An excellent single-volume introduction to Christianity’s first theologian.
A brief but thorough account of St. Paul’s life and an analysis of its significance in the subsequent development of Christianity.
Paul presents a unique challenge to scholars, as he’s unusually difficult to fully understand. In this debut, Noel tackles this enigmatic figure, painstakingly assessing available historical and biblical evidence. Paul began his life as Saul and was a man of several significant identities: he was a traditional Jew who was apparently educated to become a Pharisee, a Roman citizen, and a resident of Tarsus, a city in eastern Turkey. Noel carefully weighs the competing significance of these influences and judiciously attempts to uncover a single coherent vision of Paul. He meticulously considers a totality of factors, including Paul’s character, his upbringing, his education, and his self-reliance despite considerable family wealth. The author also furnishes a synoptic account of the theological landscape into which Paul was born, defining the various sectarian schools of which he would have been aware. Although Noel predictably and sensibly assigns a central place to Paul’s well-known conversion, he also thoughtfully reflects on a subject that’s too often neglected: the reasons why Paul was such a committed persecutor of Christians in the first place. According to the author, his fury was a function of his devotion to Judaism and his opinion that Christianity was a heretical rejection of it: “In Paul’s view, the very existence of a religion that had faith in the crucifixion of the Messiah was blasphemy against his most sacred hope of salvation and the deliverance of Israel, which God promised to his forefathers.” Of course, Paul’s conversion transforms him from persecutor to persecuted, and Noel provides a detailed overview of Paul’s evangelical mission, which apparently focused on spreading Jesus’ message through densely populated urban centers. It’s remarkable how much ground the author covers in a relatively short monograph, which is largely attributable to concise, lucid prose that’s not always found in research-driven literature. One ends up wishing for more extended discussions of Paul’s letters and his theology, but this whetting of intellectual appetite is more a virtue than a vice.
An excellent single-volume introduction to Christianity’s first theologian.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5246-2345-6
Page Count: 168
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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