The Problem with Paul

by Brian J. Dodd

Was Paul a chauvinist? Was he a prude? Was he anti-Semitic? Why did Paul condone slavery? How might he have fared on the Oprah Winfrey Show? People outside the church have often found Paul hard to stomach. His views on women, sex and marriage, his failure to attack the institution of slavery, and his verbal attacks on his opponents have all come under fire. Regrettably, Paul hasn't always fared that much better among believers. Like the apostle Peter, many wonder what to make of Paul and his confusing, controversial--and sometimes apparently contradictory--teachings. Put simply, Paul just isn't politically correct. Brian Dodd offers a fresh look at the perpetually enigmatic and misunderstood Paul. Combining pastoral insight and scholarly rigor, he helps us bridge the gap between Paul's ancient world and our postmodern setting. Here is much-needed perspective for making sense of Paul--the man and his message.

Genres: Christian

180 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent dialogue, entering into the ancient world to understand Paul as an ancient man and writer and his audience within their cultures. Dodd offers many excellent suggestions as to how we as modern readers might reorient our understanding of some of Paul's writing and how it may or may not apply to us today in the ways that we have been led to believe. I was impressed to see Dodd take a balanced and conciliatory stance while remaining wholeheartedly orthodox. To the thoughtful Christian and New Testament reader, I highly recommend this book.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit that I stopped reading this mid-way once it became clear that this was less a study of Paul and techniques to evaluate him, and more fundamentalist apologetics.

Example:
Author clearly explains that to understand Paul's teaching we must cross a "bridge" to Paul, then a "bridge" from him to his audience, and then bring that information back across the "bridge" and apply it to our modern age. Yet, the author applies his own rules only when convenient. With regard to marriage, the author pretty convincingly demonstrates why Paul wasn't a chauvinist, yet neglects entirely the differences between modern and ancient understandings of what the institution of marriage was, for whom, why, etc. Is it not important to acknowledge that marriage is, in most ways, not what it was (in terms of purpose, at the very least) and how that difference should (or, I welcome him to argue should not) affect the application of his teachings?

Moreover, I find it very hard to take seriously anyone who starts a sentence with "The Bible is clear that...". Guess what - the Bible is CLEAR about very little. You can find scholarly, well-meaning, good hearted and devoted Christian men and women who will disagree on the interpretation of almost anything. Why? Because it is NOT clear. We have to do our best, with knowledge from those who are most educated and with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to make our "best guess" on what this or that passage means. If someone (the author) can't admit that all of our attempts are best guesses based on the info, tradition, and history at our disposal, I really can't put much weight in his arguments.

Lastly, as someone who already understood that, as a person in a certain time and place, Paul really wasn't a chauvinist, racist, etc., my real beef with Paul is his serious attitude problem. It wasn't until the last chapter (which, again, I fast-forwarded to once I realized this was a right-wing-only book) that this was even mentioned. Granted, a whole chapter was devoted to his bad attitude and arrogance. But, by this point I was so aggravated with the book that there was no literary redemption to be had.

[Grant Davis]

Not a bad book. A little bland in its challenges of the different viewpoints Paul is proposed to have had. The overall tone of this book was to simply promote a fundamental view of the traditional viewpoints that are held of Paul. Which is OK, but the title of the book lead me to believe this book would be more objective than subjective.

[David Westerveld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul has some difficult stuff in his writings. I have struggled for some time with what hermeneutical approach to take with his letters. Context obviously matters, but it can also be an excuse for "rewriting" the bible to say what we want it to and not letting it challenge us. This book gave a great example of how to think through some of this difficult passages in ways that are honoring and faithful to scripture, but not wooden and simplistic and that take into account what type of writing it was and in to what context they were written.

[coco's reading]

A helpful text to consult as I'm reading Paul's epistles this year. I've been butting up against certain things in the New Testament lately, and this helped put those issues in perspective by describing the context in detail.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book while looking at the issues people have with Paul gives you the tools to do your own study and exposition of Bible passages so you can best understand the truth that is being driven at.

[Jonathan Woodward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good read. It felt very conversational, as if I were asking questions to someone really smart who could tell me all about Paul, and then some.