Paul : the mind of the apostle

As A.N. Wilson, biographer of Tolstoy, C.S. Lewis, and Jesus, makes clear in this astonishing and gripping narrative, Christianity without Paul is quite literally nothing. Jesus, with the layers of exegesis, scholarship, and ceremony stripped away, is a Jew, a fastidious and fervent Jew, who would lead his followers into a stricter, purer observance of Judaism. It is Paul who will claim divinity for him, who will transform him into the Messiah, center of an entirely. New religion. In Wilson's deft and psychologically astute narrative, we see Paul negotiating the dangerous political currents of the Roman Empire; traveling everywhere; making converts; writing the great epistles that define our understanding of Christ and the sublime paradoxes of his teaching; defusing the natural antagonism of the supreme temporal power to this dangerous spiritual force, Christianity, which would in time consume that empire from within. What drove. Paul? What fueled this act of inspired creativity? What would he think of what his church has become? The answers lie in Wilson's extraordinary biography, which lays bare the psychological journey of Christianity's true inventor.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member kencf0618

Like the Puritans, St. Paul gets rather more flak than he deserves. He was not a cardboard character, but rather one of the most influential and complicated men who ever lived. This nuanced analysis of his life and mileau -a very British read- sets matters right with a dab of psycho-history. Very

enjoyable.

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LibraryThing member neurodrew

The first century CE and the transformation of Christianity continues to fascinate me. This is the second book I have read on this theme by A.N. Wilson. He is impressed by the writings and character of St. Paul of Tarsus, who he proposes is the real founder of Christianity, and the person whose

writings created the concept of the Christ as the paschal sacrifice and the triune god. He had a colorful and active life, traveling back and forth across the Roman Empire, initially probably as a dealer in leather and tents. His epistle to the Romans is historically the earliest writing in the New Testament, and according to Wilson practically defines the elements of Christian belief. The gospels were written later. Wilson is a very good writer, and this is an entertaining narrative.

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LibraryThing member knightlight777

Ovearll a good read. Wilson's main premise in the book that Paul in all likelihood was the true founder of Christianity, Jesus his mold. As with all things regarding religious matters we all choose what to believe what we will.

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