E. P. Sanders - Paul - the Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought

This book has been written over a long stretch of time. When I finished Judaism: Practice and Belief in 1991 (published 1992), I had published a book a year for four years: Studying the Synoptic Gospels (with Margaret Davies) in 1989; Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah in 1990; Paul: Past Master in 1991; the aforementioned Judaism: Practice and Belief in 1992. I planned to write a book on Jesus and one on Paul for the elusive “ordinary reader.” I managed to complete The Historical Figure of Jesus in 1993 (published 1994), and I promised the publishers a similar book on Paul in the near future.

I knew that I was tired, but I was used to working hard when tired, and so for a while it seemed possible. But I was thoroughly used up; my brain did not want to work properly; my back resented my sitting at the keyboard for hours on end; and my energy declined. I reluctantly decided to save the “little” book on Paul until I retired, as I expected to do in the next two or three years.

I wrote little bits of the book from time to time. In 2005, when I finally retired, I sat down to write it. My brain still resisted. I went into a post-retirement slump, lacking ambition and vitality. A series of health issues arose in 2008, a year spent mostly in doctors’ offices—or so it seemed at the time. I considered asking a former student to finish the book, but I found that giving it up was even harder than working on it. Finally, in 2013, I regained enough of my energy to make my brain work and to sit at the keyboard for several hours a day.

E. P. Sanders - Paul: the Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought

Minneapolis : Fortress Press, 2015. - 898 pp.

ISBN: 978-0-8006-2956-4 (Print )

ISBN: 978-1-5064-0497-4 (eBook)

E. P. Sanders - Paul: the Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought - Contents

Preface
Introduction

Part I. Paul's Life

1. Overview
2. Paul Before His Call to Be an Apostle
3. Paul the Apostle of Christ to the Gentiles
4. Travel, Letters, People, Money

Part II. The Letters

5. The Collection, Publication, and Dates of the Letters
6. On Reading Paul’s Letters: Introductory Remarks
7. 1 Thessalonians, Part 1: A Tutorial on Analyzing Paul’s Letters
8. 1 Thessalonians, Part 2: Main Topics
9. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 1: Introduction and Sequence of Events and Letters
10. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 2: Spiritual Gifts, Behavior at Church Meetings, Marriage, and Some Sexual Topics
11. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 3: The Lord’s Supper and Food Offered to Idols
12. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 4: Vice Lists and Homosexual Activity
13. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 5: Resurrection and the Future in 1 Corinthians 15 and Related Passages
14. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 6: Resurrection and the Future in 2 Corinthians 3—5 and Later Letters
15. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 7: The Collection for Jerusalem
16. Galatians, Part 1: Introduction
17. Galatians, Part 2: The Crisis in Galatia and the Beginning of Paul’s Response
18. Galatians, Part 3: Paul’s Main Argument
19. Galatians, Part 4: Further Arguments and Concluding Remarks
20. Philippians
21. Romans, Part 1: Introduction; The Universal Human Plight and Its Solution
22. Romans, Part 2: The Two Dispensations, God’s Righteousness, and the Fate of Israel
23. Romans, Part 3: Food and Days
24. Conclusion