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The Road to Bithynia

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that none should die; in a dark garden; the road to bithynia

330 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1951

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About the author

Frank G. Slaughter

429 books80 followers
Frank Gill Slaughter , pen-name Frank G. Slaughter, pseudonym C.V. Terry, was an American novelist and physician whose books sold more than 60 million copies. His novels drew on his own experience as a doctor and his interest in history and the Bible. Through his novels, he often introduced readers to new findings in medical research and new medical technologies.

Slaughter was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Stephen Lucious Slaughter and Sarah "Sallie" Nicholson Gill. When he was about five years old, his family moved to a farm near Berea, North Carolina, which is west of Oxford, North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity College (now Duke University) at 17 and went to medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He began writing fiction in 1935 while a physician at Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.

Books by Slaughter include The Purple Quest, Surgeon, U.S.A., Epidemic! , Tomorrow's Miracle and The Scarlet Cord. Slaughter died May 17, 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida.

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399 reviews
August 2, 2011
Bithynia- a provence on he shores of the Black Sea.Peaceful and beautiful. A place to retire.
Peace of mind is each man's private Bithynia.
Chance may be only anothe name for the workings of God's will on earth.

50AD Time of Herod Agrippa (made king by Caligula)

Luke-a Greek. A Roman citezen From Antioch in Syria Son of a freed man. Foster son of Theophilus, a judge in the Roman Empire, and foster brother to Apollonius. "The Beloved Physician"
(There is a second Antioch--Pisidian Antioch)

Luke is thought to be the author of The Acts. Luke was not a Jew.

Attended the school of Asklepius at Pergamum. Incubatio was an induced sleep for the patients at the school of Asklepius.

Miriamne- Herod's the Great's wife. He had her murdered.

Columns of the temple in Jerusalem were of Corinthian bronze. Shone like gold.

Company of the Fish-followers of Jesus.

Money changers-the Jews did not accept foreign currency in the temple so the changers gave Jewish coin to the pilgrims at high rates, cheating them.

Stephen was stoned outside the walls of Jerusalem in 35AD. The first Christian martyr.Sanhendrin wanted the scroll of the sayings of Jesus that Stephen had been commisioned to write..Stephen may have passed them to Luke as he died. (Luke leaned over him to check his pulse. Saul was in charge of the stoning. Stephen was one of the Seven. So was Niconar who went to DAMASCUS AND GREETED PAUL ON HIS ARRIVAL AT JUDAS, THE COBBLER'S HOUSE.
Luke then gave the scroll to Ananias, then given to Paul who took it to Jerusalem and gave it to Simon Peter. After that it was lost. But possibly given to Mary Magdala and then she gave it to Luke. (Peter had told Mark that when the scroll was really needed it would be found) The earliest mention of Stephen is when he is listed among the seven men chosen to supervise the public tables.These first Christians held their property in common, the well-to-do sharing what they possessed with the poor; and at this time, as always in the wake of war, there were many "displaced persons" in need of charity.The Hellenists, as the Greek-speaking Christians were called, thought that they, particularly the widows among them, were being discriminated against at the public tables. The Apostles were informed of these complaints, but they were too busy to deal with the problem. Therefore seven good and prudent men were selected to administer and supervise the tables. The seven, on being presented to the Apostles, were prayed over and ordained by the imposition of hands. Associated in these charitable tasks with Stephen, whose name heads the list as "a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit," were Philip, known as "the Evangelist," Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas-all Greek names. All that we know of the life, trial, and death of St. Stephen, is found in the Book of Acts, Chapters 6 and 7
Sea of Galilee was called Lake of Tiberius by the Romans.
Balm of Gilead--Balm is used for a number of natural aromatic substances that are utilized for healing and soothing. They are obtained from certain resinous plants. During Bible History, the area of Gilead was rich in spices and aromatic gums that provided balm, which was exported to Egypt and Tyre - and the land of Israel. The word balm is derived from balsam, which originated from the Greek word which was adopted to represent the Hebrew words baal shemen, meaning "lord of oils." (the term Baal is used in various ways in the Old Testament, with the usual meaning of master, or owner. It came to sometimes mean the local pagan god of a particular people, and at the same time all of the idols of the land -Gilead was a well-known exporter of balm from the earliest of times. The Israelite patriarch Joseph was sold by his brothers to a caravan of Ishmaelite traders who were transporting a cargo that included balm:

Hyrcanus-(of the Sandendrein) was with Paul on the road to Damascus. Luke came upon them and took Paul to the house of Judas.
Ananias-a weaver-healed Paul's blindness at the home of the cobbler, Judas, in Damascus.

Luke used the weaver's basket and waited outside the wall of Ananias' shop where Paul was lifted over and so escaped.
Gamaliel- a rabbi who was a great teacher. Taught Paul.

