Product Description

This is a riposte to A.N. Wilson's book, "Paul: The Mind of the Apostle", which posited that Paul of Tarsus, not Jesus of Nazareth, was the founder of Christianity. The book aims to show how Wilson's arguments cover ground already well covered by biblical historians, and that these arguments fail to take account of the evidence which shows that while Paul's achievement was indeed to make Christianity available beyond the bounds of its original Jewish context, this did not involve re-inventing Jesus in the process. Tom Wright is the author of "The Climax of the Covenant", "Colossians and Philemon", "Romans", "Who Was Jesus?" and "The Original Jesus".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76175 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

Totally engrossing
N.T. Wright, whose books I always find enriching, presents a very clear, comprehensive, and enlightening look at the letters of Paul in the context of new scholarship about Paul's time and place. Wright is very orthodox in doctrine, however innovative some of the ideas may be, and shows, once again, that the historical perspective is perfectly compatible with solid Christianity. Highly recommended.

Does Wright deny justification by faith?
I would describe Wright as a radical conservative. He deeply desires to be submitted to God's word but also challenges the traditional understanding of the Bible. His critique of justification theology is not as radical as some have portrayed it. An important thrust is an ecumenical one: that all who be believe in Christ are in the kingdom irrespective of their position on 'justication by faith alone'. For people who want to think through their Christian faith this is an excelent book.

Not the Whole Truth!
When I first read this book I thought it was refreshing and true, and written in Tom Wright's usual easily accessible form. Then I was lent a copy of John Piper's excellent, "The Future of Justification; A response to N. T. Wright". It was a case of Proverbs 18:17, "He who states his case first seems right, until another comes and examines him." In a very clear and gentle way, John Piper exposes the rather "flimsy" scriptural and non-scriptural evidence on which Tom Wright's views are based and shows that when you view the whole of the evidence, in context, a very different picture emerges. You need to read both to get a balanced view of what is at the heart of the, "New Perspective"/Traditional Evangelical debate.