Paul L. Maier (born May 31, 1930) is a historian and novelist. He has written several works of scholarly and popular non-fiction about Christianity and novels about Christian historians. He is the former Russell H. Seibert

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Ancient History Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...

, from which he retired in 2011, retaining the title of professor emeritus in the Department of History. He previously served as Third Vice President of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.

Early life and education

Maier is the son of Walter A. Maier (1893–1950), founder and long time speaker of ''

The Lutheran Hour ''The Lutheran Hour'' is a U.S.-based Christian radio program produced by Lutheran Hour Ministries. The weekly broadcast began on October 2, 1930, as an outreach ministry of the Lutheran Laymen's League, part of the Lutheran Church–Missouri S ...

''. He is a graduate of Harvard University (

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

, 1954) and

Concordia Seminary Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Founded in 1839, ...

, St. Louis ( M. Div., 1955). On a Fulbright Scholarship, Maier studied at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, Germany, and

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

, Switzerland. At Basel, Maier studied under scholars Karl Barth and

Oscar Cullmann Oscar Cullmann (25 February 1902, Strasbourg – 16 January 1999, Chamonix) was a French Lutheran theologian. He is best known for his work in the ecumenical movement and was partly responsible for the establishment of dialogue between the Luther ...

. He received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

, ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'', in 1957.

Personal life

Maier is married to Joan and has four daughters. He is a member of the

Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Career

He is the author of sixteen published books, both historical fiction and non-fiction. His historical fiction includes the #1 national

best-seller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cook ...

in religious fiction ''A Skeleton in God's Closet'' (1993), as well as ''Pontius Pilate'' (1968), ''The Flames of Rome'' (1981), ''More Than A Skeleton'' (2003), and the

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

''The Very First Christmas'' (1998). Maier's non-fiction work includes ''Josephus: The Essential Works'', a translation and abridgement of the writings of Josephus; and ''The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea'', a translation of Eusebius' ''

Church History __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

''. Maier co-wrote ''The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?'' with

Christian apologist Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in th ...

Hank Hanegraaf. The book is a critical rebuttal of Dan Brown's 2003 topseller ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Langdon ...

''. In addition, he has published well over 200 articles and reviews in such journals as ''Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte'', ''Church History'', ''

Harvard Theological Review The ''Harvard Theological Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1908 and published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Harvard Divinity School. It covers a wide spectrum of fields in theological and re ...

'', ''Hermes: Zeitschrift für Klassische Philologie'', ''

Concordia Theological Quarterly ''Concordia Theological Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of theology published for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod by the faculty of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the c ...

'', ''Concordia Journal'', ''Mankind'', ''

Christian Century ''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and reviews b ...

'', ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...

'', and ''Christian Herald''. 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."Dr Paul Maier vs. Tom Harpur"; March 30, 2004

Appearances

Maier appeared in the documentary film "Who Is This Jesus" produced by D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries in 2000, largely in response to an ABC News documentary "The Search for Jesus", which featured a number of skeptical scholars, including members of the

Jesus Seminar The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 critical biblical scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 2004) ...

. 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. Maier also appeared on the TV series ''Mysteries of the Bible'', in the episode titled "Paul The Apostle."

List of published works

Books for adults

*''A man spoke, a world listened: the story of Walter A. Maier''

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

*''Pontius Pilate''

968 Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris ( ...

(Paperback), (Hardcover) *''First Christmas: The True and Unfamiliar Story in Words and Pictures'' arper & Row, 1971 (Hardcover) *''First Easter: The True and Unfamiliar Story in Words and Pictures'' arper & Row, 1973 (Hardcover) *''First Christians: Pentecost and the Spread of Christianity'' arper & Row, 1976 *''The Flames of Rome''

981 Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Births * Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Arab statesman (d. 1027) * Giovanni Orseolo, Venetian n ...

(Paperback), (Hardcover) *''Josephus, the Essential Writings: A Condensation of Jewish Antiquities and the Jewish War''

988 Year 988 ( CMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Fall – Emperor Basil II, supported by a contingent of 6,000 Varangians ...

*''In the Fullness of Time: A Historian looks at Christmas, Easter and the Early Church''

991 Year 991 ( CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I of ...

*''A Skeleton in God's Closet''

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

*''Eusebius - The Church History: A new translation with commentary''

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999 ...

*''More Than A Skeleton: It was one man against the world''

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

*''The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?'' (co-written with Hank Hanegraaf)

006 Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Alec Tre ...

*''A Skeleton in Rome'' 011

*''The Constantine Codex''

011 The following is a list of different international call prefixes that need to be dialled when placing an international telephone call from different countries. Countries by international prefix Countries using optional carrier selection code ...

Books for children

*''The Very First Christmas''

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescentius ...

*''The Very First Easter''

*''The Very First Christians''

001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: * 1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valky ...

*''Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World''

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda ...

*''The Real Story of the Creation'' (illustrated by Robert T. Barrett)

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

*''The Real Story of the Flood'' (illustrated by Robert T. Barrett) 008

List of DVDs

*''Christianity: The First Three Centuries''

*''The Odyssey of St. Paul''

*''Jesus: Legend or Lord?''

*''How We Got the Bible'' 009*''Christianity and the Competition''

010 010 may refer to: * 10 (number) * 8 (number) in octal numeral notation * Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982 * 010, the telephone area code of Beijing * 010, the Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the R ...

*''The Week that Changed the World''

Notes and references

External links

Faculty Profile at Western Michigan University
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maier, Paul 1930 births Western Michigan University faculty Harvard University alumni Heidelberg University alumni American historical novelists American Lutherans American biblical scholars Living people Writers from Kalamazoo, Michigan American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American historians 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American historians 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Michigan Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod people American male non-fiction writers Lutheran biblical scholars Concordia Seminary alumni Historians from Michigan Fulbright alumni