Apostle Paul - by Robert Orlando (Paperback)

About the Book

A carefully researched rethinking of the life of St Paul and his role in shaping the emerging Christian religion, with a strong emphasis on the human, political and material interactions of the apostle and his contemporaries.

Book Synopsis

A rethinking of St Paul's role in shaping the emerging Christian religion, emphasising his human, political and material interactions with his contemporaries.

The Apostle Paul's dramatic and much discussed conversion on the road to Damascus radically changed the course of his life - as well as the Christian religion. Can a new narrative, and a new perspective, be brought to this twothousand-year-old story and centuries of critical thought and study?

The writer and filmmaker Robert Orlando believes it can. 'Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe' is a dramatic and challenging book, inspired by his controversial film of the same name. This ground-breaking look at Paul's life draws on extensive research into Paul's letters and the book of Acts to reveal his human attitudes and insecurities. Orlando constructs a fresh take on Paul's life, especiallyhis collection for the Jerusalem church, and proposes that Paul, as one of Christianity's most celebrated converts, may have needed more than faith and fervour to convince the other apostles to accept his vision of ministry. 'Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe' illustrates how a vision of promise eventually leads to a hopeless prison cell and, ultimately, a new religion, challenging the traditional perspective and inspiring new thought about one of the best-known founders of the Christian religion.

Review Quotes

I recommend this title to those who have interests in Pauline studies, but be forewarned: it is a novel retelling of the Book of Acts and Paul's story.--Bradford McCall "Theological Book Review, Vol. 27 No.1, 2016"

It is a good book, well written and respectably researched, and he has gone to the trouble to interview the experts, including (Bishop) N.T. (Tom) Wright...--Lionel Wickham "Church Times, 22nd January 2016"

This exciting and thought-provoking work puts Paul's conflict with James - and indeed Paul's other conflicts - at the heart of his ministry at the same time as making the claim that the collection (or bribe) was the key factor that held together the Gentile mission and the Jerusalem church. ... Reading Paul's letter with conflict front and centre is illuminating. There are some astute observations, and the compellingly told story is accesible at the same time as it engages in depth with Pauline scholarship.--Sarah Whittle "Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Volume 38.5, August 2016"