David G. Horrell

An introduction to the study of Paul

Jonathan Tysick

This book definitely achieved its goal: to introduce me to the current state of Pauline studies (I read the 2015 3rd edition) without telling me what to think. It dealt with all of the important, basic and intermediate subjects in Pauline studies, such as Paul the man, Paul the letter-writer, Paul the theologian, the authorship of the disputed Pauline letters, and other topics. However, full disclosure to the more evangelical audience, this book does introduce you to ALL of Pauline scholarship, not just Christian or Evangelical Christian scholarship. Thus, it is probably best for the reader to have some sort of foundation in their theology and knowledge of (and beliefs about) the Bible, since Horrell does not tell you what to think, and thus does not explicitly disagree with the most radical critical scholars. This being said, conservative scholars (like Ben Witherington III, Donald Guthrie, N.T Wright, Michael Bird, Gordon Fee, I. Howard Marshall and others) do get their fair mention. If you're looking to understand contemporary Pauline studies and get a spring start on your own study of Paul, go no further! There is a reason this book is in its 3rd edition.

An introduction to the study of Paul

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