Paul and Jesus: The True Story [Paperback]

David Wenham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

It has been fashionable in New Testament scholarship to view the apostle Paul as a religious "freelancer" who corrupted Jesus' teachings. David Wenham has written convincingly against this view, and in this new book he introduces readers to the "true" Paul. Rooted in a thorough knowledge of the New Testament, this book fulfills two important purposes. First, it provides a superb introduction to Paul himself. Wenham describes Paul's early life, shows the importance of his conversion, and follows him on his missionary journeys. Second, the book explores Paul's relation to Jesus. Writing in dialogue with those who wish to distance Paul from Jesus, Wenham shows just how important the ministry and teaching of Jesus were to Paul's own thought and evangelism. What emerges from a study of Paul's epistles is a man who drew extensively on the traditions of Jesus and faithfully worked to spread his message to the rest of the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802839835
• ISBN-13: 978-0802839831
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,832,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jesus and Paul, January 8, 2004

By 

John T. Farrell (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paul and Jesus: The True Story (Paperback)

I first became aware years ago that St. Paul is one of the more problematic Christian figures when I came across an unpublished manuscript in the British Library written by the late eighteenth century utilitarian philosopher and gadfly Jeremy Bentham. Entitled "Jesus Not Paul," the long essay argued for a Christianity untainted by the arrogant and tortured Paul who, Bentham claimed, had substituted his own bad ideas (for instance, regarding sex) for the good ideas of Jesus. Thus was I introduced to the controversies that have followed Paul throughout the centuries. Was he a true follower of Jesus, his detractors ask, or was he an iconoclast who traded on Jesus' name to form a strain of religion distinct from the original message of Jesus? Were his omissions regarding Jesus' earthly life and teaching deliberate and malicious or explainable and honest? What was more important to Paul, explaining Jesus Christ or pursuing his own theological imagination?

Into this complex fray comes the Rev. Dr. David Wenham, Anglican priest and dean at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. Approaching Paul from an evangelical point of view, Wenham carefully delineates Paul's indebtedness to Jesus in the development of his theology and, more importantly, as the basis of his faith. In answering questions of Paul's connection to Jesus, Wenham also offers a good overview of Paul himself, from his early life to his conversion and onto his missionary journeys. Following the pattern of his earlier work, Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity?, Wenham translates scholarly research and textual criticism for general readers into a readable defense of Paul. While he doesn't answer all concerns about Paul's thought in relation to Jesus' message, Dr. Wenham does make a convincing case for Paul, first Christian theologian, rather than Paul, founder of a religion subtly antithetical to the Christ.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Offering a wealth of documented and supported insights, February 7, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paul and Jesus: The True Story (Paperback)

Paul and Jesus: The True Story by the Reverend David Wenham (an Anglican parish priest and a researcher/teacher at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, England) is an informed and commendable attempt to address common negative views of the apostle Paul, who is often credited with changing or modifying Jesus' original ideas, messages and teachings, especially with regard to the role and status of women and sex. Presenting the true story of Paul and Jesus, and what the scriptures themselves tell a modern readership, Paul and Jesus is a straightforward, highly recommended, scholarly interpretation offering a wealth of documented and supported insights into the "Apostle to the Gentiles" and the true story of the two most influential figures in the establishment of Christianity into what would become one of the major religious movements the world would ever know.