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Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography
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Average Rating:  out of 13 Reviews
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Price: $24.95
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Sale: $10.73
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Manufacturer: Doubleday
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780385508629
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Hardcover
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Author: Bruce Chilton
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Publisher: Doubleday
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Dewey Decimal Number: 225.92
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Publication Date: 2004-08-17
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Reading Level: 352
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Description: A brilliant new biography of Saint Paul, whose interpretations of the life and teachings of Jesus transformed a loosely organized, grassroots peasant movement into the structured religion we know today
Without Paul, there would be no Christianity. His letters to various churches scattered throughout the Roman Empire articulated, for the first time, the beliefs that make up the heart of Christian practice and faith. In this extraordinary biography, Bruce Chilton explains the changing images of Paul, from the early Church period when he was regarded as the premiere apostle who separated Christianity from Judaism to more recent liberal evaluations, which paint him as an antifeminist, homophobic figure more dedicated to doctrine than to spiritual freedom. By illuminating Paul’s thoughts and contributions within the context of his time, Chilton restores him to his place as the founding architect of the Church and one of the most important figures in Western history.
Rabbi Paul is at once a compelling, highly readable biography and a window on how Jesus’ message was transformed into a religion embraced by millions around the world. Drawing on Paul’s own writings as well as historical and scholarly documents about his life and times, Chilton portrays an all-too-human saint who helped to create both the most beautiful and the most troublesome aspects of the Church. He shows that Paul sought to specify the correct approach to such central concerns as sexuality, obedience, faith, conscience, and spirit, to define religion as an institution, and to clarify the nature of the religious personality—issues that Christians still struggle with today.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: The First Universalist |
Date: 2008-10-19 |
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Details: This book shattered my misconceptions of Paul as an usurper of the message of Jesus and a charlatan who lured away Chrisitianity. On the contrary, this book demonstrates how Paul was a founding figure without whom Chrisitianity would probably have never held its own as a major world religion and would have forever remained an obscure sect. Chilton presents Paul as the first true universalist - one who believed there is no distinction between races or classes or ethnic groups. He reached out to all to build his new religion and vehemently resisted those who wished to seclude their beliefs to their own. He paid heavily for his idealogy, but his efforts for inclusion admitted the kind of corruption that the Romans later were able to heap onto Christianity: the idolatry of icons, the incorporation of Roman holidays and festivals into Christianity, etc. Regardless, this is an exciting book that keeps you thinking and inspires your desire to read Paul's letters, after placing them in historical context.
The maps leave a lot to be desired. It is basically the same map reprinted on several pages at various levels of zoom. What would have been more useful is to plot Paul's itinerary at different stages on the maps. |
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Review Summary: Keen Insights Up Front |
Date: 2008-06-18 |
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Details: This book seemed to be just what I was looking for as I went hunting for the Jewish backgroung from which so many of the early apostles came! Here Chilton was to tackle the problem of how the context in which the Apostle Paul grew up would have effected his ministry. It appeared to be just what the priest ordered.
For the first half of the book, it was really insightful. Chilton spent a chapter talking about Tarsus in Cilicia, "a city of no small means", and the religious environment therein. He spoke specifically about Diaspora Jews in Cilicia and Alexandria and how their reliance on the Septuagint (as opposed to the Scriptures written in Hebrew) would have made them different from Jews of ancient Judea. He spent time discussing Gamaliel the Great, a teacher "at whose feet" Paul studied. He discussed the differences between Ananias, the High Priest, and Gamaliel and how their rivalry must have effected St. Paul. The initial material is profoundly insightful.
Chilton covers the Apostle's conversion, isolation in Arabia, return to Tarsus, call to ministry and the famed "first missionary journey." The amazing feature of Chilton's work up to that point is that he takes the Bible as being accurate. He skillfully reconciles Paul's own account of the events (from the Epistle to the Galatians) with St. Luke's account in the Acts of the Apostles. He says, in effect, Scripture is accurate. He does not dismiss it or say that it is incorrect or try to revise it to his own ends.
