Jerry L. Sumney

The author's exploration of Paul's writings in the New Testament through the prism of the general consensus of modern scholarship.

The author attempts first to contextualize Paul into the world of Second Temple Judaism and the Roman Empire; at this he does very well. He then begins to attempt to make sense of Paul's ministry and theology by exploring the Pauline corpus of letters. It is as this point where one learns as much about the author and his time than anything about Paul; while the author does not always go along with every thesis about divisions of books and such like, he is generally content to go along with "a consensus of modern scholars" and parrots the line. The portrayal of Paul therefore does not take half of the Pauline corpus into account and uses circular logic to dismiss unpleasant theological and doctrinal elements in what is deemed not Pauline. The author very much gets to his conclusion about Paul as a Christian who attempts to make sense of Jesus and tries to apply such lessons to his time and place.

As a Christian with a high view of inspiration I resist the entire endeavor to attempt to ascertain what is and is not Pauline; as a restorationist I find his attempt to contextualize only that which is theologically unpleasant rather convenient. But if you're looking for what Paul looks like after modern scholars are done with him, this is a more accessible book in which to find it.

**--galley received as part of early review program… (mehr)