Notes on the book Paul the Mind of the Apostle by A. N. Wilson
General notes about the book:
The author has several chapters where he spends about five pages describing the cultural / governmental / religious situation, and how the early Jerusalem church and/or The Way interacted, or didn’t, with it. Was there a Jewish presence, or was it more "Christian". Did Paul go there? Did he write to them, and if so, what about. There is no clear exposition of the development of Paul’s philosophy. It pops in here and there (when discussing various cities). The author goes back and forth between Paul’s letters – which he considers to be genuine – and Acts, which he considers to have been written with a purpose (one of them to make the Romans feel less threatened by Christianity), and which also hid important doctrinal differences at the time (Jews/Jerusalem-church vs. Paul).
Overview:
| Chapter 1 | The Emperor Nero's Legacy |
| Strand of Christianity expressed in Revelations | Somewhat
fanatical Apocalyptic May have been used by the Romans as a justification for accusing Christians of creating unrest (fire) |
| Acts & Stephen | Stephen had a
vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stoned
to death. According to Acts and Stephen Jesus was not divine (Son of God, Second part of the Trinity) Jesus' life fulfilled the Jewish prophecies Jesus was raised from the dead as a token of approval by God |
| Acts & Saul | A person of
unclear status (an official?) who went to Damascus to
bring back Christians to Jerusalem for disciplinary
action "Damascus experience"
Damascus
Saul proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God. |
| Jesus | Author notes
that Jesus was not thinking about founding a worldwide
religion. Jesus says that his mission is to the house of Israel. Doesn't have much to say to the Gentile "pigs", and calls Gentiles "dogs". And yet the Gospels are written to "make us suppose that Jesus did indeed reach out to all mankind." |
| For a number of Jew in the first century the historical Jesus fits in with the older prophecies which tended to look toward an End Time. As a result the historical Jesus is (re)interpreted as the Jesus of the Good News that the End Times were near. (p 20) | |
| Chapter 2 | Saul of Tarsus |
| Tarsus | A mixed
population A variety of religions and religious ceremonies |
| Saul | Greek
probably his 1st language Tent-maker close to being unacceptable for Jews because tanning is related to corpses (which are unclean) Roman citizen. Parents probably wealthy, purchase citizenship for 500 drachmae (2 years wages for average laborer.) Claims to be a Jew. Claims rabbinical training, however does not appear to have read the Scriptures in Hebrew. Some modern scholars assert that Paul was not a Jew, but a Greek who somehow got involved with Jewish society (this is a minority view). |
| 4th Gospel | Talks about the conflict between Light and Darkness. Was considered Hellenistic. However discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls (contemporary with Christians) shows that there were Jews who spoke in terms of a Light/Dark cosmology. |
| Ebionites | Jewish
Christians based in Jerusalem. They could be considered
mainstream Christians of their day. James was the leader. Other members of Jesus’ family were members of it. They saw no need to admit Gentiles into the church. They did not believe that Jesus was born of a virgin. They did expect Jesus to return "on the clouds" when the time is ready. They blame Paul for distorting the original message of Jesus. We learn much of this from a letter of James. |
| Gospels | Written by people hostile to the Ebionites. |
| Chapter 3 | Jerusalem |
| Jerusalem | Rich city. Big temple. |
| Pharisees | More
cosmopolitan. Paul educated in their tradition. Major part of the Diaspora. Rabbinic tradition. Synagogue. Authors of the Talmud. |
| Sadducees | More
traditional. Obligations to God satisfied if one holds to the teachings and observe ritual requirements in the temple. In 62 AD James was stoned to death at their behest (Pharisees objected). |
| Gospels | Informed by the theological belief of the significance of Jesus’ death. Possibly influenced by Paul. Paul’s notions were behind the Gospel of Mark. Gospels are theology. |
| Passion | (Details from
the Passion are taken from Psalms or other Jewish
scripture) Vinegar to drink. Crying aloud to God. |
| Pilate | A boor. |
| Chapter 4 | Conversion |
| Paul | A temple guard. |
| Jerusalem church | Does not believe Jesus is divine. But that he was a sign of the beginning of the Messianic Age. |
| Stephen | Stoned for blasphemy. Then Saul heads off to Damascus. |
| Road to Damascus / in Damascus | Luke tells of the Damascus Experience three times. People in Damascus wanted to kill Paul because he was a member of the temple police and a supporter of the Roman regime against the Jewish people. Luke treats the opposition to Paul not as a Jewish vs. Roman issue, but as a Jewish vs. Christian conflict. |
