Product Description

In this exciting follow-up to The Last Week and The First Christmas, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan once again use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to present a new understanding of early Christianity - this time rescuing the apostle Paul from the church. For many, Paul has become a conservative icon whose letters have been used to justify systems of oppression - for example, endorsing slavery and subordinating women. But what if some of these views were imposed on Paul by the early church in an attempt to transform his drastically egalitarian views into something more 'acceptable'? True to form, these highly respected authors turn the common perception of Paul on its head, and reveal him as a radical follower of Jesus whose core message is still relevant today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #104134 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-21
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Professor Marcus J. Borg is the author of many books, including Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time and The Heart of Christianity. Professor Emeritus John Dominic Crossan is the author of several best-selling books, including God and Empire and The Historical Jesus.

Customer Reviews

This brings Paul to life
As a relative newcomer to theology reading, I was very pleased with this book. It is laid out in a logical order and points are explained clearly. It starts by covering which of Paul's letters are generally considered to have been actually written by Paul, which are thought not to have been written by him, and which are questioned. The authors then go on to analyse parts of Paul's letters in detail, taking into consideration the times at which the letters were written and the places where Paul would likely have been when he wrote them. As a reader, you need to keep referring to the Bible as you progress through the book. The authors offer different ways for interpreting Paul's words, and they discuss the matters which Paul might have considered to be most important. Finally, they consider what might have happened to Paul at the end of his life.

Borg & Crossan are described in many places as liberal theologians, and their views might not fit with everybody's understanding of the Bible. However, they do not insist that any one interpretation of Paul is correct. This could have been a dry and boring read, but for me it wasn't; it brought Paul to life.

Getting a taste for Marmite ?
The apostle Paul: Marmite man. It seems you either love him or loathe him, find him appealing or appalling. Defender of slavery, and a man with dodgy views on women; or the great exponent of faith in Christ and its outworking through grace. In this lively and accessible book, John Dominic Crossan (a Catholic) and Marcus Borg (a Lutheran), show us a different Paul. A Paul who, if you read the New Testament letter to Philemon carefully, had revolutionary views on slavery; who, in a good way, stressed a thoroughly Jewish, and rather mystical, `being in Christ' as the key motivation for Christian communities to live lives of loyalty to the Lord, rather than to the Roman Empire; and who preached a Christ whose death was first and foremost about God's self-offering in love, rather than about punishment or sacrifice for sin.

Lots to reflect on here, then, about what Paul might have meant `back then' - and certainly enough to make a `Paul sceptic' thoughtful about how the apostle could still be deeply relevant today. Not a perfect book, though - the authors need to explain a bit more clearly why they think Paul didn't write some of the New Testament letters that bear his name; and say more about how their account of Christ's death and resurrection bring about `new life in Christ'. Read it with care, then - but enjoy nevertheless the cohesive, persuasive, and even rather winsome portrait that emerges. Definitely worth dipping into this particular Marmite pot afresh...