Paul: The Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought

by E.P. Sanders

Decades after setting the study of Paul on a profoundly new footing with Paul and Palestinian Judaism (Fortress Press, 1977), E. P. Sanders now offers an expansive introduction to the apostle, navigating some of the thorniest issues in scholarship in language accessible to the novice and seasoned scholar alike. Always careful to distinguish what we can know historically from what we may only conjecture, and these from dogmatically driven misrepresentations, Sanders sketches a fresh picture of the apostle as an ardent defender of his own convictions, ever ready to craft the sorts of arguments that now fill his letters but were not the basis for his own beliefs and attitudes. He also gives sustained attention to a historical sketch of Paul’s context, particularly Second Temple Judaism, in order to set comparisons of Paul and that context on solid ground. Here are familiar themes from Sanders’s earlier work in a presentation that reveals a career’s reflection, along with new thinking regarding development in Paul’s thought. All of the letters are carefully introduced in a text that will prove a worthy guide to the student and interested reader.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Religion, Nonfiction, History

900 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2015

About the author

Ed Parish Sanders is a New Testament scholar, and is one of the principal proponents of the New Perspective on Paul. He has been Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion at Duke University, North Carolina, since 1990. He retired in 2005

Reviews

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work is excellent as an advanced introduction for the serious student of Paul. Sanders indicates that the book was written with undergraduates in mind, and it is appropriately accessible. On the other hand, it is quite comprehensive. I've read thousands of pages on Paul, and Sanders has plenty of new things to say, as well as refreshing perspectives on familiar issues. He is the opposite of many writers, who trumpet their exciting proposals only to deliver arguments that don't quite carry the weight. Sanders adduces example after example, and offers his conclusions with such a lack of customary fanfare that its possible to miss the profundity of his achievement.

[Leon O'Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not for the faint of heart. E.P. Sanders provides a systematic overview of the thought of Paul. The key point that he makes is that Paul did not write a comprehensive theology, rather he approached issues and situations as each developed. So his writings show this development. I thought some of the sources were a little dated and could have done with an update.

[Michael K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be an AWESOME read! Very in-depth, very impressive research, and details that came out in this book that I may not have ever learned, otherwise. It is a long read and may require a little extra time in order to fully understand the ramifications of such deep research! Well worth the time to read this book if you are interested in the Apostle Paul. You may not agree with the research, but then you will need to do a little more research yourself then...eh?

[Xon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sanders explains Paul

Sanders painstakingly pores over Paul's epistles to understand the 'apostle to the gentiles.'

It is a great thing to observe a great mind at work.