100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
41. Nautical Knowledge
Much of the book of Acts describes Paul’s journeys by sea (most notably Acts 27:1-41). Luke describes for us in detail the kind of ships being used, their relevant features, and sailing techniques along with a plethora of other exact details for the probing sceptic to investigate. Such details include the courses charted, the winds that were sailed under (as well as those that hindered them), storms encountered, and islands named A. Rackham notes (as quoted by A.T. Robertson):
“The story is told with such a wealth of detail that in all classical literature there is no passage which gives us so much information about the working of an ancient ship... “It is to Luke that we owe the most vivid as well as the most accurate account of sea-voyaging that has come down to us from antiquity. Experts in nautical science agree that it is without parallel.” From A. T. Robertson, “Luke the Historian in the Light of Research”, New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1920, p. 206, 207
Such accuracy in matters of nautical knowledge can only serve to strengthen the case for the overall trustworthiness of the New Testament.
41. Nautical Knowledge - Notes and References
A. For example, during Paul’s voyage to Rome, described in Acts 27, his ship was caught by a tempestuous headwind while passing by the island of Crete. Luke’s description is entirely accurate, as Ramsey comments:
“There struck down from the Creatan mountains, which towered above them to the height of over 7000 feet, a sudden eddying squall from about east-north-east. Everyone who has any experience of sailing on lakes or bays overhung by mountains will appreciate the epithet “typhonic”, which Luke uses. As a ship captain recently said to me in relating an anecdote of his own experience in the Cretan waters, “the wind comes down from those mountains fit to blow the ship out of the water.”” Sir William Ramsey, St. Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen”, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1962