Let us say that you have a limited amount of time because of, for example, your teaching responsibilities and your nine month old baby at home. And then, let us say you have an option to choose one of three books on Paul to write a five page review with your limited time. Which one do you choose and why? Here are your options:
- Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, Paul: A Critical Life (Oxford, 1996)
- Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology (Baker Academic, 2005)
- J. Paul Sampley, Paul in the Greco-Roman World: a Handbook (Continuum, 2003).
Update: I should clarify that I’m not getting these as free review copies. It’s an assignment for a seminar and has to be one of the three.
[polldaddy poll=2036039]
I voted for: Paul in the Greco-Roman World: a Handbook by J. Paul Sampley and let me tell you why.
Personally, I’m just as interested in Schnelle’s book as Sampley, but if we’re talking about receiving a *review copy,* then the more expensive book (and thus less likely to be purchased on one’s own) is always the better option.
I agree with Mike. I have the Sampley book and I cite it all the time; great essays, many from eminent scholars.
I would choose either O’Connor or Schnelle if only for the fact that reviewing a monograph well might be easier than reviewing a collection of disparate essays. I’ll also add that I have Sampley and like it for what it is. But all three are notable books and so you can’t go wrong.
Sampley.
Granted that’s the only one I read so far… but it’s full of many essays with good interaction with primary sources. I also liked the way they set up the format of the essays (interacting with relevant material then exploring its use in Paul).
I vote for the Murphy O’Connor book. Why? Because that’s the only one I’ve heard of. I may have even read parts of it!