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What Paul Meant

garry wills

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A synthesis of the apostle's thought and influence evaluates the disparate qualities attributed to his character in the Bible and throughout history, arguing that Paul's intentions were consistent with the teachings of Jesus and sought to manage controversy throughout the early days of Christianity. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lincoln at Gettysburgh. 75,000 first printing.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,2006

This edition

Format
208 pages, Hardcover
Published
November 2, 2006 by Viking Adult
ISBN
9780670037933
ASIN
0670037931
Language
English

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garry wills

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Rating(4 / 5.0, 82 votes)
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RefinedTyro
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Fascinating exploration of Paul and his letters. If you've every struggled with Paul's writings or the religious use of Paul's writings to justify onerous practices -- consider what Wills writes. It is illuminating and entirely rational. Fresh understandings and insights. I listened to audiobook that Wills himself reads. Listened through twice to make sure I got it. Highly recommend.
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ShoujoCrisis
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I'm not sure that I agree with all of Wills' premises, but the book is an interesting read. I would recommend it for people who would like a different angle on the Pauline story. Other than that, I'm not sure that many people would find this book to be too interesting; and I think that many people would disagree with Wills' interpretations.
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Daddario123
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This is a fascinating examination of the thinking of Paul, and an eloquent scholarship-based description of the meaning and intent of the early Christians. I've now read it twice and I'm sure I'll read it again before too long.
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Tenshiholic
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This is a clear exposition of Paul's work that doesn't cover a lot of new ground for me, though for those familiar with other interpretive traditions of the Bible, it may be hard to accept. A fairly standard (to my read, anyways) historical-critical approach to the Pauline epistles.
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iateurfishtank
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This book is not for those with only a cursory knowledge of new testament theology and history. To best appreciate its contents, the reader should be familiar with the gospels, Paul's letters, and in particular, the book of Acts.
The book was for me a interesting and informative read. There were places when I temporarily lost track of what we were examining, but on the whole the material is clear and well-presented.
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alcatraz_64
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Fine defense of Paul--really changed my opinion. Apparently, according to Wills, he was not a misogynist, in fact was ahead of his times in egalitarian thinking. Fascinating discussion of transla-tion and mistranslation. I learned a lot, and found a spirituality I could relate to much more than the church as it often shows itself today. Anti-hierarchal, for one thing. And the revelation of love.
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TTst
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I love Garry Wills-

I wish we had more lay theologians like him who can pull the scholarship together.

I discovered Paul shortly after my Mormon mission - I fell in love with him and named our first son for him. He is nothing short of amazing, and this short bio is an excellent intro - and busts a few myths along the way.
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TimeTraveller33
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Very thought-provoking, but as with all apologetic books, I would have found it more satisfying if it had more citations and evidence and less guesswork. For example, I'm not sure how I feel about the author saying of a contradictory passage, "oh that was probably added at a later date by someone else, so we don't need to worry about it," but not explaining why it was thought to be inauthentic.

By the end, I definitely felt more positive toward Paul, but also more disheartened about ever hoping to get a true understanding of the bible. A better name might have been "What I Think Paul Probably Meant".
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