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Product Description

Aside from Jesus, the Apostle Paul had the greatest formative influence on the early Christian movement. Yet who was this passionate missionary who carried the message of Christ throughout the Mediterranean world? The New Testament writings give us not one but two portraits of Paul. We read numerous details of Paul’s life and relationships in the Book of Acts, and we also find an additional set of details about Paul’s activities in his letters. Yet how consistent are these two portraits? And which one gives us the most accurate picture of the historical Paul? In this volume Thomas E. Phillips examines the portrayals of Paul in recent biblical scholarship in the light of these two major NT portraits. Believing the apostolic conference at Jerusalem to be a watershed event, Phillips draws conclusions that help contemporary readers get a more accurate picture of Paul.

"Here is a helpful, detailed compilation of all the historical data that can be gleaned from Paul’s letters and from Acts in the attempt to determine whether the emerging pictures of Paul and his mission are compatible or otherwise. The author concludes that the pictures are somewhat divergent with Acts presenting a later, more attractive Paul, but he presents the evidence with such care and impartiality that readers are free to make their own decision on this complex issue."
—I. Howard Marshall, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen

"In this carefully written and accessible book, Thomas E. Phillips shows that portraits of Paul vary widely according to how they see the relationship between Paul's own letters and claims about Paul made in the Book of Acts. Some scholars discount what Acts says, while others use Acts to correct Paul's statements. Phillips argues that, while Acts develops its own perspective on Paul, it also provides crucial information."
—Bruce Chilton, Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion, Bard College, Annandale, NY

"In this lively book Phillips revisits an old bone of contention in Pauline studies—relating the Paul of the letters to the Paul of Acts. Eschewing oversimplified and preordained responses, he carefully tabulates data sets from both sources, working through comparisons of Paul’s travels, broad cultural background, and relationships with other early church leaders and members, to reach a final balanced and judicious weighting of the two sets of sources. The result is the crafting of a careful methodological and biographical trajectory that proponents of both sides of this frequently polarized debate will be able to trace through to arrive at a more reasoned and reasonable position. The main text is clear, with numerous jaunty analogies and metaphors; students in particular will benefit from its narratives, while scholars will profit further from the extensive annotations that Phillips supplies. Overall, Phillips is to be commended for bringing this critical set of questions within Pauline studies back into the foreground, and for engaging it with such sustained, disciplined, and frequently insightful enthusiasm."
—Douglas A. Campbell, Associate Professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC

"The quest for the 'real' Paul, pursued with renewed vigor in recent scholarship, has been beset too often by skewed sifting of evidence and wishful thinking. Not surprisingly, then, we find the Paul we want to find. Tom Phillips admirably resists this tendency with his meticulous and comprehensive discussion of the relevant 'data sets' of information regarding Paul in both the undisputed letters and the book of Acts. His disciplined, comparative approach carefully lays out the material for readers to make their own informed judgments. Along the way, Phillips sprinkles in his own judicious conclusions with a light but sure touch. Thoroughly abreast of contemporary scholarship and rigorously rooted in the biblical text, this is a most welcome and worthy reassessment of Pauline biography.
—F. Scott Spencer, Professor of New Testament and Preaching, Baptist Theological Seminary, Richmond, VA

Reviews

“Phillips, professor of NT and early Christian studies at Point Lorna Nazarene University in San Diego and author of Reading Issues of Wealth and Poverty in Luke-Acts (2001), explores the degree to which the Paul of Acts and the Paul of the letters are the same character, and the degree to which they are two distinct and perhaps incongruous characters. The six chapters in his presentation deal with the following topics: the plurality of plausible Pauls; Paul, let me introduce you to Paul; putting Paul's life in order; putting Paul in his place—the Greco-Roman world; finding Paul a place in the church—the participants in the Jerusalem conference; and finding a place in Paul's churches—Paul's associates, his converts, and Apollos. Phillips concludes that the Paul of Acts is a rehabilitated version of the Paul of the letters, a Paul who was recast in terms more attractive to the church of the late 1st or early 2nd century.”
—New Testament Abstracts

Thomas E. Phillips is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Studies at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. He is also the author of Contemporary Studies in Acts and Acts and Ethics.

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