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What Paul Meant (2006) is a non-fictional book by Garry Wills.

Abstract

<All through history, Christians have debated Paul's influence on the church. Though revered, Paul has also been a stone on which many stumble. Unlike the Gospel writers, who carefully shaped their narratives many decades after Jesus' life, Paul wrote in the heat of the moment, managing controversy, and sometimes contradicting himself, but at the same time offering the best reflection of those early times. This interpretation of Paul's writing examines his tremendous influence on the first explosion of Christian belief and chronicles the controversy surrounding Paul through the centuries>--Publisher description.

"In his New York Times bestsellers What Jesus Meant and What the Gospels Meant, Garry Wills offers fresh and incisive readings of Jesus' teachings and the four gospels. Here Wills turns to Paul the Apostle, whose writings have provoked controversy throughout Christian history. Upending many common assumptions, Wills argues eloquently that Paul’s teachings are not opposed to Jesus' message. Rather, the best way to know Jesus is to discover Paul. In this stimulating and masterly analysis, Wills illuminates how Paul, writing on the road and in the heat of the moment, and often in the midst of controversy, galvanized a movement and offers us the best reflection of those early times."--Publisher description.

Editions

Published in New York, NY: Viking, 2006.

Contents

Introduction: "the bad news man" -- Paul and the risen Jesus -- Paul and the pre-resurrection Jesus -- Paul "on the road" -- Paul and Peter -- Paul and women -- Paul and the troubled gatherings -- Paul and Jews -- Paul and Jerusalem -- Paul and Rome -- Afterword: misreading Paul

External links

• [ Google Books]