Product Description

For someone who has exercised such a profound influence on Christian theology, Paul remains a shadowy figure behind the barrier of his complicated and difficult biblical letters. Debates about his meaning have deflected attention from his personality, yet his personality is an important key to understanding his theological ideas. This book redresses the balance. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor's disciplined imagination, nourished by a lifetime of research, shapes numerous textual, historical, and archaeological details into a colourful and enjoyable story of which Paul is the flawed but undefeated hero. This chronological narrative offers new insights into Paul's intellectual, emotional, and religious development and puts his travels, mission, and theological ideas into a plausible biographical context. As he changes from an assimilated Jewish teenager in Tarsus to a competitive Pharisee in Jerusalem and then to a driven missionary of Christ, the sometimes contradictory components of Paul's complex personality emerge from the way he interacts with people and problems. His theology was forged in dialogue and becomes more intelligible as our appreciation of his person deepens. In Jerome Murphy-O'Connor's engaging biography, the Apostle comes to life as a complex, intensely human individual.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #122317 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 276 pages

Times Literary Supplement, July 30, 2004
Genuinely modern... Murphy-O'Connor enlivens the text with a wealth of relevant information... Realistic analysis... The style has vigour and lucidity.

Review
a very readable, lively, and engaging story (The Journal of Theological Studies )

'...combines depth of learning with wonderful evocations f past times and places, and brings Paul in all his contradictions and complexities convincingly alive.' (Susan Hill, The Spectator )

About the Author
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor OP was born in Cork, Ireland, and educated at the Christian Brothers College, Cork, and Castleknock College, Dublin. He entered the Irish Province of the Dominican order in September 1953 and, after studies at the the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1960. After he completed his doctorate, he researched the Dead Sea Scrolls at Heidelberg University, Germany, and New Testament theology at Tubingen University, Germany.
Since 1967 he has been based at the Ecole Biblique et Archéologique Francaise, Jerusalem, where he is Professor of New Testament.

Customer Reviews

Excellent
This very readable account of the background, conversion and ministry of St. Paul benefits from the expertise gathered in a lifetime of study by the writer, Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, but presented for the general reader. Enough background information is given to illuminate the facts but without becoming bogged down in academic argument. End-notes and a useful bibliography are available for those who wish to take their interest to the next level.