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About What Paul Meant
Product Description A synthesis of the apostle's thought and influence evaluates the disparate qualities attributed to his character in the Bible and throughout history, arguing that Paul's intentions were consistent with the teachings of Jesus and sought to manage controversy throughout the early days of Christianity. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lincoln at Gettysburgh . 75,000 first printing. From Publishers Weekly This slender volume is something of a sequel to Wills's blockbuster What Jesus Meant; here, Wills defends Paul from detractors who insist that the apostle corrupted Jesus' radical message. Beginning with a reminder that Paul's letters are older than the gospels and therefore may represent the most authentic approximation of Jesus' teachings, Wills argues that Paul was right in line with Jesus. Both men stressed love of God and love of one's neighbor as the two principal commandments. Wills highlights the differences between the Pauline epistles and Luke's later writing about Paul, arguing that the famous story of Paul's road-to-Damascus conversion, which comes from Luke's account in Acts, is flawed, and that Paul himself did not consider his convictions about Jesus a "conversion," but part of his ongoing life as a Jew. Through a reading of Romans, Wills attempts to acquit Paul of the charges of anti-Semitism. And though Paul is often tarred as a misogynist, Wills shows that he "believed in women's basic equality with men." (Since Wills focuses only on the seven letters that most scholars agree were written by Paul himself, the egalitarian Paul becomes credible; some of the most overtly sexist passages come from letters written later and ascribed to Paul.) Provocative yet helpful, this book is sure to create a buzz . (Nov. 6) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Lacking the distracting critiques of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) buttons and Benedict XVI that bracketed the main text of What Jesus Meant (2006), that book's companion gets right to the point. Is Paul "the bad news man," who corrupted the teachings of Jesus into an antisexual, antiwoman, anti-Semitic apology for oppression? Apocryphal second-century writings characterize Paul as an instrument of Satan, early critics called him the father of heresies, and to him has been attributed the most stringent, damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't predestinationism. Newly translating the seven epistles now considered authentic for his references, and arguing from historical discoveries about other New Testament references to Paul, especially in Acts, Wills begs to differ. Paul's writings are the earliest Christian texts and, Wills maintains, are as orthodox as their priority suggests. They attest that Jesus is the Messiah, preaches a gospel of love, and rose from death to redeem humanity. They uphold Jewish law, repeatedly acknowledge women's equality, and discourage sex and marriage only personally, not as a matter of faith. Like Jesus, and since his epistles predate them, more authoritatively than the Gospels, Paul taught that salvation comes from the Jews. To help clarify his exculpation, Wills avoids certain words, especially church, Christians, priests, and sacraments,because nothing corresponding to their modern meanings was used by early followers of Jesus. The affect of that decision is revelatory and makes this explanation of Paul dazzlingly enlightening. Ray Olson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved About the Author Garry Wills is one of the most respected writers on religion today. He is the author of Saint Augustine’s Childhood, Saint Augustine’s Memory, and Saint Augustine’s Sin, the first three volumes in this series, as well as the Penguin Lives biography Saint Augustine. His other books include “Negro President”: Jefferson and the Slave Power, Why I Am a Catholic, Papal Sin, and Lincoln at Gettysburg, which won the Pulitzer P
