What Was Paul Thinking?

Introducing the “New Perspective”

My new book, What Was Paul Thinking? (the first book release of Isaac’s Press), is now available on Amazon.com. It’s also available on Amazon.uk.

The eight-lesson text will be ideal for use in Sunday school classes, small group situations, and individual study. For a little preview of what’s covered (and what a few early reviewers already have to say about it) go here.

Here’s an excerpt of what one respected Pauline scholar has to say:

“Richard Brown seeks to help the contemporary Christian understand shifting ideas in the study of Paul that have arisen in the past four decades but still have not become widely known outside of scholarly circles or seminary classrooms. This is no simple task, not least because of the enormous cultural gaps between the concerns of Paul and his audiences and those of our own times…. I am confident Brown’s teacher, Lloyd Gaston–may his memory be for a blessing–would have been pleased with his student’s effort to popularize current trends in the development of these ideas and some of their implications for Christian readers of Paul today.”

Mark D. Nanos, Ph.D. (University of St. Andrews, Scotland), Rockhurst University
Author of The Mystery of Romans: The Jewish Context of Paul’s Letter (Fortress, 1996; winner of The 1996 National Jewish Book Award in Jewish-Christian Relations), and The Irony of Galatians: Paul’s Letter in First-Century Context (Fortress, 2002).

And from the dean of Community of Christ Seminary:

“I thought I knew Paul well, but Richard Brown’s very readable study gave me many startling new insights, especially about Paul’s Jewishness and his desire to include all people in loving community. He does a great job of presenting the findings of recent research and their implications for contemporary Christian practice. I highly recommend use of this excellent resource in adult study classes everywhere. It will deepen people’s engagement with the Bible.”

Don H. Compier, Ph.D. (Emery University), dean
Community of Christ Seminary
Graceland University

And from a social-justice perspective:

“Whether you are annoyed or satisfied by traditional views on Paul, prepare yourself for a highly stimulating read! No one should use or study Paul without engaging in the ‘New Perspective on Paul’ – and Rich Brown does a superb job of outlining its basic tenets. As someone who at best would only cherry-pick Paul’s writings, I am finding I have to reconsider the entire enterprise of Paul’s central aims. I was also glad to see Rich tackle the thorny issues of the place in society of women and homosexuals. In the Christian dialogue on these topics, Paul’s writings sometimes form central anchors and Rich shows how ill-grounded these are. Finally, while the book doesn’t explicitly probe this, I found that the New Perspective provides more solid footing for Christian-Jewish relations. Overall, a very worthy read!”

Rod Downing
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
International Human Rights Award recipient (2007)
Community of Christ

Now that Amazon and Amazon-UK have What Was Paul Thinking? I’ll be adding more updates, features, reviews, and excerpts as they are received.

Cover photo by Nona Cady

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