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The Living Paul: An introduction to the apostle & his thought

Reviewed by Dave Faulkner.

Anthony Thiselton is justly lauded for his work in hermeneutics and for his two extraordinary commentaries on 1 Corinthians. Now he brings us an outstanding introduction to Paul and his thought. It is a comprehensive and succinct work. He begins with the relationship between Paul and Jesus, refuting the idea that Paul invented a faith that had little to do with the historic Jesus. He moves on to consider a wide range of the apostle’s doctrinal and ethical themes, and ends with a surprising chapter about Paul and postmodernity. In almost every chapter, I found myself appreciating insights that were new to me. To take but one example, he suggests that 1 Corinthians 12.3 does not mean Corinthians were cursing Jesus, but that they were using Jesus’ name to curse others (p.61).

One obvious trap for a book like this is the disputes about which epistles are truly Pauline. However, Thiselton manages to write in a way that means you can read this book with profit whatever your stance.

Whom is this book for? Sadly, not most of the people in our congregations who struggle with the meaning and relevance of Paul, because it is written somewhere around the level required in the first year of a Theology degree. However, it would be a great benefit on a minister’s shelf as basic material for preaching and teaching Paul, perhaps in a home group or other midweek meeting. Occasionally, the brevity that is necessary to keep the book to a manageable length means issues that deserve a longer exploration receive only a summary, but the footnotes give plenty of leads for those who want to take things further.

This title has been praised to the heavens by the likes of Graham Stanton and Richard Burridge. I join my voice with these eminent scholars to commend this work highly. It is about to go on my shelf. I do not think it will be long before it makes a return journey to my desk.