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Tracing the life and influence of one of Christianity's most important figures throughout the major periods of its history, this book explores the changing interpretations of Paul and his work, and in doing so throws new light on his writings and on religious history. The impact of the apostle Paul on Christianity is enormous. His missionary journeys, canonized epistles, and theological insights were cornerstones of the early church and pivotal in the formation of Christian doctrine. Over the past two thousand years, Paul's work and life have been widely dissected and discussed. Robert Seesengood charts the history of these shifting views of Paul, arguing that whether they were created during the Gnostic controversy, by Luther during the Reformation, or in the contemporary debates over religion and science, each new version is the result of a fresh set of cultural, social, and ideological circumstances. Given this, he questions whether it is ever possible to discover the real Paul.
This insightful brief history offers a unique approach to the subject, distilling the many interpretations of Paul and his impact on Christianity. It will be a vital resource for anyone studying the life and letters of Paul and the New Testament.
List of contents
Acknowledgments. Introduction: Meeting Paul Again for the First Time. 1 What Do We Know About "Paul," and How Do We Know It? Who Is "Paul"? Sifting the Data: Five Starting Assumptions. More Problems: The Question of Canon. Sorting through the Data: The Range of Scholarly Views. (Finally) A Brief Tour of Paul's Letters. The Acts of the Apostles. Hebrews. 2 Paul in the Ante-Nicene Church. What is "Ante-Nicene" Christianity? Some Ancient "Heretics": Marcion and the Gnostics. Marcion's Paul. Marcion's Bible. Lessons from Marcion. Paul Outside the New Testament. Pseudepigraphy: A Closer Look. The Developing "Science" of Biblical Interpretation. 3 Paul in Late Antiquity. Western and Eastern Christianity. Canon Closure. Augustine of Hippo. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. 4 The Medieval Paul(s). Paul and the Bible in the Middle Ages. Diversity of Thought in the Middle Ages. Paul as the Scholar. Paul and Medieval Cosmology and Anthropology. Paul and the Doctrine of Transubstantiation. Social and Civil Order. Paul and Medieval Anti-Judaism. Paul the Ascetic and Mystic. 5 Paul and the Rise of Protestant Christianity. Luther's Challenge. Sola Scriptura. The Science of Biblical Interpretation. Luther's Reading of Paul's View of the Jews. 6 Paul in the Age of Colonization. The Rise of European Colonization. The Rise of Christian Missions. Debating Biblical Historicity. The Letter to Philemon and Debates over Slavery. 7 Paul in the Twentieth Century. Late Modernism and Postmodernism. Early Twentieth-Century Biblical Scholarship. Counter-responses. Debates over the Bible and the Rise of Anti-Semitism. Redeeming Paul: Paul in the Later Twentieth Century. Paul and Subjectivity. The "New Perspective" on Paul (Paul and Judaism). Paul and Gender. Paul and Sexual Preference. Paul and Politics and Ethnicity. The Historicity of the Pauline Writings and Acts (again). Paul and the Fragmentation of the Twentieth Century. Paul and Postmodernity. Conclusion: The Quest for the Historical Paul; or, What did we find if we couldn't find Paul? (Auto)biography and Paul. Where Is Paul? Questing. The Ethics of Historical Reconstructions. Comparing the Historical Data for Paul and for Jesus. Implications: The Language of Paul. Further Reading. Index of New Testament Citations. Index of Subjects and Proper Names.
About the author
Robert Paul Seesengood is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Albright College. He is the author of
Competing Identities: The Athlete and the Gladiator in Early Christianity (2006), and has written numerous articles on Paul and Pauline studies.
Summary
Tracing the life and influence of one of Christianity's most important figures throughout the major periods of its history, this book explores the changing interpretations of Paul and his work, and in doing so throws new light on his writings and on religious history. The impact of the apostle Paul on Christianity is enormous.
