Bestselling authors of The Last Week and The First Christmas, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join once again to present a new understanding of early Christianity—this time to reveal a radical Paul who has been suppressed by the church.
Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression—condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Pauls mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: that the later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Pauls egalitarian message and transform him into something more acceptable. They argue there are actually Three Pauls in the New Testament: The Radical Paul (of the seven genuine letters), The Conservative Paul (of the three disputed epistles), and The Reactionary Paul (of the three inauthentic letters). By closely examining this progression of Pauls letters—from the authentic to the inauthentic—the authors show how the apostle was slowly but steadily deradicalized to fit Roman social norms in regards to slavery, patriarchy, and patronage. In truth, Paul was an appealing apostle of Jesus whose vision of life in Christ—one of his favored phrases—is remarkably faithful to the message of Jesus himself.
The First Paul
I am a Christian seeking to know more regarding scripture. I wanted to know more about the apostle Paul. Marcas Borg provided wonderful insight into the personality, and character of Paul. His explanations included why did he address the issues he did to the churches he helped establish. Also, Marcas Borg explained the culture of the day of Paul, the accepted religions, and the role of women. I have a better understanding of how to approach scripture when reading my bible and studying scripture.
Buy The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Churchs Conservative Icon by John Dominic Crossan At The Lowest Price!
No comments:
Post a Comment