Paul Behaving Badly

Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?

By: E. Randolph Richards, Brandon J. O'Brien

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

The Apostle Paul was kind of a jerk. He was arrogant and stubborn. He called his opponents derogatory, racist names. He legitimized slavery and silenced women. He was a moralistic, homophobic killjoy who imposed his narrow religious views on others. Or was he?

Randolph Richards and Brandon O'Brien explore the complicated persona and teachings of the Apostle Paul. Unpacking his personal history and cultural context, they show how Paul both offended Roman perspectives and scandalized Jewish sensibilities. His vision of Christian faith was deeply disturbing to those in his day and remains so in ours. Paul behaved badly, but not just in the ways we might think. Take another look at Paul and see why this "worst of sinners" dared to say, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."

©2016 eChristian (P)2016 eChristian

good read

The narration can be a little slow and the material a bit heady, but it's a great eye opener for understanding often confusing scripture.

really terrific book, you won't be disappointed -

loved it. you won't be disappointed, no matter where you're coming from either loving or not loving Paul at the outset.

Loved it!

Everyone who wants a better understanding of Paul should read this book. For every academic level.

Distracting Narration

The content is fantastic but it was hard to listen through the “sh” sound over each “S” and “F” pronounced by the narrator.

much needed! brilliant delivery

I have heard pastors talk about the context of Paul's letters in passing, and not alot of detail. it's always interested me! and this is a brilliant delivery and in depth teaching of Paul.

Good introduction into an intriguing topic.

Ann enjoyable book that will help to open your mind to seeing Paul and his writings in a different light. It may not fully satisfy the in-depth student of the Bible but is a great primer for further study. Overall a very fun read.

Very good book

This book is best understood if you have listened tHe 2 authors prior book Misunderstanding Scripture with Western Eyes. You learn how they build an argument & learn to trust their reasoning & intense desire to honor the Word of God. That said, it is a great resource for a person and a society earnestly desiring to see how relevant the Scriptures are for all people in all of time.

Good but could be better

There were several chapters of this book that I loved and found incredibly insightful. There were others that I found ok. I listened to this book after I listened to another book by the same authors (Reading Scripture through Western Eyes). I LOVED that book. The reader did a better job in the other book and I loved everything in that book. There were many really good parts of this book, but the other book was AWESOME.

Enlightening and very entertaining

This book has given me food for thought. Maybe Paul wasn't such a big jerk.

A much needed guide to understanding and communicating

Invaluable Insights and a guide to better understanding and communicating Christianity in a 21st century world. Especially helpful, I believe in an era of Conspiracy Theories and fear-mongering. The willingness of Christians to get caught up in theories based on the stringing together of unrelated scriptures taken out of context and going viral has been concerning. I recommend this work to serious readers who want to think about what we are thinking! Easy listening but I am sure most of us will not be able to listen or read once only.