Video Librarian, Nov/Dec 2017

This animated biography series centers on Paul of Tarsus—better known as Saint Paul, an apostle of Christ who was not one of the original 12—detailing his life after his famed conversion from being a persecutor of first-century Christians to becoming a determined preacher of God's glory. Paul's story is not presented as blindingly glorified lore, but rather as an often suspenseful drama related as memories by the 90-year-old apostle John, the last one of the 12 and now a prisoner whose Roman guards are fascinated by his tales. In John's telling, Paul is a stubborn man whose mission is met not only by threats, imprisonment, and torture, but also attracts lethal enemies who recall how his earlier hatred of Christians resulted in many deaths at the hands of magistrates and Pharisees. Squeezed from both sides, Paul takes one lump after another without complaint, barely escaping manhunts and sometimes flogged and chained to prison walls. But God intervenes time and again in miraculous fashion, allowing Paul to spread the Word throughout the Middle Eastern world and Europe. A fine entry in the acclaimed The Voice of the Martyrs line of animated programs, this is recommended.