Paul

A Biography

By: N. T. Wright

Narrated by: James Langton

In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology—transforming a faith and changing the world.

For centuries, Paul, the apostle who ""saw the light on the Road to Damascus"" and made a miraculous conversion from zealous Pharisee persecutor to devoted follower of Christ, has been one of the church’s most widely cited saints. While his influence on Christianity has been profound, N. T. Wright argues that Bible scholars and pastors have focused so much attention on Paul’s letters and theology that they have too often overlooked the essence of the man’s life and the extreme unlikelihood of what he achieved.

To Wright, ""The problem is that Paul is central to any understanding of earliest Christianity, yet Paul was a Jew; for many generations Christians of all kinds have struggled to put this together."" Wright contends that our knowledge of Paul and appreciation for his legacy cannot be complete without an understanding of his Jewish heritage. Giving us a thoughtful, in-depth exploration of the human and intellectual drama that shaped Paul, Wright provides greater clarity of the apostle’s writings, thoughts, and ideas and helps us see them in a fresh, innovative way.

Paul is a compelling modern biography that reveals the apostle’s greater role in Christian history—as an inventor of new paradigms for how we understand Jesus and what he accomplished—and celebrates his stature as one of the most effective and influential intellectuals in human history.

Paul Reconstructed

This book has been called an accessible version of N. T. Wright’s earlier academic work, Paul and the Faithfulness of God. I haven’t read the latter but don’t be fooled - this isn’t just a layperson’s devotional. It is a unique biography of St. Paul from a man who is more at-home with his theology than virtually any other scholar in Christian history. (Well, non-contemporaneous of course). He has, for better or worse, influenced how we consider our master theologian of the New Covenant.

Much of his earlier work is abridged and reflected here. Though it is ostensibly a biography, Wright fills in the chronology with an overview of Paul’s ideas and focuses in on most of the Epistles within their chronological framework. Though we have few personal details about Paul’s life (most of them gleaned from Acts), there is a genuine estimation of probable life events (Jewish meditative discernment, life in Tarsus in the context of the Second Temple) and some conjecture about the holes in the narrative. Ex. Was Colossians written from a jail in Ephesus or Rome? You will find a convincing effort here to pick up the missing pieces where it is possible.

Like the best of biographies, I came away from this book feeling that I understand and respect St. Paul in a new light, if not a fully “new perspective”.

Excellent a biography but too tied to Anglicanism

The title describes this as a biography, and that is its structure, though it is necessarily more than just an account of Paul's life. In fact it’s an excellent biography of a man who changed the world. In saying this, I nor the author are trying to say that it was God’s work in people’s hearts that changed the world, but at the same time, this is a story of the man who probably was most influential in the establishment of the church in the west and the propagation of Jesus’ teaching to those outside the Jewish tradition. It gives a lot of insight into what made Paul the person he became. There are some discussions that are quite good, especially his analysis of the idea of “zeal” for God that drove so many of Jesus’ and Paul’s contemporaries. Zeal was the commitment to the one God, the God of Abraham and his descendents, as well as to the Law and the Prophets. Zeal was an absolute commitment and was what drove Paul to persecute Christians in his earlier years. When Paul was struck on the road to Damascus, his complete perspective changed. As he realized that Jesus was the Messiah spoken about in the Prophets, he had to rethink all the presuppositions that he had previously held, but this did not change his commitment to the one God that he had always worshipped. As Wright describes it, Paul would have never thought of himself as promoting a new religion. He was a Jew and was since the Messiah had come, he looked back at what the Messiah was to do, to bring the whole world under the one God and see this as a fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that all the world would be blessed by him. As a biography, this is very good at telling all that we know about Paul’s life and thinking. He relies on Acts, Paul’s epistles, as well as other contemporary evidence. It also gives some insight into Paul’s theological perspective, but unfortunately, in this area Wright is sometimes unclear and at other times (seemingly) tied to an Anglican perspective. His treatment of justification and faith, two areas that are the most important parts of Paul’s legacy, has some good insights, but ultimately fall short. The book is aimed at the layman, and there is much to be gained from reading it. But, it also requires some care and a willingness to take some things with a grain of salt and a questioning eye.

Pleasant rendition of an insightful book

The book is a wonderful introduction to the life and theology of Paul the apostle written by Tom Wright and pleasantly read by James Langton. It is a great resource for understanding the first century contexts (Jewish, Greco-Roman, etc.) of Paul's ministry and letters. If you want to take your understanding of Paul and by extension the whole New Testament beyond a Sunday school level this book is a great place to start. Its tone is warm and conversational and Wright does an excellent job making the latest scholarship not only accessible but vivid and engaging.

Essential reading about an essential zealot.

I learned more about early Christianity and about the essence of zealotry listening to this book than any other I have experienced. Well worth your time if your interests are here.

Splendid

As a student of Scripture and St. Paul in particular I am greatful for N.T. Wright's work on St. Paul the Apostle. This book a makes the Authors previous work on the subject even more accessible to the lay reader.