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Paul Among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time Paperback – August 2, 2011

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Sarah Ruden (Author)
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4.3 out of 5 stars 65 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Image; 7.3.2011 edition (August 2, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385522576
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385522571
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsThe Pagan World, Warts and All (And It Was Mostly Warts)
By Ulsterman on April 12, 2010
Format: Hardcover
Jesus was good, Paul was bad - so goes the familiar slant on the Bible, which paints Paul as the monster who corrupted the enlightened teachings of Jesus by condemning homosexuals, telling wives to submit to their husbands, telling slaves to obey their masters, and telling Christians to obey the government. Sarah Ruden makes an effort to correct this vision of Paul as sexist homophobe, and does so by showing how really bad the pagan world was in his day.

Regarding Paul's often-quoted words about homosexuals, Ruden unveils for us a world where slave boys were regularly used (and mostly abused) for sex, where families with money sent a slave along with their sons to school in the hope the sons would not be accosted by a man trying to procure them as sex toys. Ruden, deeply familiar with Greek and Roman literature, makes it clear that the world of Paul's day was not some delightful 1960s sexual paradise love-in, but a world full of disgusting exploitation, in which both women and boys were objectified, regarded as low as animals. Where I find some fault in her fascinating chapter on Paul and homosexuality is that she rather coyly limits herself to pedophilia and tiptoes around the matter of adult males having sex (obviously that did go on in Paul's day). We can appreciate her detail--horrible as it is--about the abuse of boys by adult men, but the book could have been much more interesting had she included data on adult male practices.

Her chapter on Paul and his view of women is superb. Suffice it to say that modern women should be very happy to live in this world instead of Paul's, for the quotations from pagan literature make one wonder if women were truly loved or valued as human beings in that period.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsMeaningful Scholarship Written with Grace
By Mark P. Brown VINE VOICE on February 24, 2010
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
The reader is greeted in the preface with a fair summary of the bare facts of Paul. Those bare facts are sure to raise the blood pressure of more traditional readers as they firmly set the author as a member of the modern academy. That traditional reader would be at that point ready for yet another 'see Paul really agrees with my modern thoughts' work. That is not what follows.

Dr. Ruden is both true to her scholarly field, and true to the text of scripture. In the process she skewers her admitted modern academy view of Paul ("I kept Paul in a pen out back") and the narrow traditional view of Paul as a prop for authority of all stripes. The author reads the modern controversial passages from Paul (homosexuality, role of women, marriage, authority) and places them firmly in the context they were written. Unlike the typical academic cherry picking of sources, Dr. Ruden's passion and committement to her field shine in every section. The conclusions should be deeply troubling to both academic and tradionalist alike. Paul's call is much deeper than the straw men both camps stand up. The call is to "deal with the everday world in an exemplary way" - faith that God is bigger than we can imagine and that His love is what makes our tragically incomplete selves fulfilled.

The author does not seek to answer or settle arguments that can't be, nor does she suggest modern technocratic and programatic ways forward. True to her subject she "sees there is only one way to win". If you are looking to have your views confirmed, don't read this book. If you want open yourself up to being cut to the heart, let Dr. Ruden lead you through some of her revelations of Paul's call.
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5.0 out of 5 starsRemarkable piece of popular scholarship that really makes you think
By Christopher Barat on April 22, 2010
Format: Hardcover
This is a work of true intellectual honesty -- and, I'm sorry to say, probably could not be written in the setting of the modern academy. Ruden, a classical scholar who has translated Vergil and Aristophanes among others, here takes on St. Paul, the Apostle most responsible for turning Jesus' message into what we know as "Christianity." Paul has long been in bad odor among numerous progressive types for a raft of supposed sins, including homophobia, misogyny, and a willingness to kowtow to authority. As Ruden demonstrates here, however, these critics have been looking through the wrong end of the telescope all along. In the context of the society in which he lived, Paul's exhortations were radical, not reactionary, in their aim of creating a more inclusive, supportive society. Ruden shows this by the simple device of contrasting Paul's writings with those of contemporary Roman authors and their Greek predecessors, in order to repaint, to as full an extent as possible, the background against which Paul was operating as he wrote his letters to nascent Christian communities. This idea is so obvious in hindsight that it's surprising that it had never been tried before. In Chapter 1, Ruden explains why: classical scholarship and early Church scholarship run on parallel academic tracks. As an unaffiliated scholar (see the interview here), Ruden was able to "think outside the box" and combine the two fields in a unique and eminently accessible way.

Unfortunately, there's a more serious reason as to why Ruden's short, pithy book would have been a "non-starter" behind the ivied walls. She has an annoying habit of following the evidence wherever it leads, regardless of the expected destination marked out by the PC police. Her chapters on homosexuality and slavery are good examples of this tendency.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsHelpful to put Paul's writing into the perspective of his ...

Helpful to put Paul's writing into the perspective of his time. The author's opinion is that Paul was improving the respect for and condition of women, slaves, etc. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Robert Steinke
5.0 out of 5 starsThis book helped see see what was happening in the ...

This book helped see see what was happening in the time of Paul and why he wrote what he wrote.

Published 1 month ago by S. K. Baker
4.0 out of 5 starsSarah Ruden has helped deepen my faith with this edifying ...

Sarah Ruden has helped deepen my faith with this edifying book. I will be referencing it for years and will pass it on to my heirs. Read more

Published 1 month ago by __t_i_m_o_t_h_y__
5.0 out of 5 starsbut the Romans were terrible in the way they treated people

Some things never change; but the Romans were terrible in the way they treated people. No wonder St. Paul had no use for The current practices of his day. Read more

Published 1 month ago by ideaarchitect
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing read

This book took me by surprise with its lack of agenda (aside from revealing the truer Paul) and fantastic scholarship. Read it!

Published 1 month ago by Chad
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Outstanding read!!! Very eye opening

Published 2 months ago by Nila
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing insight I very much needed

I really liked the clear references to historical texts and the way they were used to help me meet Paul where he was when he was writing. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Ian W Daykin
5.0 out of 5 starsAn eye-opener

What a great idea to analyze the apostle and his writings by comparing it to the literature of the times. Read more

Published 5 months ago by little lady
5.0 out of 5 starsI Wish She Were My Friend

This is an amazing little book, full of fresh, scholarly and personal insights. I am not a scholar of the language or history, so I leave it to you to read other reviews from more... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Cindy Rinaman Marsch
5.0 out of 5 starsEasily readable by an intelligent reader -- no knowledge of ...

Bought this as a gift for a pastor as I don't want to let go of my copy. Ms. Ruden writes very clearly and explains her views well. Read more

Published 8 months ago by C. Oliver

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