Paul Was Not a Christian by Pamela Eisenbaum

PAUL WAS NOT A CHRISTIAN: THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE OF A MISUNDERSTOOD APOSTLE. (Harper One, 2009). Pamela Eisenbaum has written a book for anyone who wants to read Paul differently from the traditional views. As a practicing Jew and a professor of the New Testament in a Christian seminary, Eisenbaum helps her readers appreciate the Jewish traditions from which Paul was well acquainted with. She argues convincingly that Paul was not a Christian, not in the sense we may call a person Christian today. As the author notes, when Paul wrote letters to specific groups in the middle of the first century, the category "Christianity" was non-existent.

A typical Christian sitting in the pew may understand Paul as a theologian, perhaps the greatest Christian who gave the world the doctrine of justification by faith. Such a person may understand such doctrine as a universal faith formula by which humanity could be saved. But Eisenbaum contends that the church's typical understandings of Paul have been influenced by the confessions of Augustine and the personal struggles of Martin Luther, where works and faith are formulated in individual terms. Eisenbaum takes her readers through a quick tour of Jewish traditions that might have informed Paul, a Hellenized Jew living in Diaspora in the first century. She also demonstrates well the ambiguity presented in Paul's Greek letters.

Eisenbaum demonstrates eloquently how the traditional interpretations of Paul have erred. The church errs by assuming Paul has converted from Judaism to Christianity - a pretext to show how superior Christianity is compared to Judaism. A typical seminarian who has spent years of studies in a seminary or religious institution should find Eisenbaum's introduction of the New Perspective nothing new, although all readers should be astonished by her knowledge of the Jewish cultural and biblical traditions she outlined in this book, a feature not commonly found in other books in the same subject written by Christians. What this book could do to an average reader, however, is reassess one's former learning about Paul; and consequently, redefining the Christian self-identity. Eisenbaum writes in a style that is clear and sharp. Even laypersons should have no problem following her presentation.

One regret is that this book does not address the ancient Roman Empire, an issue recent biblical scholarship cannot afford to miss. Yet, I find this book worth your time. This is a book I call "a bridge" between academic study and congregational life.