N.T. Wright. Paul: A Biography. HarperOne, 2018. See here to purchase the book.
N.T. Wright is a renowned New Testament scholar and a former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England.
As the title indicates, this book is a biography of the Apostle
Paul. Wright goes through the events narrated in the Book of Acts,
including in intervals his comments about Paul’s epistles. Overall,
Wright treats the Book of Acts as historical, while arguing that Paul
wrote the Book of Colossians, whose Pauline authorship is doubted by
many scholars. Wright expresses more skepticism about Paul’s authorship
of the Pastoral Epistles (I-II Timothy, Titus), mentioning possible
tensions that would need to be resolved to accept their authenticity.
The book is eloquent and reflective, looking at Paul’s theology and also
at Paul the man. The final chapter especially fleshes out what Wright
believes Paul was like: a person of high energy and strong opinions.
The book includes a lot of the usual N.T. Wright arguments, about how
justification is more about the inclusion of Jews and Gentiles into the
Christian community than personal forgiveness (though the latter is
still relevant), how Paul was proclaiming that Jesus is Lord and Caesar
is not, and how the Olivet Discourse is not about the end of the world.
Wright also addresses the question of why Saul of Tarsus persecuted the
early Christian community, arguing that, for some Jews, people like
Stephen were undermining the Temple by predicting its destruction and by
claiming that God’s presence was in Jesus. The book also contained
thoughts that were previously unknown to me, such as Wright’s argument
that Paul’s address in Acts 17 was Paul speaking while on trial, not
Paul engaging in an academic discussion. Moreover, Wright provided
historical background that made the past come alive, as when he said
that prisoners needed family and friends to bring them food if they were
to eat at all, and when he discussed the likelihood of whether high
officials on a ship would listen to Paul.
This book was a little more informal than Wright’s academic works, but it was an engaging and informative read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through BookLook Bloggers. My review is honest.