When Paul Met Jesus
How an Idea Got Lost in History

This volume examines the idea, once held by some scholars, that Paul may have met Jesus during Jesus' earthly ministry.

Stanley E. Porter (Author)

9781107127968, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 February 2016

228 pages
23.7 x 15.5 x 1.9 cm, 0.46 kg

'I, for one, think that based upon those considerations alone it is more likely that Paul did in fact see Jesus than that he did not. For other to be persuaded, they will need to pick up a copy of Porter's monograph and weigh the evidence for themselves.' Kenneth Berding, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

Did Paul ever meet Jesus and hear him teach? A century ago, a curious assortment of scholars - William Ramsay, Johannes Weiss, and James Hope Moulton - thought that he had. Since then, their idea has virtually disappeared from New Testament scholarship, to be revived in this monograph. When Paul Met Jesus is an exercise in both biblical exegesis and intellectual history. After examining the positive arguments raised, it considers the negative influence of Ferdinand Christian Baur, William Wrede, and Rudolf Bultmann on such an idea, as they drove a growing wedge between Jesus and Paul. In response, Stanley E. Porter analyzes three passages in the New Testament - Acts 9:1-9 and its parallels, 1 Corinthians 9:1, and 2 Corinthians 5:16 - to confirm that there is New Testament evidence that Paul encountered Jesus. The implications of this discovery are then explored in important Pauline passages that draw Jesus and Paul back together again.

Introduction
1. What scholars have said in the past about Paul and Jesus
2. What scholars now say about Paul and Jesus
3. What the New Testament does and does not say about Paul and Jesus
4. The implications of Paul having met Jesus
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Theology [HRLB], Judaism [HRJ], Christian mission & evangelism [HRCX7], Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG], New Testaments [HRCF2], Church history [HRCC2], The historical Jesus [HRCA], Christianity [HRC], Religion & beliefs [HR], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]