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Paul
- The Pagans' Apostle
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
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Paul
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Summary
Often seen as the author of timeless Christian theology, Paul himself heatedly maintained that he lived and worked in history's closing hours. His letters propel his listeners into two ancient worlds, one Jewish, one pagan. The first was incandescent with apocalyptic hopes, expecting God through his messiah to fulfill his ancient promises of redemption to Israel. The second teemed with ancient actors, not only human but also divine: angry superhuman forces, jealous demons, and hostile cosmic gods. Both worlds are Paul's, and his convictions about the first shaped his actions in the second.
Only by situating Paul within this charged social context of gods and humans, pagans and Jews, cities, synagogues, and competing Christ-following assemblies can we begin to understand his mission and message. This original and provocative book offers a dramatically new perspective on one of history's seminal figures.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- platosdunce
- 10-05-23
Superb Depiction of Paul & the Christ he Preached
While this book will infuriate any who have some doctrine of inerrancy and are ideologically captive to orthodox Christian creeds, it carefully and quite brilliantly portrays Paul and his message in a manner which renders that message as reasonable and consistent (Paul's passinoate hypebole aside).
That Paul like any of his people understood Israel's disticntiveness (and superiority) to lie in the fact that they knew God because they alone were given possession of his law is rightly stressed against the emphasis on the Christian as 'Law-free' . On this point is an extended discussion on how Paul references across the whole of Israel's Law when when describing the piety consistent with being 'in Christ'. Indeed chapters 4 & 5 are a tour de force.
Where traditionalists will most strenously object is with the complete rejection of Jesus as a 'God-man' and the whole apparatus of Chalcedon, her reasons are sound and arguments cogent but as notions of salvation are entwined with the idea of Jesus divinity, it is unlikely that those who most need to here such arguments will.
The stress on the imminency of the end is shown to be a major feature of Paul's message, although here Fredriksen remains with the idea that this end was the end of time, personally I see it as describing the end of Israel's covenant and thus her destruction from 'the presence of the Lord'. Certainly this understanding was quite common to those educated converts who became known as the 'Church Fathers'.
What isn't possible to know with an audible production is that the actual book as any many pages again where Fredriksen notes those sources which she references throughout, these alone are enough to humble one's pretensions to scholarship.
Pam Ward is to be mentioned as she does a marvellous job narrating.
That this is a freebie is amazing, that's two so far that have been excellent.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Keith
- 31-12-23
A Fascinating Perspective
A carefully argued evaluation of the life, times and beliefs of a man who, perhaps more than any other, came to shape the understanding of Jesus Christ, his ministry, and the the faith that grew up in his wake. This book does a wonderful job establishing the world the Paul lived and worked in and the religious ideas that would have influenced him. A must read for anyone interested in the early years of Christianity.
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