"Cuttingfor the stone" in Hippocrates oath. The whole phrase is, "I will not cut for stone, even in the presence of disease (or something like that). I will leave this to skilled professionals. specialists in the art." This means that PHYSICIANS will not perform surgery. They will leave the cutting or surgery to trained specialists - SURGEONS. In those days - the days of ancient greeks when the Hippocratic Oath was written, physicians and surgeons were considered two different professions. Lithotomy from Greek for "lithos" (stone) and "tomos" (cut), is a surgical method for removal of calculi, stones formed inside certain hollow organs, such as the kidneys (kidney stones), bladder (bladder stones), and gallbladder (gallstones), that cannot exit naturally through the urinary system or biliary tract. The procedure, which is usually performed by means of a surgical incision (therefore invasive), differs from lithotripsy, wherein the stones are crushed either by a minimally invasive probe inserted through the exit canal, or by an acoustic pulse (extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy), which is a non-invasive procedure. The earliest written records describing bladder stones date to before the time of Hippocrates (ca. 460-370 BC). However, lithotomy was a fairly common procedure in the past, and there were specialized lithotomists. The ancient Greek Hippocratic Oath includes the phrase: "I will not cut for stone, even for the patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners," a clear warning for physicians against the "cutting" of persons "laboring under the stone"; an act that was better left to surgeons (who were distinct from physicians at that time in history). Operations to remove bladder stones via the perineum, like other surgery before the invention of anesthesia, were intensely painful for the patient.

Chiron-a centaur. Used in the ritual worship of Asklepius Said to be father of Apothecaries

Celsus-a famous Roman physician

Circumforaneus-travelling dispenser of medicine. A quack.

Camp of Mars-Roman military camps. A legion was about 6000 men.

Autumn Crocus flower-used for gout to reduce inflamation

Tarsus-most important city for the making of tents.Cilicium -the tough fabric made from the silky hair of the goats. Used in tent making.

James, one of the 12 disiples and brother of John was arrested and killed by Herod Agrippa

Paul's troubles came from his preaching that Jesus would return to earth in the flesh and rule over the Jews.Barnabas and Paul had disagreements and parted. Then Paul travelled with Silus.
Luke was in prison with Paul in Phillip(He had exorcised a slave girl and owners were mad because they had falsely used her for prophecies. They beat her and Lydia then bought her.


Jews left Egypt. Wandered for 40 years. Several nations in Canaan were destroyed and the Jews inherited the land for 450 years.Then came the Judges until the time of Sammual, the prophit. Then Saul-son of Cis. House of Benjamin. King for 40 years.

Iconium now called Konya, in Turkey. Thecla, Luke's wife was from here.

Peter received the vision in Joppa in which he had been instructed to kill and eat the animals from Heaven let down in a sheet. Taken as a sign to preach to the gentiles.James and Paul insisted that gentiles should adhere to Judiaic law with regards to meat and circumsisin.

Peter was not a strong or dominant character. but a quiet dignity, kindness and tolerance peter could understand the vasillations of others as he had suffered them himself

Paul suffered from fevers and Luke's doctoring brought him through many a crisis.

Thecla-Christian, Luke's wife. Taken by herod Agrippa but she refused to enter his harim so he had her tied to a bull to be put in the arean at caesarea with lions. herod died in the arena just before this happened. Thecla appears in aprocryphal literature

Paul believed Jesus's return was imminent and told couples they should not marry. Many of the converts took virgins as their espoused wives, living as husband and wife except for physical relations.At first Luke and Thecla lived like this.
The Lex Caesars"(Law of the Caesars) demands that a physician open the womb in order to save a child. Luke did this to save his brother's son.

Troas-Troy

Philippi-Mark Anthony defeated the murders of Julius Caesar here (Brutus and Cassius) Luke went with Paul and they were put in prison here because of the slave girl. Luke in one cell. Paul and Silas in another.(I saw this cell when I was in Philippi, folowing the Footsteps of Paul) Lydia, the seller of Purple.
Luke went on with him to Corinth (in Macedonia)

A wine-oil mixture was used to disinfect wounds. Also hot tar was used to fill the wound after cleansing it.

Almost everything is purified wih blood and without the shedding of blood, no forgiveness is granted.Covenant with God is ratified.

