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This collection of essays by Robert Funk delves into the contributions of notable artists and intellectuals, including Kafka, Beckett, Henry Miller, Castaneda, Fowles, and Thoreau, to illuminate the true successors of Jesus. In the section titled 'Voices of Silence,' Funk examines the interplay between language and contemporary reality. He ultimately addresses the pivotal theological question of whether individuals can identify a genuine world to which they can fully commit, offering twenty-one propositions on theology in response.

A slow rumbling that has been building up among New Testament scholars for the past twenty years is only now beginning to make its effects felt on a more general public. A new Paul is beginning to emerge—one who differs from the Paul of Augustine and Luther, who is no friend to the traditional orthodoxy that has co-opted him for almost two thousand years. To help us see Paul in this new way, Scott arrives at three conclusions argued step-by-step throughout the book: Paul was called His concern was with the nations Paul addresses particular situations, not a universal human condition The new Paul threatened Roman authorities with anti-imperial rhetoric, much of which is still operative today. Thus, the new Paul may prove an even more radical challenge to church and society than did the historical Jesus. » Read an excerpt 1. Getting Started 2. Finding Paul 3. Starting in the Middle 4. Life-Changing Event 5. After the Event 6. Was Paul Converted? 7. Showdown in Antioch 8. Faith or Faithful 9. Father of Us All 10. In the Anointed 11. The Matters You Raised 12. The Law 13. The Law in Romans 14. Advantage Israel 15. Paul’s Christian Future Annotated Bibliography Cameo essays Jesus Movement Galatians Martyrdom Letter to the Philippians The Apostle Junia Greek and Barbarian Tentmaker Cephas and Peter Pauline Chronology Apocalyptic Scenario Ransom Corinthian Correspondence Chloe Baptizō Letter to the Ephesians House Church Letter to the Romans First Letter to the Thessalonians Second Letter to the Thessalonians More praise for The Real Paul“An impressively informed and informative work of biblical scholarship that will prove to be as thoughtful and thought-provoking as it is seminal and iconoclastic ... Highly recommended for seminary and academic library New Testament Studies reference collections in general, and Paulinian Studies supplemental reading lists in particular.” Midwest Book Review“… An engaging all-out attack on the Augustinian-Lutheran reading of Paul and his letters. The Real Paul gives new interpretations to what it meant for Paul to be called as the apostle to the Gentiles and takes Paul's claims seriously …” —Stanley K. Stowers, Brown University“Scott’s treatment of Paul navigates the narrow gap between engaging in critical evaluation of Paul’s language and making it intelligible to those interested in the topic but not necessarily trained in the methods and jargon of the specialists. Moreover, he recognizes the role that the historical devaluation of Judaism still plays in the way that Paul is usually interpreted, however inadvertent that may be, and he explicitly resists solutions that fail to counter that legacy. What a welcome read.” —Mark Nanos, University of KansasBernard Brandon Scott (Ph.D., Vanderbilt University) is the Darbeth Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament at the Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, Oklahoma. A charter member of the Jesus Seminar and Chair of Westar’s Christianity Seminar, he is the author of several books, including The Trouble with Resurrection (2010) and Re-imagine the World (2001).