Kingdom of Fools : the unlikely rise of the early church by Nick Page
Hodder & Stoughton, 2013 £9.99 389 pages ISBN 978 0 340 996 263
Nick Page has written what is, in effect, a very detailed examination of the book of Acts with a little history before and after the events described in Acts to give context.
In eleven chapters, proceeding chronologically from 33AD to 92AD, each chapter devoted to a geographical location ranging from Jerusalem to Rome and Patmos, Nick Page describes, with patient historical detail, the growth of the early church.
Relying on the resources and studies of scholars and early church fathers, the author fills in many of the gaps that Luke left in his history with judicious explanations based on what one might call ‘sanctified common sense’.
In other words he offers reasonable explanations of what happened but is honest in openly admitting that his explanations are often intelligent guesswork – speculation.
This has proved to be a fascinating read (Nick Page is a competent writer and researcher) but, by its very nature, can’t be read too quickly.