Paul: His Life and Teaching

by John McRay

Overview

The apostle Paul and his significance for the New Testament and Christianity is a perennial topic of interest, but few evangelical surveys of his life offer a truly holistic picture of the man and his world. Now available in trade paper, John McRay's Paul explores the apostle's preconversion days, missionary travels, and theological contributions. A specialist in archaeology, the author draws on his more than forty years of teaching experience as well as knowledge gained from extensive travels to the places Paul visited. Paul is a comprehensive and readable presentation of Paul's ministry and theology that weaves together historical backgrounds, archaeological discoveries, and theological themes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801032394
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.97(d)

About the Author

John McRay (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is emeritus professor of New Testament and archaeology at Wheaton College Graduate School. He is the author of Archaeology and the New Testament and coauthor of Bible Archaeology. Also a professional photographer, the author includes many of his photos in this book.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations     9
Preface     11
List of Abbreviations     15
Paul's Life
Background and Biography     21
Conversion, Call, and Commission     46
Toward a Chronology of Paul's Ministry     60
In Syria, Arabia, and Cilicia before the First Journey     85
Paul's First Journey     100
Paul's Second Journey     131
Paul's Third Journey     177
The Voyage to Rome, Later Travels, and Death     223
Paul's Teaching
The Form, Function, and Canonicity of Pauline Letters     263
Paul's World of Apocalyptic and Demonology     282
Paul and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ     294
Atonement in Pauline Literature     302
The Heart of Paul: The Theology of Ephesians     334
The Faith (fulness) of Christ in Pauline Literature     352
Paul's View of the Law     360
The Composition of Paul's Churches: Organization, Lord's Supper, and Baptism     372
Eschatology and the Work of the Holy Spirit in Paul's Thought     409
Paul in Recent Study     436
Subject Index     449
Author Index     459
Scripture Index     467

Editorial Reviews

As the culmination of 45 years of teaching and researching Paul, McRay (Wheaton Coll. Graduate Sch.) has written an introduction to Paul's life and thought aimed at an undergraduate college audience. The book, which faithfully treats Paul in his own time and place, is divided into two parts. The first part provides a detailed examination of Paul's biography that uses a historical-archaeological approach to complement references in Acts and Paul's own letters. New insights into the difficult problem of Pauline chronology are offered, as the author situates each Pauline letter in historical and social context. The second section deals with Paul's main theological ideas (e.g., atonement, justification, the Law, etc.) as found in his letters and grounds these ideas in the Jewish religious thought of the time. While McCray's book succeeds in contextualizing Paul and his teachings, Jerome Murphy O'Connor's Paul: A Critical Life provides a better chronology and James D.G. Dunn's The Theology of Paul the Apostle a more detailed look at the theology. Recommended for academic libraries only.-Charlie Murray, C.S.S., Fordham Univ., New York Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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