One of the major projects I’m engaged in this year is the complete re-writing and expansion of my very old book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church.
It’s a mammoth task, so I would appreciate your prayers. I regularly fight overwhelm.
If you don’t have the original edition of this book, DO NOT buy it. Wait for the revised/expanded version to come out.
It will be FAR better in every way. I wrote the original in 2004 in a flurry and didn’t have a fraction of the books on the first century that I now have in my library.
In addition, it was my first professionally published book. So the writing style is poor and some of the research is outdated. Not to mention that the cover is super lame.
The revised version I’m working on now is superior in every way.
It will be heavily documented with the best research available, and it be a more compelling read. Plus it will be packed with so much intriguing data that it will make the New Testament come to life (and even sing).
I’ve been in conversation with about a dozen top-shelf scholars and historians. And some have been helpful.
A related part of “the untold story” is Paul’s thorn in the flesh.
Recently, some of you have expressed intrigue with my interpretation of the thorn.
I had a phone conversation with one reputable scholar last week, and when I told him that two scholars told me that my view was “plausible,” he said that if a scholar says that something is “plausible” it’s like hearing the Hallelujah chorus.
(Scholars are often punctilious and persnickety.)
Anyways, after he read the article, he felt the scenario was “on solid ground.”
Regardless of what other voices say, as I continue to examine Paul’s epistles, I’m more convinced that the scenario I’ve sketched out is what actually took place.
But then again, none of us were there. So it’s a matter of educated guesswork.
I’ve recently updated the article. You can check it at Rethinking Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh.
Until next Thursday,
fv
Two New Reviews
Review of the NKJV Single-Column Reference Bible
Review of the Berean Study Bible
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Good article on Paul thorn. I have always thought that the thorn in your flesh was something that would aggravate you to the point where you ALWAYS had to get back in line with God. Not letting it get you down but to push forward with God’s help.
I have been waiting to buy “The Untold Story of the New Testament Church“ since I first heard that you were going to produce a revised edition. I am very excited to read in your Unfiltered email that the revised edition will be superior in many ways. I can only imagine all the work and research that is going into it. So, I wanted to encourage you by letting you know that it will all be worth it. I was blessed by the first published edition. God will certainly speak through the revised edition. I can’t wait to read it! Thank you for your hard work to produce it! God bless you and your tribe!
Your article on Paul’s thorn is brilliant. Makes perfect sense. Looking forward to the new edition of the book.
“I am so excited about this book revision I can’t adequately explain it.”
Tina said it well. I second this! I find this sort of work extremely valuable. May it be a glorious and blessed struggle to finish this book well and get it published. Much appreciated the first edition and can’t wait to get my hands on this one.
Geez, that sounds good, I always thought it was his mother in law, she ticked so many of the boxes…….
Oh wow! The original was fantastic, so I can’t imagine how great the new version will be. Can’t wait to read it!
“The Untold Story of the NT” as is, is still used by the Holy Spirit, despite the bumps and lumps. I have read it more than once, and it gave me a new pair of glasses to see the NT through, and the ekklesia. I am very glad that you are working on a revision. I will buy multiple copies before the ink is dry. Not to get weird, but it will be anointed by the Spirit, for it is the Word of God, His Book, being told with even more clarity. Just re-ordering the “books” is enlightening, but using the Book of the Acts of the Apostles to reveal the environment of Paul’s letters, gives untold depth to the scriptures. How much abuse has been done by the legalists using Corinthians, when the environment of the letters is ignored? Thank you Frank for undertaking a task far beyond you…but not beyond our Lord who guides your steps…and your pen.
I am so excited about this book revision I can’t adequately explain it. I read the “old” book at the end of last year and was so captivated by it I couldn’t put it down. Consequently, I didn’t retain very much because I read it took quickly. The hair brained idea came to me to read through the NT over the course of this year using your book in tandem as I guide. I broke it down into a weekly reading plan that made sense to me and it came out to about 50 weeks.
I am so thankful for this book, even in it’s original form because the NT hasn’t come alive to me like this ever before. I was brought to tears more than once while reading it because of the impact it was having on me. The letters Paul wrote took on an understanding I’ve never had before. Thank you for the arduous and behemoth undertaking of updating and revising the book. Your sacrifice in doing so is seen and appreciated, brother.
Hoping the new book comes out in audio book as well. Looking forward to its arrival.
It should. Most of my books are in audio form: https://www.frankviola.org/books