The Apostle Paul's dramatic and much discussed conversion on the road to Damascus radically changed the course of his life - as well as the Christian religion. Can a new narrative, and a new perspective, be brought to this twothousand-year-old storyand centuries of critical thought and study? The writer and filmmaker Robert Orlando believes it can. 'Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe' is a dramatic and challenging book, inspired by his controversial film of the same name. This ground-breaking look at Paul's life draws on extensive research into Paul's letters and the book of Acts to reveal his human attitudes and insecurities. Orlando constructs a fresh take on Paul's life, especiallyhis collection for the Jerusalem church, and proposes thatPaul, as one of Christianity's most celebrated converts, may have needed more than faith and fervour to convince the other apostles to accept his vision of ministry. 'Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe' illustrates how a vision of promise eventually leadsto a hopeless prison cell and, ultimately, a new religion, challenging the traditional perspective and inspiring new thought about one of the best-known founders of the Christian religion.

Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe

Religion & Spirituality

Orlando, Robert

Christian Books & Bibles

James Clarke & Co.

The Apostle Paul's dramatic and much-discussed conversion on the road to Damascus radically changed the course of his life--as well as the Christian religion. Can a new narrative, and a new perspective, be brought to this two-thousand-year-old story and centuries of critical thought and study? Writer and filmmaker Robert Orlando believes it can. Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe is a dramatic and challenging book, inspired by his controversial film of the same name. This groundbreaking look at Paul's life draws on extensive research into Paul's letters and the book of Acts to reveal Paul's human attitudes and insecurities. Orlando reconstructs a fresh take on the Apostle Paul's life and proposes that Paul, as one of Christianity's most celebrated converts, may have needed more than faith and fervor to convince the other apostles to accept his vision of Christian ministry. Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe illustrates how a vision of promise eventually leads to a hopeless prison cell and ultimately, a new religion, challenging the traditional perspective to inspire new thought on one of the best-known founders of the Christian religion. ""Paul's life, of which we get snippets from his letters and also from the accounts of others about him, was a dramatic one. Robert Orlando takes those details, and the insights and interpretations of scholars, and weaves them together with the skill of a filmmaker to provide a compelling narrative of Paul's life, his aims, his struggles."" --James McGrath, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN ""At a time when the academy touts 'life-long learning' and 'public humanities' and yet rarely takes independent scholarship seriously, professional scholars should not overlook Robert Orlando's A Polite Bribe, the culmination of years of research sparked by a college course. He is a more than capable student of Paul and Pauline scholarship who ardently and articulately makes a plausible case for what might have happened to Paul. . . . Those who already find Paul intriguing will find him only more so in A Polite Bribe. As a companion to Orlando's documentary, this is a very useful introduction or follow-up. See the film. Read the book."" --Corrie Norman, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI ""Robert Orlando combines the best traditions of historical criticism with an astounding knowledge of the history of research to provide an in-depth look into Paul that I have not seen in scholarship during the last decades. I recommend his book, A Polite Bribe, with the utmost enthusiasm. A book where scholars and laypersons alike are given the unique chance to meet Paul again for the first time. This truly 'new narrative' of early Christianity has my full endorsement."" --Gerd Ludemann, from the foreword ""A Polite Bribe may be the most unique book ever written about the apostle Paul. . . . Drawing from the work of many diverse scholars and theologians, Orlando opens the curtains to reveal the unvarnished picture of a first-century religious conflict hidden beneath centuries of theology and church politics. Writing with unique cinematic flair, Orlando engagingly reveals how from a volatile ethnic conflict between the apostles--a conflict largely created by Paul--a new world religion arose that would eclipse all others. Brilliant!"" --The Rev. Jeffrey J. Butz, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA ""A Polite Bribe seamlessly blends cutting‐edge Pauline scholarship with narrative storytelling. It's a human story that speaks to the broadest possible audience precisely because it doesn't preach to any choir or address a specific faith tradition, but rather wrestles with the paradoxical story of Paul the man and his famously ambivalent relationship with the Judean apostles, which was largely obscured by later generations. This portrayal will undoubtedly provoke and inspire dialogue both within Christian churches and across social and religious boundaries."" --Mark Mattison, creator of The Paul Page ""As someone w

