"All the Places in the Bible" - Richard R. Losch Book Review

Father Richard R. Losch lives in Livingston, Alabama. The retired professor of statistics at the University of West Alabama is the Rector Emeritus of St. James’ Episcopal Church. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1960 and has taught and served parishes in Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Alabama. The Yale educated man, who also studied at Berkley Divinity School and North Carolina State University, is also the author of several books. He has recently released All the Places in the Bible, an in-depth study of all of the physical places mentioned in Scripture. It is meant to be a companion book to his 2008 outing, All the People in the Bible (2008).

Rather than being a dry, fact-filled tome that reads like a college text book, Father Losch makes the places in Scripture come to life in All the Places in the Bible. He shares the geography as well as historical facts about each place and cites where it is mentioned in the Bible. The culture of the time is brought into play and readers can almost picture daily life in the area due to his rich, personal style of writing.

Take the hometown of Mary Magdalene for example, Magadan, commonly referred to as Magdala, was only mentioned once in the New Testament. As important as Mary Magdalene was in the Bible, knowing more about her background is important. From All the Places in the Bible. readers learn that the wealthy town wasn't far from the city of Tiberias, which the Jews considered to be "defiled" because it was built on a graveyard. The Romans destroyed Magadan because, according to the Talmud, the moral depravity was so great. The common assumption that Mary Magdalene was a prostitutue may be based, simply on the fact that she was from Magadan. Excavations done in the late twentieth-century uncovered several first-century structures, including a small synogogue and the boundaries of a small harbor so while we don't know for sure what Mary did prior to meeting Jesus and being delivered from seven demons, we do know that she came from a wealthy fishing town.

Other interesting tid-bits fill the book, teaching readers more about the places in Scripture and the people who lived there. Students of the Bible and those who just want to expand their knowledge will find plenty to love. If you have someone in your life that loves to know the rest of the story, this would make an excellent Christmas gift.

Release date: May 23, 2013

Publisher: XLIBRIS

Total Pages: 726 pages

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