Paul [Paperback]

 

 

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"Paul: The Mind Of The Apostle" is A. N. Wilson's attempt to delve into the mind of one of the most influential people world history. The theme of the book is that Paul, even more than Jesus, is the founder of Christianity. Wilson's method is to compare the writings of Paul and St. Luke with what is known about Paul's world and attempt to pick the truth from among any apparent inconsistencies. He succeeds in providing the reader with an insight into the world of the emerging Church.

The one thing which this book lacks is faith. Wilson subjects the first century to a totally secular analysis. He ascribes secular motivations to the writings contained in the New Testament. He concludes, for example, that part of the Acts of The Apostles is in the nature of a legal brief prepared for Paul's defense, not a theological narrative of the early Church. He seems to be couching the whole New Testament into a form of propaganda with the intent of convincing the Romans of the loyalty of the Christians, by shifting blame to the Jews. He claims that any Jew who was crucified by the Romans would have been a hero among the Jews, ignoring the accounts that Jesus was offered as a sacrifice to divert Roman punishment from the Jewish leadership.

Wilson makes several assertions which in direct contradiction to events recorded in Scripture and Tradition. He states, for example, that the concept that a first century Jew would invite his friends to drink my blood is "unthinkable." In other words, the Last Supper did not happen as reported in the Synoptic Gospels and by St. Paul. He points out that Paul claims that he did not get his information from the other Apostles, but directly from the Lord. Wilson characterizes Jesus as a simple, rural, Jewish preacher who desired nothing more than to encourage a greater fervor among his fellow Jews. He claims that the concepts that Jesus was God and intended to establish a Church are, among other things, concoctions originating in the unbalanced mind of Paul. He expresses amusement at those who pour over Paul's writings as if they were Scripture, which, to a person of faith, they are. He repeatedly asserts that St. Luke is a poor historian. He asserts that, because there is no solid evidence that St. Peter actually got to Rome, he did not. He expresses bewilderment at the failure of Acts to explain Paul's end. He chooses to believe, with no evidence as to what happened to Paul, that he left Rome and went to Spain, apparently to live out his helter-skelter life sans the crown of martyrdom.

The conclusion which the author seems to be suggesting is that Christianity is not a divinely established religion but merely an elaborate charade constructed by man. To the totally secular investigator, Wilson's theme may be attractive. To the person of faith, he is missing the whole point. It is true that Jesus did not lay it all out and that the discernment of His message took some time, just as the Resurrection sunk in slowly and it took Peter years to "really understand" that Gentiles were heirs along with the Jews. To Wilson, this all may be a case of the hijacking of the teachings of a long dead preacher. To the person of faith, the gradual discernment occurred under the guidance of the Holy Ghost throughout the Apostolic Age during which Sacred Truths continued to be revealed. A person of faith who reads carefully can get some insight into the Apostolic world from this book. Perhaps the best greatest benefit from a reading of this book is an appreciation of how different the story looks through the eyes of faith.

Having read this book a number of times, I'm always fascinated not so much by who or what the Apostle Paul was or even did, but by what was going on around him that made the spread of Christianity possible (e.g., the expansive Roman road system, the increasing number of Gentile God-fearers, the increased interest Empire-wide for Eastern religions stressing the personalized interior life, the simmering conflict between Rome and Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Church v. the Antioch Church and their possible disputes over proper interpretation of "the Way", etc.). We perhaps pin too much on Paul's personal ambition and vision such that we tend to forget the strange and even wonderful geo-political calculus and religious synchronicity that made conditions inviting for this one-time Jewish heresy ever to have made it's way out of ancient Palestine.

Wilson approaches his biographies of Paul and Jesus from a somewhat conflicted perspective. He wants to be very skeptical of the conclusions of modern Christianity, yet he isn't sure whether Acts and the Synoptics are complete fiction or literal truth. He seems to careen from one extreme to another throughout the book. He'll cite a passage from Acts as if it were literal history to cast doubts on one of Paul's Epistles. Two pages later, he'll do the opposite. At the end of the book, you're left scratching your head. Does Wilson think the entire New Testament is literal truth or sophisticated mythmaking? Or does he favor some parts over others? Also, it is interesting to read an author who is both skeptical of the New Testament and of other skeptics. For instance, most modern critics of the New Testament accept the existence of Q. Wilson practically dismisses it out of hand. Also, Wilson seems nearly completely ignorant of the findings of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library.

All that said, I enjoyed reading this book. I was entertained by trying to figure out what Wilson's intended message was.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Stranded in Malta
I read this book years ago, but recently dusted it off and gave it another go. I'm going to Malta for my summer vacation this year and one of the main reasons I want to go there... Read more

Published on Jun 15 2003 by Wallace V. French III

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating research not taken to it's conclusion
Wilson's book is worth the price, if, and only if, it is part of a larger assemblage of material on Paul. Read more

Published on Mar 6 2003 by Sam Simpson IV

1.0 out of 5 stars Creative writing
For those expecting an historical review of the life of Paul and the time and area in which he lived, you will not likely be satisfied. Read more

Published on Nov 29 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Waste your Time or Money on this one!
This book is very anti-Christian, written by an obvious unbeliever. What a waste! If anyone feels this author has made valid claims, I suggest they keep looking..... Read more

Published on May 29 2002 by bookloveranne

1.0 out of 5 stars Wilson's Apostle - Not worth the price
This is a really bad book. Why ? The title gives the appearance of relating to a critical and thorough analysis of the Apostle Paul. Read more

Published on May 22 2002 by D. M. Crossen

1.0 out of 5 stars I wish I could give this book 0 stars...
This book was disappointing. I found the topic of an analysis of Paul's character to be intriguing. Unfortunately, there is nothing in this book that would lead me to a better... Read more

Published on Oct 23 2001 by Chris Cortes

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful biography of the founder of Christianity.
A. N. Wilson, an accomplished novelist and biographer, here applies the tools of modern biography and history to one of the central figures in Western religion. Read more

Published on Aug 29 2001 by John P.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Adventures Of The *Historical* Paul
This book is a "sequel" to Wilson's earlier work "Jesus: A Life." Both are very much in the tradition of the "Historical Jesus" quest. Read more

Published on Jun 23 2001 by Jon G. Jackson

4.0 out of 5 stars lively, if not convincing
In a text that does not lack for drama, surely no moment surpasses Saul's epiphany on the road to Damascus. But A. N. Read more

Published on May 31 2001 by Orrin C. Judd

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Study of the Early Christian World
This is a fascinating study of the early Christian world, a period of time in which "Christianity" emerged from the struggles within the early Jewish Jesus-movement... Read more

Published on July 29 2000

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