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Paul the Convert: The Apostolate and Apostasy of Saul the Pharisee

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In this 1990 work by Alan Segal, the author argues that the best way to understand Paul is by using the conversion language prevalent in the first century. Largely reacting to the writings of Krister Stendahl and E.P. Sanders, Segal writes that Paul did in fact undergo a conversion. This conversion was not an emotional or crisic experience, but was demonstrated in Paul's willing change of social setting. So Paul then, a Jew, lives as a non-observant in a Gentile community.

Segal uses this distinction to explain the struggle that Paul had with opponents in his letters. While Segal finds that conversions did occur in the first century, Paul's problems started in earnest when he tried to reconcile the observant and non-observant wings of the church. Segal's thesis is that Jews supported the idea of converting Gentiles, but were repulsed by non-observnt Gentiles and observant Jews worshipping TOGETHER.

The weakness of this work in its tendency to describe Paul as a kind of first-century religious quester. A position that does not fit with the self-description of the man in his letters. It is also a bit unnecessarily long, especially in the first 70 pages or so, when Segal spends much space describing the religious attitudes of various religions in the first century. Much of this does not apply to his larger arguement, and provides detail for the sake of detail. It is, however, an excellent examination of the sociological implications of Paul and his work. A worthy read for any student of Paul and his literature.

Doug Ward

Alan Segal gives us a whole new perspective of the Apostle Paul from a Jewish scholar who is well versed in first century Judaism. By placing Paul in his own time and culture rather than trying to identify him with the church which canonized him as a saint hundreds of years after his death, we get a much better understanding of a man who, although a prolific writer, remains an enigma.

Segal tries to understand Paul as a fellow Jew and neither lionizes him as the hero of Christendom nor disparages him as a self seeking adventurer who turned Christianity into a Hellenistic mystery religion. Segal describes Paul as a Pharisaic Jew who converted to an apocalyptic form of Judaism (primitive Christianity) based upon his revelation of the risen Christ and his years spent in Syria living with a community of gentile believers who enabled him to interpret the meaning of his revelation.

Segal claims that it is a mistake to identify Rabbinic Judaism with the first century Pharisees and to use the Mishnah and the Talmud to understand the Jewish opposition to Jesus. In Segal's own words, "it is a pity that few Jewish writers have attempted to understand Paul" and "Paul is, ironically, one of the most fruitful and reliable sources for first century Jewish religious life."

Paul's revelation can be understood in the same light as what was known later as Jewish Merkabah mysticism which, in the first century, was linked with apocalyptic beliefs (ie Qumran). Paul's risen Christ can be identified with the human figure on a throne acting as a heavenly mediator who carries the name of the Lord and reflects the glory of God which was inspired by the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Enoch. This figure was known by various titles such as Son of Man, Melchizedek, and Metatron.

Like Enoch, Paul claims to have gazed upon the glory of God and was thus transformed into a spiritualy resurrected being. It was the gentile community in Syria which helped Paul understand the meaning of his revelation. To Segal, Paul's writings are important evidence for the existence of first century Jewish mysticism.

Years later, Rabbinic Judaism repudiated the idea of two powers in Heaven (ie a divine heavenly mediator) which is why Jewish Christianity was branded as a heresy in the synagogue.

Even though the inclusion of gentiles was an anathema to other Jewish apocalyptic groups like the Qumranites, Paul's theology parallels many ideas found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The idea of justification, whereby all humans are sinful and require God's grace for salvation is practically mirrored in a passage of 1QS11. Paul's dualism of flesh versus spirit is similar to the Sons of Light versus the Sons of Darkness. Segal suggests that Paul may have been aware of Essene teachings prior to his conversion.

Paul believed that believers who were baptized into the body of Christ would be transformed into the image of Christ as he had been. As an apocalypticist, Paul believed in the imminent return of Christ which would complete the transformation.

Paul's revelation and spiritual transformation radically altered his ideas about salvation. Paul felt the Torah was from God and was useful as a moral guide for all believers but that the observance of ceremonial laws like circumcision, which distinguished Jews from gentiles, were irrelevant for salvation and should not be imposed on gentile converts. To Paul, spiritual transformation through faith in the risen Christ was the key to salvation (ie resurrection in the life to come).

As a Pharisee, Paul felt that adherence to the Torah was an all-or-nothing proposition. He especially disdained individuals who tried to impose circucision as a requirement for gentile converts when these very same individuals didn't adhere to the law as stringently as he had done as a Pharisee. Paul preferred faith and spiritual transformation over a watered-down version of Jewish observances.

