Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ

by Ferdinand Christian Baur, Peter C Hodgson (Editor), Robert F Brown (Translator)

Overview

Baur's Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ was the major study of Paul published in the nineteenth century, and it is one of the greatest works of all time on Paul. It lays the basis for modern Pauline scholarship. The first part, "The Life and Activity of the Apostle Paul," consists of a thoroughgoing deconstruction of the account of Paul found in the Acts of the Apostles. While the author of Acts passed on historical traditions about Paul, he greatly embellished them with stories about the miraculous feats of the apostles, and constructed the entire account to show fictitious parallels between the apostles Peter and Paul. The second part, "The Epistles of the Apostle Paul," is divided into three main sections: the authentic epistles of Paul (Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans), the deutero-Pauline epistles (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Philemon), and the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus). In the first two parts Baur's historical-critical skills are at their finest. The third part, "The Apostle's Theological Framework," draws the elements of Pauline theology into a magnificent synthesis, where the influence of Hegel and Schleiermacher is evident. The earlier English translation is no longer adequate. Our new translation presents a very readable text with critical annotations and translations of all the scriptural passages quoted in Greek. Baur on Paul truly becomes available in English for the first time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781725246294
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	05/28/2021
Pages:	556
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.19(d)

About the Author

Ferdinand Christian Baur (1792-1860) was Professor of Theology at the University of Tübingen and the greatest historical theologian of the nineteenth century, writing seminal studies in the history of religions, New Testament, church history, and history of doctrine.



Peter C. Hodgson is Charles G. Finney Professor of Theology Emeritus at the Divinity School of Vanderbilt University. He has specialized in works by Baur and Hegel, as well as in contemporary issues of constructive theology.



Robert F. Brown is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Delaware. He has specialized in the history of philosophy and the philosophy of religion, with a focus on German idealism.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER II. STEPHEN THE PREDECESSOR OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. According to the Acts of the Apostles, the first disciples of Jesus adhered as nearly as possible to the Jewish religion and to the national worship. The only thing that distinguished them from the rest of the Jews was the conviction at which they had arrived, that the promised Messiah had appeared in Jesus of Nazareth. They saw nothing antagonistic to their national consciousness in this belief in Jesus as the Messiah. Yet in this belief, simple and undeveloped as it was, a breach was introduced into their consciousness as Jews, which might seem insignificant at first, but could not fail to divide Judaism and Christianity further and further from each other. The persecution to which Stephen fell a victim shows us clearly that he was the first to express this antagonism between Christianity and Judaism as a thing clearly felt and not to be concealed. There is more doubt attendant on the statement made in the Acts of the Apostles as to the form in which he first gave decided expression to this antagonism. He is represented as having had disputes with the different Hellenistic communities in Jerusalem, to whom he had doubtless turned with especial confidence, that they, as Hellenists, would have understood the views and principles which he considered to be the essence of his Christian faith. As for the charge on which he was condemned, we hear merely that certain false witnesses stated that he had expressed himself in an irreligious manner against the Jewish Temple worship and the Mosaic law, and had proclaimedthe impending destruction of the Mosaic religion through the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. What was true and whatfalse in those charges, the Acts of the Apostles does not say; whether founded or unfounded is lef...

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The monumental retrieval of Baur through greatly improved (and some new) English translations reaches a high point in this edition of his 1845 Paul. His critical analysis of Acts has survived best, but the pioneer’s insights and mistakes about the shorter epistles both remain instructive, and his Hegel-influenced interpretation of Paul’s theology is still suggestive. Reflection on both the history of biblical interpretation and the place of philosophy in theological interpretation stand to be stimulated by this refurbished classic, again very helpfully introduced by Professor Hodgson.”

—Robert Morgan, University of Oxford



“F. C. Baur’s book on Paul is one of the classics of biblical scholarship and perhaps his best individual work. Peter Hodgson and Robert Brown are to be congratulated on this excellent new translation which provides readers of English with a reliable and elegant text.”

—Johannes Zachhuber, University of Oxford



“Brown and Hodgson’s fresh and deeply learned translation of Ferdinand Christian Baur’s masterpiece, Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, invites—and permits—us to revisit Baur’s claim of the centrality of Paul’s conversion to the making of Gentile Christianity. It comes at just the right moment, when the meanings—and politics—of conversion, for persons and communities, are once again the focus of intense debate across the disciplines.”

—Christine Helmer, Northwestern University



“Ferdinand Christian Baur’s Paul is an outstanding milestone in modern New Testament scholarship. The editors provide a clear translation with helpful annotations. With their concise introduction, they give us much support to understand Baur’s interpretation of Paul’s theology. Baur deals with topics of Pauline theology that are still discussed today. The editors show us Baur as a great, critical, and contemporary Pauline exegete. The spirit of freedom in Baur’s book is revealed through this edition.”

—Christof Landmesser, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Editorial Reviews

The monumental retrieval of Baur through greatly improved (and some new) English translations reaches a high point in this edition of his 1845 Paul. His critical analysis of Acts has survived best, but the pioneer’s insights and mistakes about the shorter epistles both remain instructive, and his Hegel-influenced interpretation of Paul’s theology is still suggestive. Reflection on both the history of biblical interpretation and the place of philosophy in theological interpretation stand to be stimulated by this refurbished classic, again very helpfully introduced by Professor Hodgson.”

—Robert Morgan, University of Oxford



“F. C. Baur’s book on Paul is one of the classics of biblical scholarship and perhaps his best individual work. Peter Hodgson and Robert Brown are to be congratulated on this excellent new translation which provides readers of English with a reliable and elegant text.”

—Johannes Zachhuber, University of Oxford



“Brown and Hodgson’s fresh and deeply learned translation of Ferdinand Christian Baur’s masterpiece, Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, invites—and permits—us to revisit Baur’s claim of the centrality of Paul’s conversion to the making of Gentile Christianity. It comes at just the right moment, when the meanings—and politics—of conversion, for persons and communities, are once again the focus of intense debate across the disciplines.”

—Christine Helmer, Northwestern University



“Ferdinand Christian Baur’s Paul is an outstanding milestone in modern New Testament scholarship. The editors provide a clear translation with helpful annotations. With their concise introduction, they give us much support to understand Baur’s interpretation of Paul’s theology. Baur deals with topics of Pauline theology that are still discussed today. The editors show us Baur as a great, critical, and contemporary Pauline exegete. The spirit of freedom in Baur’s book is revealed through this edition.”

—Christof Landmesser, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

From the Publisher