TIght, clean, flat, square, sharp and crisp book in almost pristine DJ, a little bumped at the base of the sunned spine. Book plate. Highlighting and possibly marginalia: this book came from the estate of a life long Lutheran Minister and is probably one of the books used while studying at Gettysburg Lutheran. 

A very helpful examination of what Paul believed and taught, and how these ideas have been commonly distorted, sometimes to the point of caricature. Although published in 1935, the issues Stewart tackles here seem surprisingly contemporary.

Written with passion and clarity, in the introduction Dr Stewart states that 'the conviction has grown steadily upon me that union with Christ, rather than justification or election or eschatology, or indeed any of the other great apostolic themes, is the real clue to an understanding of Paul's thought and experience.' This theme is echoed throughout the whole book - in discussing every aspect of Paul's belief system, we see everything begins and ends with his position, as 'A Man in Christ'.

The author's intellectual honesty is impressive, eg., he doesn't once quote from the 'pastoral letters' (Timothy's and Titus) and when quoting the gospel of John he is quick to emphasize the valid questions of authorship. 70 years on it seems we've moved backward rather than forward on this front. He's also quite happy to stray from mainstream views when he finds them inadequate or misrepresentative of the gospel of Jesus. For instance, his view on the nature of the atonement might not ring too comfortably in evangelical ears: he denies it contains any aspect of 'appeasement of wrath', where wrath is understood in any human sense. In particular, he prefers *hysterion* be translated as expiation rather than propitiation in Romans 3, that the reference to sinners as 'enemies of God' in Romans 11 is also a misinterpretation, and that the 'wrath of God' is almost exclusively eschatological, and represents the necessary 'divine reaction to sin' rather than any personal wrath towards sinners. Indeed his views remind me somewhat of George MacDonald's [another Scottish preacher] sermon 'Justice': Jesus did not die to save us from the anger of God - he was called Jesus because he would save the people from their sins.

The few non-mainstream positions taken up by this book have prevented it receiving the mainstream acceptance it truly deserves. Then again, perhaps if more people read C. S. Lewis' essays then he wouldn't be so popular either. This is a complete analysis of the life and teaching of Paul, written for the layman at an academic level (albeit a 70 year old academic level, but time hasn't invalidated much of this books material at all). James Stewart was voted the greatest preacher of the 20th century, and this book is a testimony to why. Definitely recommended to Christian and curious alike.