Paul
A Brief History
Published on 2. January 2010
264 pages
978-1-4443-1794-7 (ISBN)
Description
Seesengood traces the life and impact of Paul - one ofChristianity's most influential figures - through themajor periods Christian history. Exploring the changinginterpretations of Paul and his work, the author throws new lighton his writings and on religious history.
* Offers a unique, insightful journey through the many and variedinterpretations of Paul's life and work over 2,000 years- from the Gnostic controversy, to Luther and theReformation, to contemporary debates over religion and science
* Explains Paul's pivotal role within Christian history,and how his missionary journeys, canonized epistles and theologicalinsights were cornerstones of the early Church and central to theformation of Christian doctrine
* Argues that each new interpretation of Paul is the result of afresh set of cultural, social and ideological circumstances -and so questions whether it is ever possible to discover the realPaul
Reviews / Votes
"Seesengood offers an overview of the history of how Paul and thewritings attributed to him have been understood within WesternChristianity. . . He writes at a level appropriate for first-yearuniversity students." (Journal for the Study of the New Testament,1 August 2011) "An accessible narrative of interpretations and manifestations ofPaul's intellectual, religious, and political effects inhistory. Seesengood offers a 'brief', thoughimpressive, survey of the history of scholarship about Paul,unmasking myths, legends, and popular images. This excellentresource for undergraduate and seminary students will also be ofinterest both to non-specialist, general readers and to biblicalscholars." --David J. Lull, Wartburg Theological Seminary "This outstanding and accessible book is a welcome and timelycontribution. At a time when writers beyond theologians andbiblical scholars have begun to examine Paul's thought, thisclear-eyed account and critique of the use (and abuse) of Paulthrough the centuries opens for students and sharpens for scholarsthe worlds of historical method and postmodern cultural critique. Arich addition to the study of Paul through the ages and paradigmfor how to think about such matters." --Jerry L Sumney, Lexington Theological SeminaryMore details
Other editions
Person
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.
Content
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.
Antiochene Christian Interpretation.
Alexandrian Christian 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 of 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 wefind 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.
