Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology [Hardcover]

Udo Schnelle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Paul's writings are centrally important not only for the establishment of the Christian faith but for the whole history of Western culture. The original German edition of Udo Schnelle's work has established itself as a leading introduction to Paul in Europe. Now in Eugene Boring's translation, and with his bibliographic revisions, it represents the state of the art in the English-speaking world.

This comprehensive critical introduction combines historical and theological analysis. After essential methodological preliminaries, the first half of the book constructs Paul's biography: his pre-Christian life, his conversion, his missionary journeys, and the context of his writings. The second half is a synchronic exposition of the theological themes that run through his writings. Apostle Paul is an essential book for professors, students, clergy, and others with a scholarly interest in Paul.

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About the Author

Udo Schnelle (Dr.Theol., University of Göttingen) is professor of New Testament at the University of Halle. He is the author of numerous works, including History and Theology of the New Testament Writings, translated and revised by M. Eugene Boring.

M. Eugene Boring (Ph.D., Vanderbilt University) was the I. Wylie and Elizabeth M. Briscoe Professor of New Testament at Brite Divinity School (now retired). He is the author of several books, including the Interpretation commentary on Revelation and (with Fred Craddock) The People's New Testament Commentary.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 704 pages
• Publisher: Baker Academic (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801027969
• ISBN-13: 978-0801027963
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best modern, scholarly treatment of Paul, January 10, 2012

By 

Robert G. Artinian - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology (Hardcover)

Professor Udo Schnelle is widely regarded as the leading scholar of the New Testament and Early Christianity working in Germany today--and those who read this volume will see why. For, here, they will encounter a historical, textual, and theological assessment of Paul that is of impressive magnitude on all fronts--a type of work that (in my view) is without analogue in current Anglo-American treatments of Paul. Students who have been educated in the latter context (esp. in the US, as I myself) will here encounter a type of panoramic study and a degree of cross-disciplinary competence (e.g., *both* Greco-Roman and Jewish backgrounds, as well as linguistics, philosophy of language, and epistemology) which, in all likelihood, they did not realize existed in the discipline. Not only does Prof. Schnelle display an unparalleled historical, philological, and textual expertise that (justly) made the German school the leader of NT studies in the 20th century, but he also carries out his work with a philosophical and hermeneutical sophistication that one rarely (if ever) encounters elsewhere in contemporary scholarship.

If you are studying Paul (particularly in the Anglo-American context), this book is not only a "must-read," it should serve as the chief guide & arbiter among all modern treatments. It is more than the equal of Dunn's Theology of Paul (and as well-written as Gager's Reinventing Paul), and will correct the excesses and misperceptions that plague the currently conceived horizon of Anglo-American scholarship. Indeed, this work should encourage those in the latter context to read still further, consulting directly with the other recent luminaries of the German critical school (esp. G. Bornkamm; N. A. Dahl; M. Dibelius; G. Strecker; even R. Bultmann--all of whom have been wrongly neglected of late).