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Book Cover for: Eavesdropping on Paul: Reading Others' Biblical Mail, Mark G. Boyer

Eavesdropping on Paul: Reading Others' Biblical Mail

Mark G. Boyer

If there were only one Paul in the Christian Bible (New Testament), it would not be so difficult to understand him. However, there are three faces (and maybe more) of Paul found in the Bible. In biblical book order, there is the Acts-of-the-Apostles Paul; this Paul is generated by the same author--whoever he was--who wrote Luke's Gospel. Second, there is genuine Paul, the author of seven letters. Third, there are the multiple faces of second-generation Paul; these faces represent believers who updated Paul for their world long after Paul passed from recorded history. This book is based on the seven undisputed Pauline letters. It offers reflections on genuine Pauline theology with meditation/journal questions for developing genuine Pauline understanding and spirituality. The seven chapters in this book reflect upon the theological highlights in a genuine Pauline letter. Modern readers of Paul's letters are eavesdropping, since not a single letter in the stack of Pauline letters is addressed to them. They are reading others' biblical mail which requires knowledge of who the original addressees were, where they lived, when they lived, their culture, and the same about the sender of the letter. This book supplies that information.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Resource Publications (CA)
  • Publish Date: May 27th, 2025
  • Pages: 124
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.50in - 5.50in - 0.25in - 0.35lb
  • EAN: 9798385247257
  • Categories: Biblical Studies - New Testament - Paul's LettersBiblical Meditations - New TestamentChristian Theology - History

About the Author

Boyer, Mark G.: - Mark G. Boyer, a well-known spiritual master and retired New Testament professor, has been writing books on biblical, liturgical, and devotional spirituality for over fifty years. He has authored eighty-one previous books, including two books of history, one novel, one memoir, and a book of poetry. This, his eighty-second work about Pauline theology, is his forty-first Wipf and Stock title.

Praise for this book

"Mark Boyer has done it again, this time offering a thoughtful guide to the seven genuine letters of Paul that is perfect for church groups, Bible studies, and personal reading and meditation."
--Leslie Baynes author of Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible

"Correspondence such as Paul's to the newly established Christian churches is a genre now foreign to modern readers. Yet it indicates social context and allows Paul to instruct, remonstrate, express his love, and encourage them to hold to their beliefs. Boyer, in his work on the seven authentic letters of Paul, provides a systematic guide to reading this correspondence as well as the opportunity for personal reflection and spiritual growth. He makes one reading Paul not just an eavesdropper, but a recipient hearing it for the first time."
--Victor Matthews, Professor Emeritus, Missouri State University

"Pauline scholarship has evolved adding new insights into Paul's writings. Boyer's book adds to the evolving scholarship allowing time for the reader to meditate and journal as they 'eavesdrop' into the letters of Paul."
--Vernon Meyer, Retired Pastor, United Church of Christ