Paul Behaving Badly, Brandon J. OBrien
Paul Behaving Badly, Brandon J. OBrien
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Paul Behaving Badly
Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?

Author: Brandon J. O'Brien, E. Randolph Richards

Narrator: TBD

Unabridged: 6 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/07/2016


Synopsis

The apostle Paul was kind of a jerk. He was arrogant and stubborn. He called his opponents derogatory, racist names. He legitimized slavery and silenced women. He was a moralistic, homophobic killjoy who imposed his narrow religious views on others. Or was he? Randolph Richards and Brandon O'Brien explore the complicated persona and teachings of the apostle Paul. Unpacking his personal history and cultural context, they show how Paul both offended Roman perspectives and scandalized Jewish sensibilities. His vision of Christian faith was deeply disturbing to those in his day and remains so in ours. Paul behaved badly, but not just in the ways we might think. Take another look at Paul and see why this "worst of sinners" dares to say, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."

About Brandon J. O'Brien

Brandon J. O'Brien is director of content development for Redeemer City to City in New York City. He has been published in Leadership Journal, Christianity Today, and Relevant, and has been interviewed by and quoted in USA Today and other national newspapers. He is the author of The Strategically Small Church and coauthor, with E. Randolph Richards, of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible and Paul Behaving Badly.

He has a wide range of interests, but Brandon's primary goals in writing are to help Christians better understand the Scriptures, themselves, and their place in God's mission in the world. He has spoken to groups of pastors and lay leaders on issues ranging from small-church ministry to national trends in religion and in a variety of formats, from pastors' retreats to writing seminars.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bob

Summary: Takes on the charge that there are many problems with Paul, among which that he is racist, pro-slavery, anti-woman, homophobic, and hypocritical, and suggests that while he behaves badly, it may be in different ways than we might think. This is the third in a series of “behaving badly” books......more

Goodreads review by Neil

This book is a really enjoyable way to look at the whole scope of Paul’s writings. For an overall structure, the authors use common criticisms of Paul, with each chapter presenting one of the areas of criticism, the reasons it seems to make sense, and the responses that explain the deeper context of......more

Goodreads review by Sam

I enjoyed the book. Some chapters were stronger than others, but overall it's a good read. This is a short review because minimalism is the way of the future. I'm not just tired. Love, Sam......more

I loved this book! The authors dig into history and culture of the first century to explain who Paul was and how he wrote the Bible. It isn't exhaustive concerning each issue, but the authors go over common misunderstandings and questions critics and Christians alike have for the apostle. Was Paul a......more

Goodreads review by Paul

Drawn in by the title as well as some of the endorsements, I am currently finishing up the November release by IVP titled 'Paul Behaving Badly: Was The Apostle A Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?' It’s refreshing to discover a new book written by academic authors that is not dense, (you won’t need to keep a......more