| Paul’s own account | He does not mention the Damascus road experience (no voice from heaven, no blinding, no healing). Paul says that the revelation was unique to him and not the result of testimony of Peter, James, or John. |
| author’s opinion | The genius of Paul was to mythologize Jesus. Paul did not invent a new religion (Christianity), but was able to draw out mythological implications of an old religion (Judaism) in the death of a particular practitioner of that religion (Jesus). A modern materialist might conclude that nothing happened (but this is to use modern post-Enlightenment standards to the debate). Back then, there was a "different kind of thinking", and "imaginative world." |
| Pharisaism | The only sect of Judaism to survive the destruction of the temple. |
| Jesus religion | Its interaction with Paul’s version of the Christ Myth becomes an "interior thing", and "imagined thing", then a "written thing" which could withstand the passing away of those who had known Jesus. To a certain extent the historical Jesus is less important – as Paul treats it. |
| Chapter 5 | Paul in Arabia – the silent years |
| Paul | Isn’t searching for the truth. Paul has the truth. |
| Paul’s letters | Implication from the full set is that the human will has no freedom whatsoever. The human endeavor to pursue the good is foolish. |
| Common to Peter, Paul, and James | The end is
near. This destiny is part of the divine scheme. Uniquely linked to the person of Jesus of Nazareth. All Jewish movement. |
| Chapter 6 | The Church of Rome |
| Emperor Tiberius | |
| Emperor Caligula (37 – 41) | When Paul first emerges in Luke’s narrative. |
| Emperor Claudius | Big fan of
the old Roman religion. For Asiatics coming to Rome, the
notion that the Emperor was a god was a natural one. Imposed martial law in Palestine. In AD 50 he expelled the Jews from Rome. (Author believes it was only the "troublemakers." Murdered. |
| Emperor Nero | |
| author’s opinion | The most important fact in Christian history took place during Paul’s time in Arabia: The Messianic movement reaches Rome. |
| Agrippa I (born 10bc) | King of Judea. Puppet. Owed his crown by keeping the region stable – suppressing messianic movements associated with Jesus. Had James, son of Zebedee, the fisherman, arrested and executed. Ordered the arrest of Simon Peter but due to the intervention by an angel, he ran away to Syrian Antioch. Agrippa may have been a slippery character, but he was able to moderate the tensions between the Romans and the Jews. His death therefore became a problem for the stability of the region. |
| Syrian Antioch | It was in Antioch where the word "Christian" was first used. |
| empire’s policies | Opposed to a new Jewish movement (Jesus movement) which might attract gentiles – who might want Jewish privileges such as exemption from military service. |
| Stoicism | Attractive, in part because of a strict moral code. However, Judaism was more potent because of its magic powers. Jews were big fans of astrology. |
| (Simon) Peter - Cephas | Author asserts that it is highly unlikely that Peter founded the church of Rome. But then says that it’s possible that he may have gotten to Rome. |
| Chapter 7 | Antioch |
| gentiles | Couldn’t participate fully in the Jewish life. Uncircumcised not allowed in the temple. |
| Jesus movement | Known as The Way. Drew early converts from Jewish priests and temple officials. |
| Antioch | Center of Hellenistic faith in Jesus. 3rd largest city in the old world. Paul attaches himself to the Hellenists of Antioch instead of the Jerusalem church. |
| Chapter 8 | Antioch vs. Jerusalem |
| circumcision | Detailed in pages 130-131. Blood is drawn. |
| Chapter 9 | Paul in Europe |
| author’s opinion | Paul’s statement "women should be silent in the church" (I Corinthians) is an interpolation from a later period. Cites I Timothy for being submissive. Paul had many women friends. Some presided over churches. Misogyny of Paul is incorrect. Paul’s attitudes were typical of his time. The Jerusalem church excluded women from positions of authority. The Jesus of the Gospels is an artificial creation. |
| The incident at Philippi | Paul cast a demon out of a fortuneteller. Caused problems. Was this action of Paul "unRoman"? It was considered unRoman to participate in a foreign cult not approved by the Senate. |
| Judaism | One reason Judaism was popular was the widely held belief that Jews were good fortunetellers. |
| converts that have died | Thessalonians – Paul addresses the issue. Have they missed seeing Christ? No, they will be the first to rise, followed by the living who will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord "in the air". |
| Emperor Claudius | In AD 50 he expelled the Jews from Rome. |
| Greek philosophy | Paul believes
that God is responsible for everything. Plato believes that God is responsible for everything good. (Plato invented the concept of monotheism.) |
