Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free Author: Visit Amazon's F. F. Bruce Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0802835015 | Format: EPUB
Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free Description
- Hardcover: 510 pages
- Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.; January 1983 Reprint edition (November 1977)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0802835015
- ISBN-13: 978-0802835017
- Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.2 x 9.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
This is the only book written exclusively about Paul that I have read and the only one that I think I will for quite some time. When I began my search for a good biography of the life of the apostle Paul I spent many hours sifting through editorial reviews all claiming strong accolades for each book I ran across. I eventually bought this one if nothing else than lack of desire to find "the one." Ironically, I think I did.
Bruce's portrayal of Paul is full and complete, covering the span of his life as well as the history, culture and geography of its setting. Each chapter is neatly categorized under numbered main ideas while still expounding a full thesis throughout. The design, as well as the content, of the book is superb.
I was concerned that I would not be able to find a book on Paul that combined both literary criticism and scholarship with a moderate to conservative outlook on Christianity in general. My concerns vanished after the first few chapters and I began to see the scope of Bruce's writing. Perhaps the most gripping aspect of the book is Bruce's ability to present Paul as a real person instead of merely an iconoclastic image of a legend. By combining both scholarship and straightforward hermenuetics the apostle springs to life as a threefold person, for Paul was a man of heart, mind and action and no element is neglected at the expense of the other. The reader is allowed to glimpse at Paul's personality as an audaucious and perhaps blunt individual who nevertheless is steadfast in his determination to complete the mission given to him by the risen Christ. Paul's heart is clearly seen in his interaction with is fledgling congregations while his mind is picked at for the tremendous ideas and thought he developed that affected the rest of christendom.
The book, Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, written by the evangelical, conservative biblical scholar, F. F. Bruce, is a summary study of the life of Paul. Bruce writes from a conspicuous learned background, yet his voice is elegant, discernible, and vivid. A book like this is the yearning of every student of biblical studies, particularly those with moderate to conservative beliefs and not always in agreement with the liberal, school of history approach taken by other books of this genre. Bruce is concise, comprehensive, and enjoyable. The book is a collection of writings by Bruce, some from as early as 1969, while much Bruce apparently wrote new when publishing the book in 1977. He ties them together very well, with only a minimum of repetition. One exception is the often repetitious analysis of Paul's Roman citizenship and it significance. Some chapters at first disappointed me with the shallow treatment of a topic, but I was usually relieved when finding a more fully developed examination of the same topic in a later chapter.Bruce relies heavily on the book of Acts, whose historical value, in characteristic conservative fashion, he generally accepts unquestionably.
One objection I have to Bruce is that he does not allow for a Hellenized Paul. Bruce argues firmly the Paul was a "Hebrew born of Hebrews." On page 43, and 127, Bruce argues that Paul's Judaism was free from Hellenistic influence, from which Paul had been sheltered since childhood. Several other studies have shown that Judaism, and particularly Pharisaism, was significantly influenced by Hellenism during the second temple period, despite their attempts to resist it. The Greek language and traditions were hybridized with local cultural environments.
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