A. N. Wilson, <t>Paul: The Mind of the Apostle</>.
NY: Norton 1997. Pp. 273.

Reviewed by Christian Kunder <ckunder@sas.upenn.edu> for 
R.Kraft's RelSt 436 course at UPenn (Spring 1999)


This study is primarily an exploration of the life and 
motivations of Paul and a depiction of him as the "founder of 
Christianity." One part of Wilson's attempt to get at Paul is his 
description of the world in which he lived. Judaism (or the 
different permutations thereof) within the context of the Roman 
Empire is the most important aspect of this, in order to explain 
Paul's relationship with the Jews and also with other early 
followers of the "Way." The author also, however, goes into 
detail concerning the important players and places of the age who 
were not Jewish (the Roman emperors, for example) in order to try 
to understand the development of the early church. For the 
biographical and chronological details of Paul's life, Wilson 
relies heavily on a skeptical reading of the book of Acts (which 
can only be expected, considering the dearth of other specific 
sources that shed light on the details of the apostle's life). 
The book is generally structured after the Acts chronology. And 
finally, in order to explore the thought and motivation of Paul, 
Wilson turns to the epistles. 

The main thrust of Wilson's description of Judaism during this 
period is that it was highly strained. That is to say, there was 
a great deal of tension between Jews (especially in Jerusalem) 
and the Empire under which they lived. Ultimately it would erupt, 
resulting in the complete destruction of Jerusalem at the hands 
of the Romans. There were sharp ideological divisions within 
Judaism, to begin with. The temple in Jerusalem, the only place 
of worship for Jews, was built by an Arab ruling for the Roman 
Empire (Herod the Great), and its high priests were appointed by 
the Romans. So, while the Empire ostensibly gave the Jews some 
self-government and generally respected their customs (though not 
always, as when Caligula decided to erect a statue of himself 
inside the Holy of Holies), all in all it was a very uneasy 
relationship. This uneasiness, Wilson argues, facilitated the 
evolution of the Way within Judaism to Christianity outside 
Judaism. The ultimate cause of this transition, in Wilson's view, 
is Paul himself. Assisted by ease of travel in the Empire, Paul 
spread the message to the Gentiles (as he considered himself 
apostle to the Gentiles), and it was his insistence that faith 
alone, and not the Law of Jewish scripture, was the key to 
salvation that made Christianity incompatible with Judaism. 
Therefore, in this sense, it probably is not unreasonable to call 
him the "founder of Christianity." 

As noted above, Wilson uses Acts for Paul's chronology and 
whereabouts throughout his life. The author operates on the 
premise that Luke, in writing Acts, had a two-fold purpose: one, 
to bring together the two factions within the early church (the 
church in Jerusalem believed the Way existed within the confines 
of Judaism, and Paul and his followers believed that the coming 
of Messiah stripped away those confines); and two, to 
propagandize to the Romans that Jews, and not Christians, were 
the real troublemakers. The first is easily acceptable because 
there were wide ideological gaps between the two groups, and it 
is obvious from a reading of Acts that Luke diminishes them when 
he can. The second is also possible, although it rests upon the 
assumption that Acts was really intended for Roman consumption, 
and despite suggestions that Theophilus, to whom the work is 
addressed, is a Roman official, it has not been conclusively 
proven. The author also makes some leaps from the text of Acts 
which might not be wholly appropriate. The most prominent is in 
his assertion that Paul was actually a member of the temple guard 
in Jerusalem under the high priest when he was persecuting the 
Christians. This comes from Acts 9.14: "And he has come here with 
authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your 
name." But would a guard at the temple ask the high priest for 
permission to go to Damascus to arrest followers of the Way, as 
Paul does? Wilson refers repeatedly to this conviction, even 
suggesting that Paul might have taken part in the arrest and 
execution of Jesus. 

The book explores Paul's thought through his letters. Throughout 
the sections dealing with the letters, the reader is continually 
reminded of the centrality of Paul's eschatology and the urgency 
of his message to the recipients of his letters. Each letter is 
dealt with separately, and questions of authorship are brought up 
when they are appropriate. The explanations of the theology are 
given quite competently, as everything is related to Paul's 
belief that the world is about to end. It effectively 
communicates the idea that nothing in Paul can really be 
understood fully without thinking about it in its eschatological 
context. 

Overall, <t>Paul: Mind of the Apostle</> is an interesting guide 
to the life of Paul with a definite historical slant. It 
recognizes that historical figures cannot be analyzed without 
understanding the worlds in which they live, and it clearly 
understands Paul and the message he was trying to distribute. 
Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, it reveals Paul's 
pivotal role in the founding/development of the early church. 

//end//