Sarah Ruden

An assessment of the Apostle Paul explores the ways in which his edicts may have been misinterpreted, in an account that translates Paul's writings from Koine Greek to assess how he may have been wrongly perceived as a misogynist and social conformist.

The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time

Paul Among the People

Dana Kraft

This gets 5 stars because it's so thought-provoking but there are parts that are tough to get through. A few things that struck me:
1. Reminder of the challenge of trying to interpret (or over interpret) ancient texts because our language and worldview are so incredibly different than whoever wrote or transcribed a few hundred or a few thousand years ago. Ruden's explanation of some aspects of Roman and Greek culture during Paul's time provides more humility than understanding for me. 
2. Maybe we can make these things too complicated. Perhaps "drunkenness" had a different implication many years ago, but does it really matter to my understanding of it? Or if the English term "wickedness" might be better translated as "doing harm to someone", do I need to read books to put that into practice? This isn't a criticism of this book but rather of my search for spiritual insights.
3. Learning about how terrible the Roman and Greek culture was for so many people expanded my view of our need for "mercy", especially on the societal level. I'm sure lots of Paul's contemporaries thought they were good people. A few thousand years later, those good things may not look so good. God has that view of us, too.

Paul Among the People The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time

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