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Books - Paul and his Writings

	A study of Paul and his theology, showing that he never forsook his Jewish heritage nor the Torah.
	Paul the Jewish Theologian reveals Saul of Tarsus as a man who, though rejected in the synagogue, never truly left Judaism. Author Brad Young contends with long held notions that Hellenism was the context which most influenced Paul's communication of the Gospel. This skewed notion has led to widely divergent interpretations of Paul's writings. Only in rightly aligning Paul as rooted in his Jewishness and training as a Pharisee can he be correctly interpreted. Young asserts that Paul's view of the Torah was always positive and he separates Jesus' mission among the Jews from Paul's call to the Gentiles.
	Paul's letter to the Romans, says Nanos, is an example of Jewish correspondence, addressing believers in Jesus who are steeped in Jewish ways—whether of Jewish or gentile origin. Arguing against those who think Paul was an apostate from Judaism, Nanos maintains Paul's continuity with his Jewish heritage.
	After taking on traditional interpretations of Romans in (The Mystery of Romans, Nanos now turns his attention to the Letter to the Galatians. A Primary voice in reclaiming Paul in his Jewish context. Nanos challenges the previously dominant views of Paul as rejecting his Jewish heritage and the Law. Where Paul's rhetoric has been interpreted to be its most anti-Jewish, Nanos instead demonstrates the implications of an intra-Jewish reading. He explores the issues of purity, insiders/outsiders; the charactor of "the gospel"; the relationship between groups of Christ-followers in Jerusalem, Antioch, and Galatia; and evil-eye accusations.
	In his thorough "Paul and Palestinian Judaism" E. P. Sanders attacked the most sacred view of Pauline scholarship: that Judaism was a legalistic religion based on works-righteousness. This belief was characteristic of Augustine and later Luther. The first two thirds of Sander's study is devoted to a detailed study of Second Temple Judaism. The last 1/3 is focused on Pauline theology, and despite its brevity, gets to the meat. The power of this book has not diminished after nearly thirty years. It is without doubt the most important work on the theology of Paul in the latter half of the 20th century: compulsory and compulsive reading.