Abstract
This book introduces Paul to beginners. Specialists should consult Campbell’s Framing Paul: An Epistolary Biography (Eerdmans, 2014). Campbell reconstructs Paul’s career from ten letters he takes as authentic. He omits the Pastorals, except a detail about Titus (115) and a note on universalism (195, n. 3). He uses Acts only to supplement.
After discussing Paul’s conversion around 34, Campbell reconstructs three periods in his apostolic career. First, in 39–42, Paul was in Macedonia and Greece and wrote 1–2 Thessalonians in 40. The years 42–49 are “shadow years” about which we know only the hardships in 2 Corinthians 11:23–27. Second, in 49–51 Paul was in Asia Minor and wrote Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians. And in 51, he wrote three letters to Corinth, including 1–2 Corinthians. Third, in 51–52 Paul was in Corinth. This was a period of intense engagement with “the Enemies” and yielded Galatians, Philippians, and Romans. In 52, Paul returned to Jerusalem, and Campbell relies on Acts to carry the story to Paul’s execution in 57 or 58. A timeline would be helpful.
Campbell asserts idiosyncratic speculations as facts. The chronology of Paul’s life is moved up a decade from the usual consensus. Paul was imprisoned in Apamea (76). Each letter was read to every congregation on route to its destination (131). Paul wrote Philippians while in prison awaiting trial before Gallio (130). Jews bribed Gallio to hear charges against Paul, and wealthy Christians out-bribed them to get the case dismissed (131–32). Festus became procurator of Judea in 54 or 55 (174). Campbell does not inform beginners when he is out on a limb by himself or mention common alternative views.
Turning to Paul’s theology, Campbell first discusses how Paul viewed his former life from the vantage point of a mature trinitarian theology. He sketches this in chapter 1 and assumes it thereafter, while attending mainly to Paul’s ecclesiology and soteriology.
As for ecclesiology, Ephesians (Laodiceans) is Paul’s “manifesto” for the church (83–39). Campbell identifies three metaphors for the church in Ephesians: temple, “political entity,” and body. Only the second is tied to a text (Eph. 5:22–6:9; Col. 3:18–4:1). Campbell argues that, because the Household Codes originated as guides for a well-organized polis, Paul thinks of the church as a city that must be well ordered. He acknowledges that the Household Codes “contain challenges” (88). Specifically, “slavery is an abomination,” and “modern Pauline communities must differ in certain key respects from Paul’s original communities” (88). But Campbell provides no theological guidance about why and how we “must differ” from Paul’s directives while retaining Paul as a guide. Nor does he mention that the Household Codes might be problematic for women. Although he refers to a generic church leader as “she” (117), he repeatedly refers to the church as the “Christian city” (110, 118, 123, 133), reinforcing the Household Codes as the primary locus of ecclesiology, and offers nothing to help students think their way out of Greco-Roman domestic conventions as normative.
Regarding soteriology, Campbell wrestles with the logic of substitutionary atonement without naming it, and students would have no inkling of any alternative. He emphasizes the difference between covenant and contract. He observes that Ephesians begins with election (85–86), discussing God’s eternal plan to adopt “us … as individuals” (86). It is unclear whether “us” refers to Christians (89, 139, 162), Jews (163–64), or humans (168). That last possibility raises the question of universalism in tension with the sovereignty of God, but Campbell does not force that issue.
Campbell’s ideal readers seem to be students from Reformed traditions. In a religiously pluralistic classroom, this book could generate pushback. Campbell’s Mormon analogy (128–29), which misrepresents Mormon doctrine and characterizes Mormons as “pagans,” will offend Mormon students and confuse others. His references to “the Enemies” as “messianic Jews” will offend messianic Jewish students, and his anachronistic use of this term will confuse others. Jewish students will not appreciate being labeled “unbelieving” (159–60). Campbell says Christians should not be anti-Semitic, but it is unclear why not, after so much talk about “the Enemies.” Confusing also is his use of the religious identifier “pagan” in place of the ethnic identifier “gentile,” so he describes Lydia, oddly, as a pagan (47).
Despite these flaws, Campbell comes off as a lively teacher. He offers helpful pedagogical suggestions and some brilliant illustrations: living between the present age and the age to come (36–39); how Torah promotes covetousness in Romans 7 (155–56). At the end of each chapter, review questions could help undergraduates prepare for quizzes, but adults would do better with open-ended questions on meaning and application. Teachers will find that this book stimulates them to consider new ways of presenting old material. But anyone who uses this as a textbook will need to supplement heavily and do a lot of explaining.