Synopses & Reviews
Meet Paul Again . . . for the First Time
Continuing in the tradition of The Last Week and The First Christmas, world-renowned New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to expose the church's conspiracy to silence Jesus's most faithful disciple, the apostle Paul.
Review
“In this scholarly and engaging account . . . Borg and Crossan successfully argue that we must separate the genuine writings of the apostle from the writings attributed to him . . . This well-researched and highly readable account is recommended for all students of Paul [and] interested lay readers.”” Library Journal
Review
“A refreshing and heartening exculpation of a still routinely maligned figure of the first importance to culture and civilization.” Booklist (starred review)
Review
“Paul is one of the most controversial figures in Christian historyand one of the most misunderstood. . . . Many will be thrilled with this fresh, erudite portrait of the man.” Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
In this revolutionary follow-up to The Last Week and The First Christmas, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan once again use biblical and historical scholarship to expose the Church's conspiracy to silence Jesus's most faithful disciple, the Apostle Paul.
Scholars have known for decades that some of the letters of Paul in the New Testament were not written by him. Instead, later writers penned the material - writers who were more interested in blunting the radical edge of Paul's teachings, such as his confrontation with the Roman Empire, and his commitment to equality. Borg and Crossan show how the early Church tried to dilute Paul's radical egalitarian message and transform it into something more in line with contemporary doctrine.
Marcus J. Borg is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University and author of the bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, The God We Never Knew, and Jesus.
John Dominic Crossan is the author of several bestselling books including God & Empire, The Historical Jesus, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Birth of Christianity, Who Killed Jesus? and The Last Week, co-authored with Marcus Borg. He lives in Minneola, Florida.
"Borg and Crossan reveal a figure who, besides being neither anti-Semitic, anti-sex, nor misogynist, stresses social and political equality among Christians and between them and others. A refreshing and heartening exculpation of a still routinely maligned figure of the first importance to culture and civilization."
- Booklist (starred review)
About the Author
Marcus J. Borg (1942-2015) was a pioneering author and teacher whom the
New York Times described as "a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars." He was the Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University and canon theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, and he appeared on NBC's
The Today Show and
Dateline, ABC's
World News, and NPR's
Fresh Air. His books have sold over a million copies, including the bestselling
Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time,
Reading the Bible Again for the First Time,
Jesus,
The Heart of Christianity,
Evolution of the Word,
Speaking Christian, and
Convictions.
John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at DePaul University, is widely regarded as the foremost historical Jesus scholar of our time. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, God and Empire, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Greatest Prayer, and The Power of Parable. He lives in Minneola, Florida.