Paul and Romans, chapter one

I often refer to Paul as enigma when I explain why I was drawn to write a novel about him.  His writings about a gracious God and Christian egalitarianism–no longer Jew or Greek … slave or free … male and female—have informed and inspired theologian and laity alike over the centuries.  But, charges of anti-Semitism, apologist for slavery, misogynist, and gay-bashing homophobe are also levied against his writings.  The simple explanation, of course, is that Pauline views were shaped by the...