What do you think?
Rate this book
Thinking through Paul: A Survey of His Life, Letters, and Theology
The study of Paul and his letters can be exciting, challenging, and life-changing, but only if it is done well and only if students achieve more than a basic familiarity with the subject. This is exactly what Pauline experts Bruce W. Longenecker and Todd D. Still accomplish with their new textbook aimed at college and seminary level courses on Paul and his writings.
Longenecker and Still bring decades of study and expertise to Thinking through Paul, challenging readers to delve deeply into Paul's writings and wrestle with his richly-layered and dynamic theological discourse.
Seeking to situate their study of the Apostle in proper perspective, Longenecker and Still first look at Paul's life before and after his encounter with the risen Christ en route to Damascus, then examine each of Paul's letters individually, and finally synthesize the Pauline writings to highlight the main strands of Paul's theologizing---all the while keeping in mind the particular context of first-century Christianity. Filled with images, maps, charts, and questions for further study and discussion, Thinking through Paul is both engaging and easy-to-follow, making it the perfect choice for classrooms and for interested readers.
Longenecker and Still bring decades of study and expertise to Thinking through Paul, challenging readers to delve deeply into Paul's writings and wrestle with his richly-layered and dynamic theological discourse.
Seeking to situate their study of the Apostle in proper perspective, Longenecker and Still first look at Paul's life before and after his encounter with the risen Christ en route to Damascus, then examine each of Paul's letters individually, and finally synthesize the Pauline writings to highlight the main strands of Paul's theologizing---all the while keeping in mind the particular context of first-century Christianity. Filled with images, maps, charts, and questions for further study and discussion, Thinking through Paul is both engaging and easy-to-follow, making it the perfect choice for classrooms and for interested readers.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 9, 2014
35 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Bruce W. Longenecker
38 books23 followersDr. Longenecker specializes in the origins of Christianity, including the following emphases: Early Christianity in its Greco-Roman context; Jesus-devotion in the Vesuvian towns (Pompeii and Herculaneum); the life and theology of Paul; care for the needy among Christian communities of the Greco-Roman world.
Dr. Longenecker joined the Baylor faculty in August 2009, having taught previously at St Andrews University (Scotland, 1999-2009), Cambridge University (England, 1995-1999) and Durham University (England, 1991-1995).
- Ph.D. in Theology; University of Durham, England (1986-90).
- M.Rel. in New Testament Studies;Wycliffe College and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada (1983-86)
- B.A. in Biblical and Religious Studies; Wheaton College, Illinois, U.S.A. (1979-83)
Dr. Longenecker joined the Baylor faculty in August 2009, having taught previously at St Andrews University (Scotland, 1999-2009), Cambridge University (England, 1995-1999) and Durham University (England, 1991-1995).
- Ph.D. in Theology; University of Durham, England (1986-90).
- M.Rel. in New Testament Studies;Wycliffe College and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada (1983-86)
- B.A. in Biblical and Religious Studies; Wheaton College, Illinois, U.S.A. (1979-83)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 26, 2015
This is the second book I've read recently on the life and theology of Paul and both have been disappointing. It has a beautiful format with lots of great relevant color photos. But it seems the authors are more concerned to interact with all the various modern scholarly theories than with the text of Scripture. You learn a lot about what scholars today think about Paul and his writings but not much about Paul and his writings. They also lean towards neo-Paulinism ("New Perspective" of Paul).
March 13, 2020
As a reference tool, this would be rated 4 or 5 stars. It's beautifully-formatted, and contains helpful footnotes, bibliographies, and easy-to-read summaries of different scholarly work on Paul. It's also organized in a way that helps the reader get a basic grasp of Paul's life and work, and especially the contexts of his letters.
As a reading experience, it's what you would expect from a textbook. The writing is generally dry, and is more focused on presenting summaries, rather than interesting new interpretations or provocative arguments. It's really helpful for those who may not be familiar with scholarly conversations about Paul, about authorship questions, or the Old/New Perspective debate, but it doesn't necessarily push anything further.
