Sunday, April 26, 2009

The First Paul

If you enjoyed The Last Week, then you may want to check the new release by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan called The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon.

From the title, you can see that the two authors believe that the "real" Paul has been suppressed by the church and tuned into a crusty, old defender of ecclesiastical status quo. They argue that three Paul's can be found in the New Testament: 1) the radical Paul of the authentic letters; 2) the conservative Paul of the three disputed epistles; and 3) the reactionary Paul of the three inauthentic letters.

2 comments:

Judy H. said...

As I commented on your "Resurrection Appearances" post, I've had a longstanding up and down relationship with Paul!
I always hope to find that he didn't really waffle as much on important kingdom issues as it sometimes seems.(Yes, that includes insensitive remarks regarding women and other accommodations to Roman culture.) The new Borg and Crossan book should be arriving on my doorstep tomorrow, and I hope they deliver the "radical visionary" Paul I've been hoping to meet!

By the way, "The Last Week" was very illuminating. I read it day by day the week before Easter, and found it especially meaningful. Thanks for steering us toward so many great reads.

jakemaxwel said...

I have to read this one too. I can't get enough Crossan and Borg! Between what I have read and what I have learned in our Sunday school class, my view of Paul has been put in somewhat of a spin, and where she stops, nobody knows!!!