Encountering Paul: Understanding the Man and His Message

Fascinating, controversial, yet enigmatic-the figure of the apostle Paul looms large in Christian history. But which Paul is the true one? Is it the Paul who proclaims our freedom in Christ or the Paul who demands that slaves obey their masters? The Paul who works closely with women evangelists, or the Paul who instructs women to submit to the rule of their husbands? Is it the deeply Jewish Paul or the Paul who rejects the Law? Drawing on the literary and historical insights that have revolutionized contemporary Paul scholarship, Tatha Wiley skillfully separates these different voices of Paul and their liberating and oppressive legacies. In her well-crafted work, Wiley not only illumines the authentic, historical Paul but also accounts for his influence in the history of slavery, male domination, and religious exclusivism. Encountering Paul is a welcome addition to the Come and See series.

Tatha Wiley is professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, the University of St. Catherine, and Metropolitan State University. She is the author of several books in theology and New Testament studies, including Paul and the Gentile Women and Original Sin: Origins, Developments, Contemporary Meanings which received First Place in Theology from the Catholic Press Association in 2003, and Creationism and the Conflict over Evolution.