What St. Paul Really Said is probably N.T. Wright's most controversial book. Many evangelicals have gotten up in arms over the views he presents. John Piper wrote an entire book in response to his take on justification. After reading it, I'm at a bit of a loss to understand what the problem is. His conclusions do differ from traditional evangelical takes on several points, but conclusions aside the book is thoroughly evangelical. Much of it is devoted to a strong defense of the evangelical view

This book filled me with tremendous hope — on an academic and pastoral level — as it recaptured why I love studying Paul's writings about Jesus.When it comes to introducing someone to the world of Pauline study in an engaging way while not undermining critical thinking, my go to recommendation for years has been, Introducing Paul, by Micheal F. Bird. While Bird's book is still engaging, What Saint Paul Really Said invites the reader into rethinking a lot of our historical Christian vocabulary, s...

Without a doubt the letters of Paul have created plenty of doctrine and discussion in the Church, even in 2 Peter the writer mentions that Paul’s letters contain some things that are hard to understand. N.T. Wright sets out to explore Paul again this time focusing on what he might have thought in a 1st century Jewish context. Overall this book was pretty interesting, it starts with a brief summary of the recent Pauline studies, and it gives plenty of places to go if someone wants to dig a little...

Jesus, the crucified and risen Messiah, is Lord. For this phrase summarizing what Paul meant by “the gospel”, I will be forever grateful for this book. I love that this announcement has personal implications- but to think of it first as a public and overarching declaration of good news is, indeed, transformative and needed in our individualistic Western thought.

What Saint Paul Really Said This is NT Wright's somewhat controversial book on the apostle Paul. The controversy basically has to do with the "New Perspective" on Paul described and advocated by Wright in the book. The book, however, looks at other topics as well--discussion of the new perspective only occupies a few of the chapters. Wright spends the early parts of the book attempting to "place" Paul as a thinker and person. Paul was a Jew. But what sort of Jew? He was a Pharisee. But what sort...

Wow! I'd hate to be on the wrong side of a debate with N.T. Wright — one almost feels sorry for A.N. Wilson, whose book he is mainly responding to. While I was totally unaware of Wilson's take on Paul, Wright states in no uncertain terms that Paul has been misunderstood by Wilson and other scholars who suggest that Paul, not Jesus, was the real founder of Christianity. In an excruciatingly clear argument, the steps of which he recaps for emphasis before adding the next one, Wright shows how Pau

The first half of the book was phenomenal. His description of Saul turning into Paul was incredible. He describes Saul who was trying to bring the kingdom of God and the fulfillment of the OT promises to bear with the sword. At his conversion, Paul realizes that Jesus has done in his death and resurrection what Saul was trying to do with the sword. Likewise, his discussion on Pauls theology being rooted in a Jewish worldview and how Christ has fulfilled the OT promises are very good. However, he...

Well, unfortunately, this book is rather dull. Dull. Dull dull dull, my God it's dull, it's so desperately dull and tedious and stuffy and boring and desperately dull! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMOmB1...Well, maybe it's not that dull. =~) But with a subtitle like "Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity," one could hope possibly for some scandal. As it turns out (and I shouldn't have been surprised), N.T. Wright is writing a book to partially respond to people who assert such a

This books feels like a game changer for me. He defines terms is such new ways to be though back by very detailed research. Such as God's righteousness is his reason for keeping his covenant but not a status He bestows on us. We are righteous in that God the judge rules in our favor. And the gospel or good news is not how people get saved but the proclamation of the lordship of Jesus Christ (and Christ is a title not a last name) which works with power to bring people into Gods family And justi

About five years ago a friend recommended that I read N.T. Wright. I asked him which of Wright's books would be the best one to start off with, and he recommended this one. I think it was a good recommendation. I did find it to be very accessible, while remaining at a high level in terms of its theological thought.In this highly researched book, Wright unpacks what Paul likely believed about God and Jesus and The Way. The book also examines the history of traditional Judaism, and explores how wh...

I think that this was a well written book, but the implications of what Wright said could be damaging to the church.It leans too far toward works based salvation. See John Piper's book for a further explanation. I wouldn't recommend this book. It seems totally wrong to me.

Great, but troubling.

This book was the pre-cursor to his large work Paul & the Faithfulness of God. (as said by Wright himself).In classic Wright style we have a large mixture of many things good and bad. First, the good. In the good he offered a lot of interesting and helpful ways of looking at how the history of Israel had found it's climax in Jesus. He also strongly disagreed with the idea that Paul was founding something very different than what Jesus came to do. Wright also very helpfully showed how Paul's thou...