Apostle Paul

Wipf and Stock

“John Paul II and Ronald Reagan both understood that they were preserved through this suffering for a high purpose. 
And I don’t think you’ll understand either one of them without understanding that.”
—Bishop Robert Barron in The Divine Plan
Just six weeks apart in the spring of 1981, Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan took bullets from would-be assassins. 
Few realized at the time how close both men came to dying. 
Surviving these near-death experiences created a singular bond between the pope and the president that historians have failed to appreciate. 
When John Paul II and Reagan met only a year later, they confided to each other a shared conviction: that God had spared their lives for a reason. 
That reason? To defeat Communism. 
In private, Reagan had a name for this: “The DP”—the Divine Plan.
* * *
It has become fashionable to see the collapse of the Soviet empire as inevitable.
Hardly.
In this riveting book, bestselling author Paul Kengor and writer-director Robert Orlando show what it took to end the Cold War: leaders who refused to accept that hundreds of millions must suffer under totalitarian Communism.
And no leaders proved more important than the pope and the president.
Two men who seemed to have little in common developed an extraordinary bond—including a spiritual bond between the Catholic pope and Protestant president. And their shared core convictions drove them to confront Communism.
To tell the full story of the dramatic closing act of the Cold War, Kengor and Orlando draw on their exhaustive research and exclusive interviews with more than a dozen experts, including well-known historians Douglas Brinkley, H. W. Brands, Anne Applebaum, Stephen Kotkin, John O’Sullivan, and Craig Shirley; the leading biographer of John Paul II, George Weigel; close Reagan advisers Richard V. Allen and James Rosebush; and Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron.
You can’t understand Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan—or how the Cold War came to such a swift and peaceful end—without understanding how much faith they put in the Divine Plan.
Don’t miss the Divine Plan motion picture! thedivineplanmovie.com

The Divine Plan: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Dramatic End of the Cold War

Biographies & Memoirs

Kengor, Paul

Historical

ISI Books

The Apostle Paul's dramatic and much-discussed conversion on the road to Damascus radically changed the course of his life-as well as the Christian religion. Can a new narrative, and a new perspective, be brought to this two-thousand-year-old story and centuries of critical thought and study? Writer and filmmaker Robert Orlando believes it can. Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe is a dramatic and challenging book, inspired by his controversial film of the same name. This groundbreaking look at Paul's life draws on extensive research into Paul's letters and the book of Acts to reveal Paul's human attitudes and insecurities. Orlando reconstructs a fresh take on the Apostle Paul's life and proposes that Paul, as one of Christianity's most celebrated converts, may have needed more than faith and fervor to convince the other apostles to accept his vision of Christian ministry. Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe illustrates how a vision of promise eventually leads to a hopeless prison cell and ultimately, a new religion, challenging the traditional perspective to inspire new thought on one of the best-known founders of the Christian religion.

