New Books Review

Book Review: The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon (Playaway Adult Nonfiction) (9781608479979): John Dominic Crossan, Mel Foster: BooksNice introduction to Paul,

By Timothy Essex (Philadelphia, PA) -

  

This review is from: The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon (Hardcover)

For anyone wanting to read a nice introduction to the radical Paul of the New Testament, this is the book to go to.

Crossan and Borg do a fine job showing Paul’s clear teachings about equality and his counter-empire ideas, and show explicitly where Paul and Acts are at odds. The commentary on the book of Philemon is well done and in-depth. However, it would have been nice to see a much more comprehensive look at the rest of Paul’s writings. But that didn’t seem to be the purpose of this book; Crossan and Borg are simply painting a picture of Paul’s theology, not providing insight into every detail.

I have to say, though, that the chapters on the cross and “salvation by grace through faith” were, unfortunately, pretty weak. Frankly, it’s going to take a lot more than two chapters containing a select few passages from Romans and 1 Corinthians to “dismantle” the idea of substitutionary atonement and salvation as simply a post-mortem “salvation” from divine punishment. There are better, more comprehensive, books out there, though, on Paul’s theology of “Christ crucified” (see J. Denny Weaver, Stephen Finlan, etc.). The two chapters dedicated to the cross and salvation just didn’t make a well-reasoned argument (in my opinion), partly because of the lack of time Crossan/Borg spent looking at Paul’s words (though, I should say, I agree with most of their conclusions).

I’d definitely recommend this book to any Christian, or to anyone interested in the apostle Paul. But, don’t expect an in-depth, exceptionally convincing look at Paul’s theology; rather, expect a sometimes persuasive, sometimes lackluster, brief and easy-to-read portrait of the man who claimed to see Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Enlightening and Compelling Work,

By Michael Gooch “Author of Wingtips with Spurs:… (Texas, USA) -

This review is from: The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon (Hardcover)

After reading Garry Wills’ book What Paul Meant along with a couple of works by Bart Ehrman, I was really anxious to read The First Paul. I am very glad that I purchased the book for it has given me a detailed look at an apostle that I really did not understand.

As stated in the book, half of the New Testament concerns Paul or was written by Paul. Paul matters. As a believer who engages in critical thinking, I appreciated the authors doing all of the heavy lifting for me. As a “thinker” I could never reconcile the views that Paul held regarding slavery, women, etc. The authors explained this in a very straight-forward way and the `scales’ have now fallen off my eyes.

Explained from the perceptive of historical context, it was very easy for me to see that, yes, there were three Pauls. One real - two pretenders.

The radical (and real) Paul wrote:
* Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians and Philemon (which the authors break down verse by verse)

A person or persons calling themselves Paul wrote the pastoral letters:
* 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus.

A majority of scholars “dispute” the authorship of:
* Ephesians, Colossians and 2 Thessalonians

The detailed analysis of who, where, why and what certainly provides a non-contradictory view of the apostle Paul compared to the chaotic mess I have struggled with in the past. I also greatly appreciated the mind picture of the set of concentric contextual circles. It was very helpful in providing context for the writing of Paul.

While I have mentioned only a few of the highlights in this book, rest assured that it contains a plethora of entertaining and enlightening facts.

I hope you find this review helpful.

Michael L. Gooch, Wingtips with Spurs: Cowboy Wisdom for Today’s Business Leaders

The First Paul,

By Donald W. Blosser (Goshen, IN.) -

  

This review is from: The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon (Hardcover)

Whenever Borg and Crossan get together, it is worth paying attention. These two scholars are best known for their work on Jesus, but this new venture into Pauline scholarship is very good. The build on the premise that, in the New Testament, we have the Radical Paul (of the Corinthian letters, Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians and Philemon). Then there is the Reactionary Paul (letters written by others–basically the Pastorals) and the Conservative Paul (Ephesians, Colossians). This distinction helps a great deal in understanding the movement in how Paul is read in the New Testament.
They present Paul as a Jewish Christ mystic who lived with a profound sense of oneness with God. They go through the writings of Paul and show how his message changes on various specific themes (from radical to reactionary and Conservative)like slavery, crucifixion, justification.
Jesus is Lord (ch. 4) is especially helpful, where they develop Roman Imperial theology of “Religion-War-Victory-Peace” and show how Paul responds to this in his own theology of Jesus.
But my favorite in this book is ch 5 “Christ Crucified”. This treatment of Paul’s theology is some of the best available for the lay person who cares about how we talk about salvation. They deal carefully with several popular explanations of the death of Jesus, demonstrating difficulties in how these themes deal with the theology, then offering a more positive, comprehensive understanding (that makes good sense).
In my judgment, these two chapters are worth the price of the book. These two men develop and excellent theology of Paul in language that can be understood, with an affirmation of faith that is very helpful. They have the ability (and the faith) to acknowledge problems in the popular theology of our day, but they move beyond criticism to develop positive, helpful explanations that allows the reader to build and strengthen their own faith.
Only one criticism. For this reader, the final chapter read as though they were up against a deadline and had to rush through this final discussion. It did not have the depth and quality of the rest of the book. However, having said that — this is a book of high quality that will be helpful for any more progressive, thinking Christian who wants a better, more holistic understanding of Paul.

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