Segal explains Paul's dilemmas regarding the law which are difficult to comprehend. By the law, a man condemned as a criminal and ignominiously crucified cannot be the messiah, which had been the Jews' primary rejection of Jesus from the beginning. However, Paul's own revelation of seeing the glorified risen Christ told him the opposite. Thus, the Torah as a means of salvation had been replaced by the appearance of Christ.

According to Judaism, the law is only binding during one's mortal life in the present age. In Paul's way of thinking, those who have been baptized into the body of Christ have "died in Christ" and therefore have died to the ceremonial requirement of the law. To Paul, the new age had already arrived with the resurrection of Jesus and the ceremonial laws were no longer binding. The appearance of the Son of Man, according to the Book of Daniel, was a sign that the end times had been inaugurated.

Segal does an excellent job in explaining Romans 7:9-15 which is often interpreted as Paul's personal battle with lust and passion. In this passage Paul claims that the security he feels in practicing the Torah prior to his conversion is a hindrance to his faith which would make him overlook the value of his transformation. Depending on the law for one's salvation is backsliding into a former fleshly way of life and blinds one to the necessity of spiritual transformation through faith. Paul does not want his audience to depend on the law for their salvation.

Paul tried to accommodate himself to the Jerusalem apostles. He commends the Thessalonians for immitating the churches in Judea by enduring the same kind of persecutions. He implied that he became a vegetarian so as not to offend Jews or gentiles when he ate with them. He even circumcized one of his followers, Timothy. During his final journey to Jerusalem he brings an offering from his gentile converts as a sign of goodwill.

Likewise, the Jerusalem apostles were willing to accept gentile conversions based upon adherence to the Noahide laws and the majority of Jewish Christians endorsed Paul's mission to the gentiles.

What Jewish Christians did not accept was Paul forcing the issue of unity between Jewish and gentile believers by breaking down the barriers which distinguished them. Just as gentiles had to foresake immorality and idolatry, it was implied that Jews would have to foresake those ceremonial laws which distinguished them as Jews.

Paul's efforts to unify Jews and gentiles by erasing the boundaries between them ultimately led to his demise. The imminent return of Christ, which would solve this problem, did not occur. His vision of a new chosen people, both Jew and Greek, into a single body of Christ was never realized. In that respect, Paul's life was a tragedy which ended in failure. Paul did not foresee nor did he intend for an entirely new entity, the church, to emerge completely separate from Judaism. It was never Paul's intention to be canonized as a saint in a gentile church based in Rome hundreds of years after his death.

Let me say at the outset that I am not a scholar and have no academic credentials. However I am reasonably well read in the history of the birth of Christianity. I bought this book because it had been well-mentioned in reviews in Anglican journals I receive. I was not disappointed. This is an excellent work written from a Jewish perspective, and as such it brings a new and exceedingly important dimension to the understanding of first century Judaism and the influence of Paul in the growth of the Christian church which had begun life as a sect within then (as now) heterodox Judaism. I think, as does Mark Stover in The Library Journal and the first reviewer, that Professor Segal has done a superb job in explaining to us what first century Judaism looked like and the birth pangs of the early Christian church and how it eventually separated itself from Judaism and Paul's role in this. The book is not easy to read, but the subject matter is difficult. It is not something easy or cut and dried. I think Professor Segal writes exceedingly well, and that anyone seeking an understanding of Judaism and Christianity in our own time will find this book extremely rewarding. I urge potential buyers to pay no attention to the previous review. It is valueless.

Alan F. Segal's Paul the Convert is absolutely brilliant. It is an invaluable book for any serious student of the Apostle Paul and the Pauline epistles, and it will be of considerable interest to those interested in rabbinical Judaism. The information provided about Judaism and its influence upon Paul's writings is most informative and provides tremendous insight into Paul's theology and writings. The scope and depth of the material presented in this book is amazing, and Alan Segal presents this material in a manner, which is clear, logical, and convincing. I only regret that I did not have this book when it was first released, in 1990.

-Barry C. Gaynor, M.Div., M.S.W.

I read a lot, mostly nonfiction, so I was really looking forward to this book. It is definitely scholarly, well-researched and has well-thought-out information.
But the style is so dry, so pedantic, that it's hard to stay interested in it, which disappoints me. I was really looking for further information and insights into Paul's life, and was ready to dive into this book, but after reading the first chapter, I laid it down and haven't picked it up again.
I'll probably finish it eventually, after I've read everything else that I'd planned to read this summer. At least it will be good to have when I need something to help me sleep.

If you are interested in Paul then I would highly recommend this book; it's another stone for the foundation.
This book does a good job examining Paul's conversion and his experience in a Hellenistic social setting.

I love this book!! This was an assignment for World Civ, but it was the best book I think I have ever read as an assignment. I wouldn't have read it had it not been brought to my attention by the instructor. Boy, I would have really missed some good stuff. Read this book.