The Apostle Paul: His Life, Thought, and Letters Paperback – September 17, 2016

Stanley Porter has written one of the best books on the apostle Paul that one could hope to read. Porter even admitted that F. F. Bruce’s volume, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free is perhaps the best one ever written on Paul in the past 40 years, but Porter’s is an excellent addition for all the more recent scholarship.The writing style is easy to understand for the scholar and lay person alike. Today more than ever there are outstanding volumes written about the rabbi, turned Christian, but I would definitely encourage one to read this book, it’s just outstanding! Loved this book and you won’t be disappointed.

I bought this for future use. Great price.

First off, please ignore the one star review that is not based on the content of this book (the pages were not printed backwards on my copy, mind you) and the five star review that is clearly reviewing a book by a different author (this book IS a scholarly work, that reads smoothly but has four footnotes on the first page of the preface alone, to let you know what you are in for).Porter's goal for this book was to provide an introduction to three separate aspects of Pauline studies in one volume:Paul's life (his background and chronology),Paul's thought (i.e. his fundamental teachings/beliefs, NOT a systematic theology)and Paul's letters (Formal structure, authorship, and discussion of each letter's contents).If you are a graduate student, this book will make a great addition to your library. Each chapter presents numerous debates clearly and fairly, while not spending too much time on any particular issue. At the end of each chapter, sources for further study are recommended, but also categorized by BASIC and ADVANCED sources. These little bibliographies are worth photocopying, if you are too poor and must rely on a library rental to read this book.If you are a post-graduate student, some of these topics discussed might seem a bit too brushed over, if it is a field you are familiar with. However, I can safely say that any dissertation related to Pauline studies needs to at least see what Porter has to say about your topic, and you will still find the footnotes and bibliography helpful for finding more studies related to your topic. Although, one caveat here: on some points Porter seems to favor referencing his own works alone, where other's works could also be helpful. For instance, on his discussion about whether or not Paul knew about Jesus's life and teachings (a hotly contested debate in scholarly circles), Porter references his book "When Paul Met Jesus: How an Idea Got Lost in History." It is odd that he did not also include the well-known book by David Wenham, "Paul: Follower of Christ or Founder of Christianity." However, small blind spots like this are not enough to discredit or even downgrade this volume. It is still tremendously useful.This book is worth the price if you can afford it and have a desire to pursue Pauline studies within the framework of New Testament backgrounds. If you are wanting a book on Paul that will assist you in pastoring or ministry, you may find this book tedious and often unhelpful. That's not to say this is not a good book. It's great! But it is great for the task it is designed for. For a book that looks at Paul's life through the lens of his missionary efforts with a specific eye towards application, I would instead suggest Eckhard J. Schnabel's book "Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods."I hope you find this review helpful. God bless.

This Pauline commentary by Stanley Porter serves as a good introductory-level commentary; however, one with drawbacks. Porter often likes to gloss-over issues he finds contentious and seems to be somewhat biased in his appraisals - often dismissing competing views with little-to-no consideration. Aside from those drawbacks, this book is a decent introduction to the world of the Apostle Paul.

What is the purpose of publishing more books in biblical studies? It certainly should not be to parrot or re-state just what others have said. In an ideal world, new books published would say new things. A lot of people are skeptical of "new" things - but "new" doesn't need to be "new" for its own sake; or skeptical; or faddish. If the right scholar - a deep-thinking, well-read, and uniquely gifted scholar, has something new to say by virtue of their intellectual life and reflection, then they should write books.For all the many books on Paul, this is one of the very few that should be written, and that stands out for these reasons. The letter introductions and summaries are worth the price of the book, but so is the material which comes in the book before them.The summaries are some of the best succinct guides, bar none, to each of Paul's letters. You won't find better short guides in many bloated commentaries; and the content summary is as the work of a master linguist and exegete - distilled down in simple English. The "intro" material on Paul's life and thought is also masterful: enjoy a distillation of one of Porter's most underrated or criminally unacknowledged books (which happens to be one of the most interesting books in biblical studies in the twentieth century), When Paul met Jesus; enjoy an unabashed re-invigoration of Paul's Hellenistic heritage not beholding to trends within studies of Paul's culture which by now assume the NPP uncritically; enjoy a treatment of chronology and biography which takes Acts seriously, but not in a derivative way.This book is a must have for students and scholars of Paul

Book described as new but came with folded pages, discoloration and ripped cover.

Good read so far, albeit there is too much Paul worship in the world in general (in my opinion); only Jesus and God should be worshiped and praised. This said, binding horrible. I purchased for school and because no hardcover avail (and the fact I can't stand Kindle type reading) it is going to suck to reference.

The pages are in reverse!