Paul

by William Wrede, Edward Lummis (Translator)

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition ++++ Paul William Wrede P. Green, 1907 Religion; Bibli

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1907

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wrede book of 1904 has not worn with age. Along the lines of Wrede's theological (read: historical) program set out in an earlier essay, "The Task and Methods of 'New Testament Theology,'" Wrede focuses on Paul's personality as "the second founder of Christianity" (179). Thus, “Paul belongs to that rare class of men whose lives, by a single event, are cut clean in two” (6). Paul's revelatory conversion cleaves his life, but Wrede is quick to note that not all is kosher with Paul's experience of the risen Christ. Since Paul did not meet the historical Jesus, he is given carte blanche to shape his theology according to the numinous category of revelation. In other words, for Wrede Paul doesn't have the historical Jesus holding him back. “The single sentence, ‘Jesus is Messiah,’ with its immediate implications – this was all: but this is the germ of a dogma, and Paul’s ‘theology’ is only the evolution of the germ” (76). For Wrede, Paul already has a Jewish messianology that Jesus then fits into, not as a historical figure, but as a datum in history. Thus, “the moral majesty of Jesus, his purity and piety, his ministry among his people, his manner as a prophet, the whole concrete ethical-religious content of his earthly life, signifies for Paul’s Christology – nothing whatever” (89).

Paul “was in fact the theological expounder and successor of Jesus. Julius Wellhausen, the pioneer in OT criticism, has even affirmed with emphasis that Paul was truly the man who understood the gospel of Jesus. Adolf Harnack and many others have repeated it. Nevertheless, I am unable to concur in this judgment” (157). Instead, Paul for Wrede is the “first Christian theologian, and by means of his theology he decisively transformed the incipient religion” (175). This “extra-ordinary personality” is “to be regarded as the second founder of Christianity” (179). For Wrede, we follow him (and perhaps the messianizing Evangelists, see his 1901 "The Messianic Secret") rather than the historical Jesus, and to our own detriment. Wrede paints Jesus in bucolic blushes that shame Paul’s sophistication and urbanity. Thus, Jesus is the simple prophet; Paul the complex tinkerer. Jesus, the man who spoke to the religious heart of each individual (echoes of von Harnack…); Paul, who runs simple religion through the grist-mill of theology in order to create the Church. And so on. Wrede’s influence can still be felt, his rhetoric is yet to be matched, but his conclusions, upsetting in their day for their novelty, now only upset because of their naïvety.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Supersessionism, demythologizing, and a hard division between the teachings of Paul vs Jesus abound, but it was still a neat easy read. I particularly like that he says Justification is not the gospel, just a polemic.