Despite this, I'm going to keep it on my shelf because of it's usefulness as a reference resource. It's also a helpful go-to for preachers/teachers that need quick refresh on individual Pauline epistles. But if you aren't in a situation in which a reference like that is helpful, then I wouldn't necessarily recommend this. There are a ton of fascinating and interesting individual works on Paul that are more enlivening to read.
As a reading experience, it's what you would expect from a textbook. The writing is generally dry, and is more focused on presenting summaries, rather than interesting new interpretations or provocative arguments. It's really helpful for those who may not be familiar with scholarly conversations about Paul, about authorship questions, or the Old/New Perspective debate, but it doesn't necessarily push anything further.
Despite this, I'm going to keep it on my shelf because of it's usefulness as a reference resource. It's also a helpful go-to for preachers/teachers that need quick refresh on individual Pauline epistles. But if you aren't in a situation in which a reference like that is helpful, then I wouldn't necessarily recommend this. There are a ton of fascinating and interesting individual works on Paul that are more enlivening to read.
July 24, 2015
This introduction to the Pauline corpus is phenomenal! I was assigned it as a companion text for a New Testament class at Baylor and it was very informative! I recommend this for all students, pastors, and theologians as they engage the Pauline writings. Written by two noted Pauline scholars, they have successfully delivered an accessible resource!
July 18, 2019
Read this for a seminary class. It's a bit dense at points but it handles Paul and his writings very well with regard to both context and translational details that could be lost in a straight read. Highly recommended for a budding Pauline scholar.
December 15, 2016
Informative text, no complaints. I learned a lot, thus the five star rating. :)
December 5, 2018
Great introduction to the letters and writings of Paul.
April 12, 2020
Very solid but basic overview of Paul's letters. It is pretty dry in some places (as textbooks often are).
December 27, 2020
Read this for New Testament class, very informative but probably wouldn’t read it again.
November 29, 2025
Good book for someone looking for an introduction. I almost thought there was nothing new here since I have read other books about Paul then I came across a point the book makes that I have never picked up on before. Maybe those other books made the point and I never thought about it before but this time it sank in.
When Paul was writing his epistles and referencing Jesus or explaining Christian theology the gospels had not been written. His arguments had to have been based on either input from the original disciples (unlikely since he and Peter disagreed and had to hammer out the theology), Luke related it to Paul as part of his research for his gospel (also unlikely since he would have been busy traveling with Paul on his ministries) or Paul received it as divine insight.
When Paul was writing his epistles and referencing Jesus or explaining Christian theology the gospels had not been written. His arguments had to have been based on either input from the original disciples (unlikely since he and Peter disagreed and had to hammer out the theology), Luke related it to Paul as part of his research for his gospel (also unlikely since he would have been busy traveling with Paul on his ministries) or Paul received it as divine insight.
July 19, 2025
Had some good bits, and provides a decent summary of many of the issues surrounding Pauline interpretation.
I did find it odd, however, how the authors never once that I remember mention or even assume divine inspiration. A non-Christian studying Paul could read this without having to filter anything out, because the authors seem to simply take the works of Paul at face value: they only deal with them as the writings of an individual human, delving into Paul's interpretive choices and how Paul believes his writing fits with the rest of scripture. (Not saying the authors DENY divine inspiration. I have no idea because it is never even mentioned in passing).
I did find it odd, however, how the authors never once that I remember mention or even assume divine inspiration. A non-Christian studying Paul could read this without having to filter anything out, because the authors seem to simply take the works of Paul at face value: they only deal with them as the writings of an individual human, delving into Paul's interpretive choices and how Paul believes his writing fits with the rest of scripture. (Not saying the authors DENY divine inspiration. I have no idea because it is never even mentioned in passing).
September 11, 2022
Definitely a good read
Interesting study guide. It certainly puts a different perspective on some questions. I think I will get the book NIW that I have checked out the Kindle version.
Interesting study guide. It certainly puts a different perspective on some questions. I think I will get the book NIW that I have checked out the Kindle version.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews