Paul: A Very Short Introduction by E.P. Sanders
My rating: 1 of 5 stars Absolute drivel, but not in the good way. Sanders is supposed to be a brilliant scholar, but this book as an introduction to the Apostle fell short in a number of ways. Instead of a general idea of Paul's life or his theology, we have Sanders' perspective on issues related to the New Perspective on Paul. While the NPP is important for modern Pauline scholarship, this introduction skips over all that and instead reads more as a summary of Sanders' other work. Without the context of that work, this book has a tendency to leave a reader bewildered about what on earth Sanders is supposed to be talking about. His chapters on the resurrection and behavior (ethics) were particularly good, but the rest of the book was difficult to sit through. One of the biggest holes is Sander's inability to chart a "third way." He gets caught up in distinctions, like between Luther's "fictional, imputed righteousness" (why it is fictional Sanders never bothers to explain) and the "Pauline" view that righteousness is union with Christ, without ever thinking through the implications of either view by trying to piece them together or offering some other traditional Christian interpretations. Beyond the chapter on ethics, I would hesitate to recommend any part of this book to anyone. View all my reviews
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