The First Paul

by Marcus J. Borg (Author), John Dominic Crossan (Author)

By	Donald W. Blosser (Goshen, IN.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon (Hardcover)

Whenever Borg and Crossan get together, it is worth paying attention. These two scholars are best known for their work on Jesus, but this new venture into Pauline scholarship is very good. The build on the premise that, in the New Testament, we have the Radical Paul (of the Corinthian letters, Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians and Philemon). Then there is the Reactionary Paul (letters written by others--basically the Pastorals) and the Conservative Paul (Ephesians, Colossians). This distinction helps a great deal in understanding the movement in how Paul is read in the New Testament.
They present Paul as a Jewish Christ mystic who lived with a profound sense of oneness with God. They go through the writings of Paul and show how his message changes on various specific themes (from radical to reactionary and Conservative)like slavery, crucifixion, justification.
Jesus is Lord (ch. 4) is especially helpful, where they develop Roman Imperial theology of "Religion-War-Victory-Peace" and show how Paul responds to this in his own theology of Jesus.
But my favorite in this book is ch 5 "Christ Crucified". This treatment of Paul's theology is some of the best available for the lay person who cares about how we talk about salvation. They deal carefully with several popular explanations of the death of Jesus, demonstrating difficulties in how these themes deal with the theology, then offering a more positive, comprehensive understanding (that makes good sense).
In my judgment, these two chapters are worth the price of the book. These two men develop and excellent theology of Paul in language that can be understood, with an affirmation of faith that is very helpful. They have the ability (and the faith) to acknowledge problems in the popular theology of our day, but they move beyond criticism to develop positive, helpful explanations that allows the reader to build and strengthen their own faith.
Only one criticism. For this reader, the final chapter read as though they were up against a deadline and had to rush through this final discussion. It did not have the depth and quality of the rest of the book. However, having said that -- this is a book of high quality that will be helpful for any more progressive, thinking Christian who wants a better, more holistic understanding of Paul.