WHAT WAS THE SCHOOL OF TYRANNUS (SANTAMARIA)

The School of Tyrannus presently

And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus... And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued for two years so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:1, 8-10)

Ephesus looked like this in Paul's time.  Here is Ephesus today. Archeologists have found the remains of the school of Tyrannus in ancient Ephesus.  Who was Tyrannus and what was this school all about?

It is not certain just who Tyrannus was. There were lecture halls in gymnasia to be found in every Gr. city where a philosopher, orator or poet could expound his views or give a recitation. Tyrannus may have been a Gr. rhetorician living in Ephesus at that time, having his own private lecture hall. Meyer thinks he was a Jewish rabbi, in whose private synagogue Paul and his doctrines were more secure from annoyance than in the public synagogue (H. A. W. Meyer, Handbook to the Acts of the Apostles, in loc.). The Western text adds, “a certain Tyrannus,” indicating a particular individual. It may be that the “hall of Tyrannus” was either a building for hire, named after its owner, or the private residence of a sympathetic donor. Whatever the case, Paul’s regular and unmolested use of the room for two years, with such a wide hearing, indicates his exclusive use of a spacious, well-situated room for a period of each day.

No matter what the true facts are, Paul taught here. 

Double-click to enlarge

Ephesus at Paul's time; double-click to enlarge

Interestingly, the Greek word "disputing" (dialogismos) had nothing to do with some sort of confrontation, as it might have in present-day English.  The word referred to a discussion - a back-and-forth conversation with input from the listeners and responses by Paul.  It would have been like a class.  Paul, the professor would make his points to the listeners and have a discussion with them.  This kind of discussion should be mistaken for a "lecture" where the professor delivers information, within an organized outline or curriculum. In several places, the KJV translates this Greek word as "preach". This would not have been anything like a sermon, but more like a conversation. We list them (13 places in the NT):

Acts 18:19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

Visualization of the school of Tyrannus

Acts 19:8   And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

Acts 20:7   And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

Acts 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.

Acts 24:12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:

Acts 24:25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Jude 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

We see that the word "preach" in Acts 20.7,9, refers to this back-and-forth discussion, not to a sermon.  Frank Viola explains the predominance of the sermon in Baptist circles in his book Pagan Christianity:

We can credit both Chrysostom and Augustine (354–430), a former professor of rhetoric,[53] for making pulpit oratory part and parcel of the Christian faith. In Chrysostom, the Greek sermon reached its zenith. The Greek sermon style indulged in rhetorical brilliance, the quoting of poems, and focused on impressing the audience. Chrysostom emphasized that “the preacher must toil long on his sermons in order to gain the power of eloquence.”  In Augustine, the Latin sermon reached its heights. The Latin sermon style was more down to earth than the Greek style. It focused on the “common man” and was directed to a simpler moral point. Zwingli took John Chrysostom as his model in preaching, while Luther took Augustine as his model.[57] Both Latin and Greek styles included a verse-by-verse commentary form as well as a paraphrasing form. Even so, Chrysostom and Augustine stood in the lineage of the Greek sophists. They gave us polished Christian rhetoric. They gave us the “Christian” sermon: biblical in content, but Greek in style. Viola, Frank; Barna, George. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (p. 94). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

Our conclusion is that Paul's teaching as not "scientific" in the sense that it was based on human logic.  It was based on the Spirit's power that enlightened his hearers.