The Three Worlds Of Paul Of Tarsus

The world in which early Christianity developed consisted of a complex of distinct communities and cultural 'layers', which interacted with one another, sometimes co-operatively, and sometimes in confrontation. The Three Worlds of Paul of Tarsus explores this world through the life of the apostle Paul, examining the three fundamental cultural 'layers': * the native cultures * the common Hellenistic culture which had been spread in the east as a result of the conquests of Alexander * the culture of the political overlord, Rome. It shows how Paul, as a Jew, a Greek-speaker and a Roman citizen, participates in all of these 'layers'. The authors give an account of the places Paul visited, showing their historical, cultural and political differences and discuss the varied categories, such as religion, philosophy and language, which constituted identity.

A revision of the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--London School of Theology, 2008.

Paul the Apostle has traditionally been viewed as a thinker and theologian, and scholars have focused almost exclusively on his ideas rather than on his religious experience. In this book, a leading New Testament scholar challenges this view of Paul. John Ashton demonstrates how closely Paul’s own career resembles that of a typical shaman, and he shows how every important aspect of Paul’s life and ministry may be illuminated by focusing on his experience. Drawing not only on Paul’s letters but also on contemporary writings in the Jewish and Hellenistic worlds, Ashton discusses a number of important issues relevant to the understanding of Paul and to the origins of Christianity: whether Paul is properly described as a convert, a mystic, an apostle, a prophet, or a charismatic; what his attitude was to the Jewish traditions he inherited; why he felt called upon to preach, not to his fellow Jews, but to the Gentiles; what accounts for the remarkable success of his strange new Gospel; and how we can explain his language of spirit-possession ("Christ lives in me”). In addressing these issues, Ashton demonstrates that to regard Christianity simply as a religion of the word is to ignore a vital truth about its origins.

This volume treats some of the most important and germane factors that went into making up the world in which Paul lived, and that consequently defined who he was and became.

The problem of cultural conflict in congregations has been a serious challenge to the church throughout its history. Many approaches to tackling the problem of cultural intolerance and tensions have been quite pragmatic in nature, without the presence of a solid biblical foundation or pastoral model. In this book Paul's approach as a slave-leader, emptying himself in analogy of Christ's own kenosis, is thoroughly discussed and posed as a biblical approach and solution to handling this very complex and contentious issue in churches, especially in the context of Botswana. Dissertation. (Series: Theology in Africa, Vol. 7) [Subject: Religious Studies, Christanity Studies]

Who was Paul; what did he do, what did he write? Walter F. Taylor sets out to bring together a wealth of contemporary perspectives in a clear and accessible synthesis, bringing to bear on his subject the best of recent social-scientific and cultural-anthropological thinking on Paul. An appendix presents a clear summary of issues related to Paul's thought on gender and sexuality.

Paul Today discusses and challenges popular interpretations of familiar Pauline texts in view of important controversies and debates. Who was Paul? What do we know about his relationship to Jesus? What was the role of the city of Ephesus? Can Paul's attitudes towards marriage and slavery be redeemed? And what of Paul's attitude to women and their ministry, and to homosexuality? Do we appropriately attribute to Paul ideas about justification and faith? Or is there more to know than meets the eye? Throughout, Need debates and reframes familiar interpretations of Paul through challenge and critique informed by both scholarship and pastoral experience. These essays make constructive, critical approaches to Paul available to a wider circle of interested readers.