First Paul - Softcover

Borg, Dr Marcus J

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0281061580 ISBN 13: 9780281061587

Publisher: SPCK Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

Unusual book

About this title

From the Back Cover:

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 Paul's 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 Paul's 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 Paul's 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.

About the Author:

Marcus J. Borg is the Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture, Emeritus, at Oregon State University and the author of the bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time and The Heart of Christianity.
John Dominic Crossan is an emeritus professor of religious studies at DePaul University in Chicago andthe author of God and Empire and The Birth of Christianity.

Mel Foster has narrated over 150 audiobooks and has won several awards. Twice an Audie finalist for 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History by Charles Bracelen Flood and Finding God in Unexpected Places by Philip Yancey, he won for the latter title.

About this edition

• Publisher: SPCK Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0281061580
• ISBN 13: 9780281061587
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240