Sacred Sites: Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land

Front Cover
Paulist Press, 2004 - History - 145 pages
Webster Patterson's SACRED SITES provides vibrant descriptions of the more authentic and significant biblical locations and combines the history and archaeology of ancient Christian sites with sound scriptural and theological scholarship. Writings on the Holy Land sometimes tend to be overly pious on the one hand or else burdened with dense academic jargon on the other. Patterson deftly avoids these extremes by incorporating solid research into an accurate, reverent, and highly readable presentation. SACRED SITES vividly conveys the atmosphere of actually being in these sacred places--both as they are now and as they were at the time of Christ. The book not only explains the meaning of specific sites but also explores the area as a whole, using scripture, recent theology, and modern archaeology as guides. The book focuses on sites specific to Jesus' life in Galilee, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth as well as the larger Greco-Roman world in which he lived and ministered. In the final chapter, Patterson searches out the sites frequented by the Apostles and the first Jewish Christians after the Ascension. Although this book will delight visitors to the Holy Land, it will also make the reading of scripture come alive, even for armchair pilgrims. Rather than simply referring the reader to biblical chapter and verse, Patterson provides the full scriptural text and matching visuals. These combine to give the reader a vivid appreciation of each place. +

From inside the book

Selected pages

Contents

GALILEE
1
JERUSALEM
35
BETHLEHEM NAZARETH AND MOUNT TABOR
65
THE GRECOROMAN WORLD
89
THE JEWISHCHRISTIAN CHURCH
119
BIBLICAL SITES AND REFERENCES
137
CHRONOLOGY
140
BIBLIOGRAPHY
143
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 80 - How can this be, since I have no husband?' And the angel said to her. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
Page 53 - And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord ; (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
Page 53 - And he came by the Spirit into the temple : and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law...
Page 22 - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Page 24 - And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea : for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Page 35 - I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!
Page 56 - And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest : behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Page 80 - In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!
Page 58 - At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
Page 53 - And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

About the author (2004)

Webster T. Patterson is currently a professor emeritus at Loyola College in Baltimore.