Great Lion of God

A Novel About Saint Paul

By: Taylor Caldwell

Narrated by: Braden Wright

Length: 30 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times Bestseller: A "beautifully written" and "truly outstanding" novel based on the life of Paul the Apostle (The Cincinnati Enquirer).

Born a veritable great lion of God to a devout Jewish family, Saul of Tarsus is raised by his parents to embrace their love of humanity. Dogged by what he perceives as a lack of true faith, he embarks on a journey to save his people from sacrilege. But on the road to Damascus a vision of the resurrected Jesus changes the course of his life. Converting to Christianity, the newly christened Paul transforms from persecutor of blasphemers into apostle to the gentiles, becoming one of the supreme influences on the Catholic Church and the Western world.

Great Lion of God paints a unique and very human portrait of Saint Paul, one of the most passionate, dauntless, and complex figures of early Christianity - Pharisee, lawyer, theologian, and above all, a "man like ourselves with our own despairs, doubts, anxieties and angers and intolerances, and ‘lusts of the flesh.'"

The central novel in author Taylor Caldwell's biblical trilogy, which also includes Dear and Glorious Physician and I, Judas, Great Lion of God is both "sheer entertainment" and a moving tribute to the majesty and power of the Christian faith (Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

©1970 Taylor Caldwell (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"…[Braden] Wright keeps listeners engaged with his powerful and often emotional delivery." —AudioFile Magazine

Taylor Caldwell Never Did Fail to Deliver

I’ve been a Taylor Caldwell fan since first reading “Great Lion of God” in print.

In her Biblical accounts of the two apostles, Paul in this narrative, and Luke in “Dear and Glorious Physician,” Taylor takes us back into Israel and through many of the gentile lands of the Middle East.

She develops complex and compassionate biographies of these two troubled men and offers insights into the many other sages that influenced them, leading to their ultimate destinies, their awakening to Christ as the promised Messiah and their personal savior, and then their individual transformations.

Using the backdrops of faltering Roman rulership, the lingering influences of the earlier Hellenistic Period, and strict ancient protocols of the Jews, we see glimpses into the superstitions, mysticism and culture of the period we know now to be when Jesus of Nazareth changed the world.

Taylor Caldwell was gifted. Her writings are filled with the love of God and humanity, but never sugar-coated. They were researched well by her own quests in the Holy Lands.

My only complaint with this audiobook was the narrator fell short in comparison with others who have narrated her writings. He simply did not have the acting skills that her writings demand. This was disappointing to me for such a classic piece of literature, but I didn’t let it destroy my interest in the book.

I recommend either book to any who want to dig deeper beyond the Scriptures.

So disappointed in this book!

I wonder if Ms Caldwell ever went to Israel or if she studied the ancient history of the area of Paul's mission journeys in Turkey and Greece. I wonder if she ever looked into the faces of the people from the middle east region and if she ever saw bright blue eyes or bright red hair and pale skin there. it didn't even seem like she tried to keep her story in line with Biblical accuracy. I found this book hard to finish.

Great Lion of God

Well researched and written in her inimitable style, I found myself engaged throughout the very long story. One has to bear in mind that this is a novel and not a factual account, and so allow for artistic license!
The performance is excellent. The narrator is very true to the book ( I followed the written text). His rendering of the various stages of the story is top class
The story is well known, and the interpretation of the author, although sometimes she takes significant license from the Biblical scripture, is sensitive to the underlying truth of Scripture.
Overall rating, story and performance 4 and a half stars.

St. Paul Revealed

Taylor Caldwell has made St Paul come to life. Not only that, the ancient times of the birth and death of Christ live in this audio Book. my awareness of Paul was limited to knowing he was struck blind on the road to Tarsus and met Christ there on that road. Now I have seen so much more. This is a fictional tale of a real man who comes alive through its words and images.

Tedious and disappointing

I was disappointed in this story of the life of Paul. Before he met Jesus his beloved Savior, he was portrayed as sad, joyless, and grumpy. And so he probably was. However, the greatest disappointment for me was that after he met Jesus, the story's portrayal of him remained largely the same. No joy or great transformation was evident, and that false portrayal is absolutely a grave disappointment.

Travel in history

Like it was read clearly and theatre format. Will recommended for people interested in origins of Christianity.

Too flowery

I was so excited to read this because I loved dear and glorious physician, But this was ridiculous with all its descriptions that went on forever. Sometimes I would just fast forward and not miss a thing. I loved reading about Paul And I’d like to know how much was based on good research. I will be doing more research to find out

Toooooo right-wing

The intro appears to be by a far right winged evangelical Christian. This speaker denies that Jesus ever cared about social justice. I do not anticipate that it will bring me closer to a desired spiritual place. I’m deleting it from my library!!!!

Very interesting and entertaining - But:

I found this selection to be very interesting and entertaining. However many times I felt that the author was straying a bit too far from verifieable facts. She does present many of the scenes of Paul's life accurately according to the Bible, but I had to question and even disagree with many of the scenes as either quite false or as straying far into fiction. Still, if you read it with that in mind and careflly sift fact and fiction there are many insights to be gained.

not as good as her book on Lucanus

This is a different beast from Glorious Doctor. 5 hours in and I cant really follow the story. Her book on Luke is really a masterpiece in every way. If you are going to invest in her excellent prose and story telling, then why invest in this plodding piece? Maybe the cultural archetypes are not in this book on Paul? I found the characters boring and too Jewish. The book on Luke follows Tolkein and even Harry Potter. They call this an archetype structure.. like, we are introduced to a youngen. The youngen meets a wise wizard (yes, there is sort of a wizard in her book on Luke), and we see the boy grow up and go on an adventure. This really works.

But this book on Paul we have none of that. I will carry on listening but I can't see myself finishing it.