| Paul went to Athens | |
| author’s opinion | The view that Paul went to Athens and then
dropped Judaism in favor of Greek philosophy (while still
retaining the belief in a return of Jesus) is
"tortured logic". Much of what Luke wrote is fiction. The speech that Paul is supposed to have delivered in Athens indicates that Acts is a late work, belonging to a period that post-dates Paul by about 25 years. |
| Chapter 10 | Corinth |
| Corinth | Paul’s home from 50-51. A busy trading city. A place of proverbial wickedness. The verb "to Corinth" in popular Greek meant to fornicate. |
| letters to Corinthians | Dwell most on questions of marriage and sexual morality. These letters also tell us best what it must have been like to attend the early Christian meetings. |
| after Paul left | There was a scandal in Corinth. One of the church members had an affair with his stepmother. |
| Eucharist | Paul received
from the Lord the notion of the Christian sacraments
(Eucharist). There is no suggestion by Paul that the
tradition derives from anyone who was actually with Jesus
the night before he died. As far as we can tell from Acts, this ritual was not practiced by the Jerusalem church. |
| author’s opinion | Paul invented the Christian Eucharist. This would have been appealing to the pagans of Corinth, but it would have been distasteful to the Jews (drinking blood, or symbolically drinking blood). |
| other gods | Christian churches of the 1st two centuries agreed that the ancient gods were devils. |
| Most fundamental of Paul’s beliefs | Within a very short time the world was coming to an end. He believed he had cracked the "secret" – to use his word – of what Judaism was all about. It was a series of promises which had been fulfilled by the arrival of Jesus: life, suffering, death, resurrection - which was the prelude to the End of History. |
| Chapter 11 | Ephesus |
| Temple of Artemis in Ephesus | One of the 7 Wonders of the World. Artemis/Diana most widely worshipped in the Greek world. Priests of Artemis were eunuchs. When the region adopted Christianity, it’s not surprising that the cult of the goddess was transferred to Jesus’ mother. The temple eunuchs turned into Christian celibates. |
| Folk tales | Stories of St. John and/or Luke escorting the Blessed Virgin to Ephesus. |
| Paul the troublemaker | Stirred up the populace. Proved a public riot. Imprisoned. |
| author’s opinion | Romans is not a work of philosophy, it is more like a poem than a work of logic. The most interesting as well as the most impenetrable book on religion written. Romans is one of the most devastating attacks on "religion" ever penned. pages 194-197 |
| Epistle to Romans | It appears that in Romans, one of the issues being discussed is how can a God which is responsible for everything, allow a world to have so much pain and suffering. |
| Chapter 12 | The last journey to Jerusalem |
| Paul | The year is 57. Warned that there are risks if he goes to Jerusalem. |
| Paul is "anti-religious" | Since he believes in a soon-to-end world, he has little regard for established religion: priests, temples, liturgy, regular services. |
| Luke | In his writing (Acts), twenty years after Paul’s death, his predictions did not come true (end of world) and so has to smooth over that difficulty. |
| Paul in Jerusalem | Is arrested. But because of tensions in the city, he is taken away by the Roman commandant to Caesarea. |
| Chapter 13 | Caesarea |
| Town | A seaport founded by Herod the Great. |
| Court hearing | According to Luke, it was the quarrel over circumcism that lead to Jesus’ arrest. |
| Chapter 14 | I appeal unto Caesar |
| Festus | Roman governor. Accuses Paul of being mad. |
| Chapter 15 | The school of Paul |
| author’s opinion | The notion that Paul was homosexual is unproven, and of little interest anyway. |
| Marcion | Endeavored to push Paulism to its logical conclusion. Believed that: Christ was all spirit. Folk tales of his human birth revolted him. Christ was a manifestation not an incarnation. |
| Marcionism | The first major heresy. Perhaps to appease Marcionism, when the New Testament was taking shape, Paul was given "pride of place". |
| Gospel of Mark | Bears the sign of having been "community tradition" and not derived directly from St. Peter or any other eyewitness. Its great accomplishment is its portrayal of the historical Jesus. Like the letters of Paul, the Gospel of Mark contains no physical resurrection of Jesus (although the Church of Rome probably believed in it.) |
| Mark | Don’t know who he really was. Mark was a very common name in the Latin world. The "author" is the Church of Rome, shortly before the fall of Jerusalem in 70. |
| Chapter 16 | The voyage to Rome |
| Ship voyage | Big storm. Runs aground. Everybody ends up on Malta. |
| Paul’s final destiny | We don’t really know what happened to him: killed, executed, acquitted, off to Spain,… |