{"id":34347,"date":"2018-05-09T21:28:27","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T01:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=34347"},"modified":"2018-05-09T21:28:27","modified_gmt":"2018-05-10T01:28:27","slug":"review-of-paul-among-the-people-by-sarah-ruden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=34347","title":{"rendered":"Review of Paul Among the People, by Sarah Ruden"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Paul Among the People<\/p>\n

The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time<\/em><\/p>\n

by Sarah Ruden<\/p>\n

Pantheon Books, 2010. 214 pages.<\/p>\n

I checked out this book because I\u2019d read and loved the author\u2019s book The Face of Water<\/a><\/em> (written later) where she takes a fresh look at the translation of several biblical passages.<\/p>\n

In this book, the author uses her knowledge of Graeco-Roman literature and culture to take a fresh look at Paul and give us the cultural context of his writings.<\/p>\n

Now, I didn\u2019t find this book nearly as pleasant as The Face of Water<\/em>. The fact is that the context of Paul\u2019s writings was rather horrible. Slaves were not really considered people. Homosexuality was commonplace \u2013 but the only one despised was the passive partner. Paul spoke against those who preyed on others, the people his culture thought were real \u201cman\u2019s men.\u201d He was speaking against oppression, and not really from anything like the same context from which we look at those things.<\/p>\n

But my summary doesn\u2019t do this work justice. It opened my eyes \u2013 though not always in ways I wanted them opened. She examines Paul and pleasure, Paul and homosexuality, Paul and women, Paul and the state, and Paul and slavery. In the context of his own culture, Paul’s words take on a whole new aspect. He’s much less harsh – in fact, he’s speaking up against a harsh culture.<\/p>\n

But I think my favorite chapter was the final one, \u201cLove Just Is: Paul on the Foundation of the New Community,\u201d where she looks at I Corinthians 13, \u201cthe Love Chapter.\u201d There were plenty of insights I\u2019d had no idea about (how the \u201cclanging cymbal\u201d relates to the cult of Cybele for example). I especially liked finding out that the list of qualities of love that begins in verse 4 (\u201cLove is patient; love is kind\u2026.\u201d) are all verbs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more or less a necessity of our language that the standard translations here contain a lot of adjectives. The Greek does not contain a single one. Instead we have a mass of verbs, things love does and doesn\u2019t do. This is the ultimate authority for the saying \u201cLove is a verb.\u201d . . .<\/p>\n

So manically verb-centered is the passage that Paul takes two adjectives and creates a one-word verb from each (neither verb being attested previously in Greek); and he creates yet another verb, in Greek a one-word metaphor\u2026.<\/p>\n

If we take the meaning from the form, we could say that he is preaching, \u201cYou know the right ways to feel? Turn those feelings into acts<\/em> and perform those acts, ceaselessly. You know the wrong ways to feel? Don\u2019t, ever, perform the acts that spring from them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pick up this book if you\u2019d like a fresh look at the backdrop the Apostle Paul wrote from.<\/p>\n

sarahruden.com<\/a>
\npantheonbooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Nonfiction\/paul_among_the_people.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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