Saint Patrick

With everyone's favorite green and shamrock holiday rapidly approaching, I couldn't help but choose anything but a short biography of the saint himself to review next for Thomas Nelson. Saint Patrick is one in a series of several biographies published by Thomas Nelson in the Christian Encounters series. Other biographies included in the collection include Isaac Newton, Jane Austen (Gasp! I picked the Saint over Austen? What is the world coming to?), John Bunyan, and Winston Churchill. Late summer should see more individuals added to the collection: St. Francis, Anne Bradstreet, and J.R.R. Tolkien, among others.

When I saw that Saint Patrick was the focus of one biography, I was immediately intrigued. Sure, I've read many of the same legends (Patrick casting out the snakes of Ireland...apparently, not true) as the next person, but they were generally written in a children's format. I was hoping this book would be filled to the brim of details of Patrick's life and his mission to reach the people of Ireland.

Unfortunately, the book was more of a general overview of his life, but not because the author failed to do his research. On the contrary, Jonathan Rogers did an exemplary job of researching not only Patrick's life, but also the many historical aspects needed to truly understand the world in which Patrick lived. However, there just isn't much truly legitimate factual information recorded about Patrick; most of our conceptions of the famed saint are derived from folklore and legend. I admire Rogers for explaining the dearth of accurate and historical accounts of Patrick and then using what little we do know for sure to paint the best possible picture of Patrick's life.

There are two things I truly liked about this book; one of the best things about this book is that it includes Patrick's own writings: The Confession and The Letter. Truly, these two pieces of history give us the best glimpse of who Patrick was. The other is how Rogers explains how utterly foreign the concept of mission could be to the Christians in Patrick's era. Many in Britain wondered why Patrick would choose to go to Ireland- a place characterized by savage pagans and warring tribes. Indeed, even though Patrick was a bishop when he left for Ireland, his official duty was not to evangelize among the unbelievers, but to minister to the few Christians who were there. Patrick refused to concern himself with only believers while ignoring those in desparate need of a Savior and set about the work of his Lord Jesus; because of this, Ireland was the first nation which converted to Christianity before bowing to the Roman Empire.

I appreciate Thomas Nelson for beginning this project; we can learn so much from different heroes of the faith; Patrick can well be considered one of those heroes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”