Paul Maier

Dr. Paul L. Maier, PhD, is the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. He is also Second Vice President of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

Early life and education

Maier is a graduate of Harvard University (M.A., 1954) and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (M. Div., 1955). On a Fulbright Scholarship, Maier studied at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland. At Basel, Maier studied under scholars Karl Barth and Oscar Cullmann. He received his Ph.D., summa cum laude, in 1957.

Career

Maier's areas of interest include the Ancient Near East; Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome; Christianity and the Roman Empire; and the Reformation Era.

He has also written several books, both historical fiction and non-fiction. His historical fiction include the #1 national best-seller in religious fiction, A Skeleton in God’s Closet, More Than A Skeleton: It was One Man Against the World, Pontius Pilate, The Flames of Rome, and others, including children's books such as The Very First Christmas. Maier's non-fiction work includes translation of Josephus: The Essential Works and The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea.

He travels and lectures frequently. In 2004, he was featured on the Christian daily talk show, 100 Huntley Street in Canada for the entire year. He is a frequent guest on the show.^[1]

He is the son of Walter A. Maier I (1893-1950), founder and long time Speaker of the Lutheran Hour. Not unlike his father, Paul strongly identifies as Christian and his role as an apologist has recently become apparent in his co-writing of The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? with Christian apologist Hank Hanegraaf. The book is a critical rebuttal of Dan Brown's 2003 topseller The Da Vinci Code.

Appearances

Maier appeared in a 2004 episode of the Showtime TV show, Bullshit!, entitled The Bible: Fact or Fiction?. The show's hosts argued against a literal interpretation of the Bible. Maier was invited to provide both a counterargument and relevant background information regarding the text. He was opposed by Skeptics Society founder Michael Shermer.

List of published works

Adult

• Pontius Pilate [1968] ISBN 0825432960 (Paperback), ISBN 0825432618 (Hardcover)
• The Flames of Rome [1981] ISBN 0-8254-3297-9 (Paperback), ISBN 0-8254-3262-6 (Hardcover)
• Josephus, the Essential Writings: A Condensation of Jewish Antiquities and the Jewish War [1988] ISBN 0-8254-2963-3
• In the Fullness of Time: A Historian looks at Christmas, Easter and the Early Church [1991] ISBN 0-8254-3329-0
• A Skeleton in God's Closet [1993] ISBN 0-8407-7721-3
• Eusebius - The Church History: A new translation with commentary [1999], ISBN 0-8254-3328-2
• More Than A Skeleton: It was one man against the world [2003] ISBN 0-7852-6238-5
• The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? (co-written with Hank Hanegraaf) [2006] ISBN 1-4143-1035-8

Children's

• The Very First Christmas [1998] ISBN 0-570-05064-2
• The Very First Easter [1999] ISBN 0-570-07053-8
• The Very First Christians [2001] ISBN 0-570-07175-5
• Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World [2004] ISBN 0-7586-0626-5

References

1. ^ "Dr Paul Maier vs. Tom Harpur"; March 30, 2004

External links

• Faculty Profile at Western Michigan University
• Biography at Tobias Communications.
• 2000 Years Since...What? by Paul L. Maier
• The Times and Places of Jesus by Paul L. Maier
• History, Archaeology and Jesus by Paul L. Maier
• Jesus — Legend or Lord? by Paul L. Maier

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