Herostratus set fire at temple of Artimis at Ephesus. In the year of Alexander's birth

Confusions arose because no one had gotten together in one formall the facts that were known about Jesus. Luke thus wrote his scroll. Mark was much younger than Luke

Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and the assurance that all who obeyed the law would live in Heaven with Jehovah, the Sadduces vehmenantly refused to believe in the resurrsction and even denied the existance of angels or spirit. (Divison of the Jewish faith)

Claudius-cruel and Licentious

Simon Magnus -a magician in Biblical times
Mary Magdala (was a dancer), Joanna, Mary, mother of another James found the tomb of Jesus empty. Joanna is the wife of Herod’s
steward, Chuza.These women
provided for Jesus and his disciples
out of their resources. Joanna, like Magdalene, is
someone who was cured by Jesus.Chuza is a Nabatean
name. His name indicates that he
comes from the environs of Eygpt.
So Joanna is married to him more
than likely to form some kind of
political alliance. He probably
converted to Judaism, for it was
already dangerous to be near Herod.he was inside
the ruler’s court and thus had money
and property—something most
Galileans did not have. He and
Joanna were part of the Herodian
upper class that lived in Tiberias, a
hated city built by Herod in honor of
the Roman Caesar.She was likely born
into a prominent Jewish family of
Galilee. As a young lady, she was
married to a Nabatean nobleman,
Chuza, likely to promote a politicalalliance. Her husband was a finance
minister in the realm of Herod’s rule.
Joanna would have been part of the
ruling aristocracy in Tiberius. She
had an independence that women of
other stations in life would not have
had and it is likely that she had her
own wealth, given to her by her
father as a deed of gift at her
marriage. In the mean time, Jesus of
Nazareth would have become very
popular in Galilee and, since he had
been baptized by John and John in
turn had been executed under orders
of Herod, Jesus would have been
viewed with of suspicion. But
somehow Joanna found her way to
Jesus, perhaps her illness led her to
him. She was healed. She did not
become a sympathizer from a
distance, but instead she took the
radical step of discipleship and
followed him. She thus put herself at
risk by her identification with the
poor and outcast who followed
Jesus. She used her wealth to
support his ministry. When Jesus
came to Jerusalem and publicly acted
out his messianic vocation, she was
there. Her contacts in high places
may have made it possible for her to
locate him and discover what had
happened to him. She made her way
with other women to the hill of
skulls and witnessed his execution.
Out her devotion, she went to the
tomb with other women, including
Mary Magdalene and Mary the
mother of James, in order to prepare
his body for burial. She bore witness
with these that the tomb was empty
and that Christ had risen. She would
tell this story to the others and to a
world in need of hope. Thus, Joanna
was one of the apostles of Christ.
She gave up her aristocratic
life, followed and supported Jesus.
Paul was held captive in the palace of Herod in Caesarea and this is where he wrote the Corinthians and the Ephesians (dictated to Timothy)
Luke died in Bithynia at the age of 74. Never had children.
The Road to Bithynia--personal road in life to inner peace reached by The Way of Jesus



394 reviews1 follower
February 21, 2020
Written in 1951, this is a telling of St. Luke's story, from his first hearing about Jesus, through years spent traveling with Paul, to the decision that he should be the one to write down everything he could find out about Jesus and His sayings. Well written, interesting, and quite thought-provoking. The book raised questions about miracles, explaining some of the events of the Book of Acts as more coincidence than miracle. The author also raised questions about the inspiration of Paul's preaching and writing, as much of it seems to be very different from what Jesus actually preached and taught. I was more disturbed by the explaining away of miracles than I was by questioning Paul's teachings. :)
Profile Image for Sandy Schmidt.
1,422 reviews11 followers
December 28, 2023
An historical biographical novel about Luke, the Physician. After being orphaned, Luke is adopted by a prominent family, fights in the Crusade, trains and becomes a physician, tends to Saul when he is blinded on the road to Damascus and travels with Paul, Peter and others who followed The Way of Jesus, marries Thecla (who appears only in the Apocrypha), and at the encouragement of Peter and Mark (as well as additional travel for research) writes his story of Jesus. We are also given insight into life of the Jews under Roman rule, the missions of Paul, lots of Biblical quotes, and some details on the infighting of Jesus' followers. Quite interesting.
11 reviews1 follower
November 17, 2022
Not an easy read for me. Pretty slow moving. I have liked some of his other books much more.
Profile Image for Freyja Vanadis.
733 reviews6 followers
January 9, 2016
My grandpa owned this book so I read it way back when I was a teenager, almost 40 years ago. I loved it back then but now it's not such a great book. If the author had left his own religious beliefs out of it, I might have enjoyed it more.
124 reviews2 followers
January 6, 2012
Disappointed with this book, in comparison with others from this author which I enjoyed. The storytelling was fine, but I didn't agree with some of his theological conclusions, so I didn't end up finishing it, as I was having to sift too much stuff out as I was reading.
Profile Image for Dahyana Hoagland.
174 reviews
June 5, 2016
Dahyana's Thoughts

Enjoyed reading this book about Luke's possible experiences after the death of our Christ. Thecla is a woman who helped Paul during his ministry, but is not mentioned in the NT. Thank you.
Profile Image for Marieli.
62 reviews2 followers
January 10, 2009
The story of how Luke came to write about Jesus and the Apostles.
I've read several books by this author,the details are great.
79 reviews1 follower
August 22, 2010
ABOUT ST LUKE BUT NOT BUT NOT NEAR AS GOOD AS "DEAR AND GLORIOUS PHYSCIAN.
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