Like a lot of Wright's books, this one had a lot that made sense and a lot that left me scratching my head. I read it twice, doing a detailed 11-page outline on the second read. Chapters 1-4 and 6-7 were the most valuable; chapter 5 and 8-10 are vague and not very useful.Here are the highlights:Chapter 1: there's been a lot of disagreement about Paul's origins and theological focus over the years (Schweitzer, Bultmann, Davies, Kasemann, Sanders). Today most think he was a Jewish thinker but ther...

Tom Wright is at the forefront of Pauline scholarship as well as studies on Jesus. His historical instincts, engagement with primary sources and 'big picture' exegesis have led him to a fresh reading of Paul in the historical context of the Graeco-Roman-Jewish world of the 1st century. The outcome is a breathtaking view of the Gospel as understood and preached by Paul to a world dominated by the Roman imperial cult, pagan idolatry, Greek wisdoms and Jewish Messianic hopes. It is in such a world,...

I'm no theologian but anyone can learn a lot from reading this book. Wright is well versed in current (at the time the book was published--1997) & previous books on St. Paul. He criticizes many of them for failing to consider all of the available evidence. He makes a series of powerful arguments.Paul's view of "the gospel" is a fourfold announcement about Jesus: 1) Jesus' death on the cross was the decisive victory over the forces of evil; 2) Jesus' resurrection was the dawn of a new age when pr...

Wright did a lot to answer questions that I didn't really know I had about Paul. He clearly states that Paul was not creating a religion, but rather proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus. He underscores the meaning of the Greek word that we translate as Gospel and its historical significance, namely that the word indicates the declaration that a particular ruler will fix all of the worlds problems, and that the crucified and risen Lord Jesus will in fact do that for the whole Earth. He indicates tha...

Really solid introduction to Pauline Studies. His chapter "Saul the Persecutor, Paul the Convert" was illuminating into how Paul thought. Furthermore, his explanation of how Paul confronted both the pagans and the Jew's was solid. Clearly shows that Paul remains a Jew, but directs his zeal in a different direction after his conversion. His explanation of how Paul uses the phrase "gospel' to mean the good news of Jesus becoming King, rather than in the context of personal salvation, was fascinati...

Sure do respect the scholarship and study that was done for this work. I have always respected N.T. Wright and his knowledge of the Word of God. Here we are 23 years after this work was written and I can see clearly why this author has ended up on the theological liberal spectrum he is at now. There are some strong nuggets of truth here, including Wright's great defense of the Trinity. His desire for a "fresh" and "new" perspective on Paul is very concerning and should be read with great skeptic...

Wright's book has much to commend about it. For anyone who is an interpreter of Paul, Wright offers a helpful introduction to the life and thought of the Apostle. Particularly, the chapter on God in Paul's thought in relation to Jewish monotheism is excellent. Also his chapter on what the gospel is. He goes too far in claiming that the gospel is not about "how to get saved," yet his emphasis on the narrative quality of the gospel is good. The main flaw of the book is his chapter on justification...

Tom Wright is a historian, biblical scholar, and theologian - this book basically contains a lay-level distillation of his scholarly work in all three fields. If you're interested in the 'New Perspective,' you may find the middle section of the book to be helpful and interesting. As for me, I thought that the first three chapters (or so) detailing the early-mid 20th century developments in biblical/Pauline scholarship were the finest sections of the book. Wright basically walks you through Bultm...

A well-researched and well-written treatise on Paul in relation to Christ. There has been a lot of scholarly-and cultural-discussion of Paul as a founder of a religion that supplanted the simple wisdom of Jesus Christ the historical figure who never set out to describe himself as divine. Wright is both a first-rate scholar and a first-rate writer. Theology often suffers from dense and stuffy writing, but Wright has a gift for exposition that never bores.

How many different ways can one interpret Paul? Apparently too many to count. I appreciated the scope of this discussion. It's main focus is on discussing A. N. Wilson's book about Paul but it deviates often enough to provide relevant context, additional viewpoints, and alternative interpretations. This book is best read in small but concentrated doses so as not to get too overwhelmed with details.

A good overview of Paul, with a focus on the first-century Jewish context he was in. The writing is clear and he uses good examples so it is open to a wide audience.

Wright could not be boring if he tried but his theology is based more in his desire than the text.

Not quite as expected. Brilliant writer. Very scholarly. Too much for me.

Eye opening, accessible and persuasive discussion of Paul's theology, life and ministry.

His main points were developed well enough but his conclusions were presented in a confusing and unconvincing way.

If books were piles, this one would be a big pile, but not of gold. This would be the kind that you don’t want to step in.

If Paul is a focus of your curiosity, this book is for you. That said, the entire book is prologue for the last chapter. I sometimes scan chapters before reading, and if I'd done that here, I might have read the last chapter and finished quickly. The question this last chapter answers is the title question. I won't give away the answer N.T. Wright produces. Anything by him is worth the time, and this book was no exception, even with my caveat above.