Paul L. Maier

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - A novelist and expert on ancient history will be the keynote speaker at Senior Fest onTuesday, Feb. 26, at California Lutheran University.

Paul L. Maier will discuss “How We Got the Bible” at 9:30 a.m. and “St. Paul and the Spread of Christianity” at 2:30 p.m.

Senior Fest brings Lutherans together for learning, devotions and fellowship to enhance their physical, spiritual, social and intellectual lives. The event, which will include lunch and workshops in addition to the keynote presentations, will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Thousand Oaks campus.

Maier is the former Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University and a widely published author of both scholarly and popular works. His novels include two historical documentaries, “Pontius Pilate” and “The Flames of Rome,” as well as “A Skeleton in God’s Closet,” a theological thriller that became a number-one national bestseller in religious fiction. Sequels, “More than a Skeleton” and “The Constantine Codex,” followed in 2003 and 2011.

His nonfiction works include “In the Fullness of Time,” a book that correlates sacred with secular evidence from the ancient world impinging on Jesus and early Christianity; “Josephus: The Essential Works,” a new translation and commentary on writings of the first-century Jewish historian; and “Eusebius: The Church History,” a similar book on the first Christian historian. More than 5 million of Maier’s books are now in print in 20 languages, as well as more than 250 scholarly articles and reviews in professional journals.

Maier lectures widely, is frequently featured on radio and television in newspapers, and has received numerous awards. He has also penned seven children’s books and hosted six video seminars dealing with Jesus, St. Paul, the early church and current Christianity.

He was a Fulbright scholar at the universities of Heidelberg, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland, where he studied under famed scholars Karl Barth and Oscar Cullmann. He received his doctorate summa cumlaude from the University of Basel in 1957, becoming the first American student to graduate with highest honors.

The Association of Lutheran Older Adults, an inter-Lutheran movement based in Baltimore, started the Senior Fest events. A group of church leaders formed the organization in the early 1990s to help prepare for the “age wave.”

Registration is $25 until Feb. 18 and $30 after that date. To register, go to http://www.callutheran.edu/seniorfest. For more information, contact Linda LeBlanc in the Church Relations Office at 805-493-3936 or leblanc@callutheran.edu.