Early Reception of Paul the Second Temple Jew

About this book

"Paul was a Pharisaic Jew whose moment of revelation on the road to Damascus has made him the most famous early Christian convert. His relationship to Christianity is and has been a topic of great interest to scholars of early Christianity and Judaism. This collection of essays examines how Christians of the first two centuries perceived Paul's Jewishness and how they seized upon Paul's views on Judaism in order to advance their own claims about Christianity. The essays offer a comprehensive examination of various Christian views on Paul in texts contained both in and outside of the New Testament. Thus, the essays elucidate how the reception of Paul's thought affected the formation of Judaism and Christianity into separate entities. The chapters include an analysis of Marcion, Paul and the Jews by Judith Lieu, as well as musing on the placement of Acts in Pauline research by James H. Charlesworth and an analysis of Paul in relation to the Greek Old Testament from Harry O. Maier."--Bloomsbury Publishing Paul's relationship to Christianity-as a Pharisaic Jew whose moment of revelation on the road to Damascus has made him the most famous early Christian-is still a topic of great interest to scholars of early Christianity and Judaism. This collection of essays from world-renowned scholars examines how Christians of the first two centuries perceived Paul's Jewishness, and how they seized upon Paul's views on Judaism in order to advance their own claims about Christianity. The contributors offer a comprehensive examination of various early Christian views on Paul, in texts contained both in and outside of the New Testament, demonstrating how the reception of Paul's thought affected the formation of Judaism and Christianity into separate entities. Divided into five sections, the arguments focus upon Paul's reception in Ephesians, the other Deutero-Pauline Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles, Marcion of Synope and the reaction of Paul's opponents. Featuring essays from scholars including Judith Lieu, James H. Charlesworth and Harry O. Meier, this volume forms a perfect resource for scholars to reassess Paul's Jewishness and relationship with Judaism