That is, he does not revise Scripture until he arrives at the Council of Jerusalem. Then he breaks from the position that takes the Scriptures as accurate and makes on revision that seems to eschew all his further assumptions and assertions. Chilton alleges that the Council of Jerusalem punished Paul and essentially reprimanded him and shut down his ministry. That the letter the Elders of Jerusalem sent to the brothers in Antioch was not sent immediately after the Council's decision, but rather after St. Paul's return to Jerusalem following the "Second Missionary Journey." Acting on this basis causes Chilton to make the following assumptions: 1) that Barnabas left Paul over theological reasons regarding Judaism rather than over a conflict regarding John-Mark; 2) that Silas was sent along on the Second Missionary Journey by St. James the Just (of Jerusalem) as a spy to ensure that St. Paul attended to the decisions of the Elders in Jerusalem; that when Paul parted company with Timothy and Silas in Berea, it was due to their inability to agree to Paul's new and innovative teaching.
Neither of these assumptions is borne out by Scripture, While Acts 16 acknowledges a conflict between Barnabas and Paul, Acts specifies the reason as a dispute over John-Mark, Barnabas's cousin who had previously abandoned the missionaries in Pamphilia on the "First Missionary Journey". Similarly, the notion of Silas as a Jacobean spy is not borne out by Scripture and the thought of Timothy and Silas parting company with Paul over theological reasons neglects their almost immediate reunion in Corinth, their collegial writing of two epistles to the Church at Thessalonica, and Timothy's longstanding relationship with Paul being his Father in the Lord.
Essentially, the quality of the work declines from then on. While there still some quality insight, those pearls of wisdom become fewer and further between as the work progresses. The more Chilton separates from what Scripture actually says and tries to read his "Paul as rebel outcast" theory into Scripture, the less value the text has in giving insight into the life of this incredibly fascinating figure. Ultimately the text ends with a fizzle and not with a bang. |
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Review Summary: great book |
Date: 2008-06-13 |
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Details: this is a great book for people who enjoy engaging the real forces and faces in christianity. the prose is delightful. surely there is some conjecture and filling-in but it is all in good fun and indicative of chilton's love and high regard for his work. i have read several of his books and they are all imbued with a deep love of god and a tenacious passion for faith, truth and humanity. |
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Review Summary: Rabbi Paul |
Date: 2008-03-27 |
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Details: Rewarding experience and refreshing insights by Mr. Chilton's writing about Paul. Everyone in church authority should be required to read this little volumn, especially individuals who use mass media for their message and platform. I am rereading a second time. Thank you again Mr. Chilton. |
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Review Summary: Read several such books before settling on any hard and fast conclusions ... |
Date: 2008-01-11 |
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Details: Since there isn't much hard, first-hand information available about Paul of Tarsus and his activities, the best we can do is rely on scholars to (1) piece together what little there is, (2) integrate it with historical facts and second-hand information written by others (often several decades after the fact), (3) apply their best educated guesses while reading between the lines, to (4) compile a quasi-fictional account of what was probably going on.
My interest in Paul arose from a sense that what we Christians believe is the legacy of Jesus, is actually more the work of Paul, a Turk who never knew Jesus, yet was somehow able to create a Jesus-based tradition off the top of his head and sell it to a wide audience. The first book I happened to pick up was Hyam Maccoby's similar work, The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity. A minister-friend cautioned that I should read several such books before settling on any hard and fast conclusions. After reading a few, I understand his advice.
Bruce Chilton's effort is probably as credible and creditable as any other, and is recommended to anyone who is interested in learning what there is to know about Paul and the formation for the Christian faith. But, to paraphrase the all too familiar ADA statement, "Rabbi Paul has been shown to be an educational resource that can be of significant value when used in a conscientiously applied program of study and regular professional care." Read several such books before settling on any hard and fast conclusions about Paul and the formation of the faith.
Gene Warner, author of ...
Solutions for Secretaries of Small NPO's
The Manitou Passage Story
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