New Books in Biography

Matthew Thiessen, "A Jewish Paul: The Messiah's Herald to the Gentiles" (Baker Academic, 2023)


Listen Later

Excavating and interpreting Paul’s thought, belief, ideas, and mission from his authentic letters and those otherwise attributed to him remains an ongoing effort in scholarship, with several competing perspectives vying for prominence. Matthew Thiessen advances an important reading of Paul within first-century Judaism, which he conceives not as a monolith of theological positions but rather as a spectrum of ideas that comfortably included Paul’s new belief in Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and Paul’s own call as appointed envoy to deliver that good news to non-Jewish Gentiles. 

On this episode, Matthew joined the New Books Network to discuss the recent publication of A Jewish Paul: The Messiah’s Herald to the Gentiles (Baker Academic, 2023), a concise and accessible introductory study of this Diasporic Jew that yet embraces the “weird” in Paul’s thinking, including his advance of pneumatic “gene therapy” rather than “cosmetic surgery” for non-Jews who wished to partake in God’s promises to Abraham. According to Thiessen, Paul must be understood first in his own historical context, complete with the philosophical and scientific presuppositions common to the first century CE, before being imported into our theological present—a method that has potential to overcome the devastating effects of centuries of Christian supersessionism but also compels us to tackle the uncomfortable apocalyptic origins of the earliest Jesus movement.

Matthew Thiessen (Ph.D., Duke University, 2010) is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His research focuses on the rise of Christianity, particularly as it relates to early Judaism, and especially on contextualizing Paul’s letters within first-century Judaism. Atop numerous journal articles and chapter-length contributions, he has authored several books to that effect, including Paul and the Gentile Problem (Oxford University Press, 2016), Jesus and the Forces of Death (Baker Academic, 2020), and Contesting Conversion: Genealogy, Circumcision, and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Christianity (Oxford University Press, 2011), which was awarded the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise.

Rob Heaton (Ph.D., University of Denver, 2019) hosts Biblical Studies conversations for New Books in Religion and teaches New Testament, Christian origins, and early Christianity at Anderson University in Indiana. He recently authored The Shepherd of Hermas as Scriptura Non Grata: From Popularity in Early Christianity to Exclusion from the New Testament Canon (Lexington Books, 2023). For more about Rob and his work, or to offer feedback related to this episode, please visit his website at https://www.robheaton.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books in BiographyBy Marshall Poe

  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8

3.8

74 ratings


More shows like New Books in Biography

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,389 Listeners

The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,855 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,689 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,189 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,193 Listeners

New Books in History by Marshall Poe

New Books in History

209 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,159 Listeners

New Books in Psychoanalysis by Marshall Poe

New Books in Psychoanalysis

193 Listeners

New Books in Military History by Marshall Poe

New Books in Military History

162 Listeners

New Books in African American Studies by New Books Network

New Books in African American Studies

161 Listeners

New Books in Political Science by New Books Network

New Books in Political Science

63 Listeners

New Books in Sociology by New Books Network

New Books in Sociology

46 Listeners

New Books in Medicine by Marshall Poe

New Books in Medicine

17 Listeners

New Books in Philosophy by New Books Network

New Books in Philosophy

110 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

292 Listeners

New Books in American Studies by New Books Network

New Books in American Studies

29 Listeners

New Books in Intellectual History by New Books Network

New Books in Intellectual History

61 Listeners

The History of Literature by Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate

The History of Literature

1,098 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,670 Listeners

The Book Club by The Spectator

The Book Club

85 Listeners

The Great Women Artists by Katy Hessel

The Great Women Artists

523 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

13,053 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,107 Listeners

Close Readings by London Review of Books

Close Readings

67 Listeners

The Critic and Her Publics by Merve Emre

The Critic and Her Publics

72 Listeners