Leaders & Notable People

Cascade Books

"BETTER TO&nbsp;FIGHT FOR SOMETHING THAN LIVE FOR NOTHING."&nbsp;--&nbsp;GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON It is 75 years since the end of WW II and the strange, mysterious death of General George S. Patton, but as in life, Patton sets off a storm of controversy. THE TRAGEDY OF&nbsp;PATTON: A Soldier's Date With Destiny&nbsp;asks the question: Why was General Patton silenced during his service in World War II? Prevented from receiving needed supplies that would have ended the war nine months earlier, freed the death camps, and prevented Russian invasion of the Eastern Bloc, and Stalin's murderous rampage. Why was he fired as General of the Third Army and relegated to a governorship of post-war Bavaria? Who were his enemies? Was he a threat to Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Bradley? And is it possible as some say that the General's freakish collision with an Army truck, on the day before his departure for US, was not really an accident? Or was Patton not only dismissed by his peers, but the victim of an assassin's bullet at their behest? Was his personal silence necessary? Early in his life, Patton was a markedly insecure man, petrified by the notion of failing to live up to the standards of his pedigree. Patton was haunted by "several sets of ghosts" throughout his lifetime, including his martial ancestors, the great men of history and literature, and figures from his early years, especially relatives.&nbsp;As far as Patton saw it, his chief duty in life was to live up to -- if not surpass -- the military precedent set by his forebears. George Patton was driven by an innate sense of duty, both to his family's great military tradition and to his country. He was fixated on the notion of reaching the status of a military legend, and driven by outdated notions about honor, drawing from the Greek concept of arête and medieval notions of chivalry, both of which had received a heightened level of attention in the 1800s. As a general, Patton measured himself against Alexander, Caesar and Hannibal of antiquity. Combat was, for Patton, the means by which to attain glory and secure his eternal legacy. Patton was simultaneously brilliant and deeply flawed.&nbsp;He lived an exciting, compulsive life, never standing still for a moment, always searching, seeking, probing. He was daring and noble on occasion, like the Greek and Roman military legends he revered. At other times he was petulant and cruel, lacking in the diplomatic grace and tact that defined many of his contemporaries, a real son-of-a-bitch (i.e. "Our Blood His Guts": They were mocking him). Patton was the kind of guy the Allies needed to get the dirty work done on the ground, but also the guy they wanted to get rid of or silence when the fighting was over. This is hardly surprising, given how outspoken Patton was about the conduct of the war -- especially its end and aftermath -- and his willingness to identify the Soviet Union as the next great threat to American democracy and world peace. General George S. Patton was America's antihero of the Second World War. Orlando explores whether a man of such a flawed character could have been right about his claim that because the Allied troops, some within 200 miles of Berlin, or just outside Prague, were held back from capturing the capitals to let Soviet troops move in, the Cold War was inevitable. Patton said it loudly and often enough that he was relieved of command and silenced. Patton had vowed to "take the gag off" after the war and tell the intimate truth and inner workings about controversial decisions and questionable politics that had cost the lives of his men. Was General Patton volatile, bombastic, self-absorbed, reckless? Yes, but he was also politically astute and a brilliant military strategist who delivered badly needed wins. Questions still abound about Patton's rise and fall.&nbsp;THE TRAGEDY OF PATTON&nbsp;seeks to answer them.

The Tragedy of Patton A Soldier's Date With Destiny: Could World War II's Greatest General Have Stopped the Cold War?

Humanix Books

"Trump knew from early on that he who controls the story controls the world." Writer/director Robert Orlando, locked down during the Covid-19 pandemic, learned Citizen Kane was Trump's favorite film, and the parallels were astonishing. Both Kane and Trump are swaggering masters of media, and both claim to stand for the working man. "Orson Welles, the boy genius of Kane, was possessing me from the grave," states Orlando. In Orlando's acclaimed documentary Citizen Trump, we witness Trump, like Kane, trying to escape unglamorous beginnings. A decades-long effort to rise as aspiring Hollywood mogul, real estate player, darling of gossip columnists, casino owner, dabbler in politics, and reality TV star. Each new stage was a rehearsal for his role as president. In this follow-up to the film, Orlando takes an even deeper dive into the nature of Trump's background as an entertainer--and how it led to the miraculous upset of Clinton and his rise as president. Truth-be-told, Kane was crushed by scandal; Trump was not. He triumphed above front-page divorces, bankruptcies, unprecedented media attacks, and political chaos. Did his failed attempt at re-election end his star power? Citizen Trump gives us our looking glass. "Filmmaker Robert Orlando probes some of the secrets of Trump's obsessions, and finds answers in what the president has described as his favorite film [Citizen Kane].... Striking, very watchable. Fascinating film!" --Michael Medved, Movie Critic "Robert Orlando's 2020 documentary shows Trump's favorite film is a road map to his methods." --Joseph Serwach, Medium "To do so, he tells President Trump's life story in the cinematographic style of Citizen Kane, incorporating the iconic snow globe, the campaign poster, and even the mysterious word ('Rosebud') that is central to Orson Welles' masterpiece." --Gabriel Andrade, Merion West "Through the lens of the 1941 classic Citizen Kane, a documentary filmmaker seeks to understand the life journey of President Trump and his successful venture into politics." --Josh Shepherd, The Federalist "This is the fascinating parallel that inspired Robert Orlando. The film is remarkable--truly in the literal sense. It's visually engaging, if not riveting." --Paul Kengor, The American Spectator

Citizen Trump: A One Man Show

Post Hill Press

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Books by Orlando, Robert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Orlando, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe

Apostle Paul

The Divine Plan: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Dramatic End of the Cold War

Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe

The Tragedy of Patton A Soldier's Date With Destiny: Could World War II's Greatest General Have Stopped the Cold War?

Citizen Trump: A One Man Show