Apoštol Pavel, posel Božího království – Fredriksenová Paula (2023)

The book is an excellent study of the life and times of the Apostle Paul. A renowned American historian, in a very accessible and readable style, builds on her previous works dedicated to St. Augustine, Jesus Christ as a historical figure, and the early Christian period in general. ***** She aims to refute traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes associated with the interpretation of St. Paul's texts and to place his life, philosophy, and missionary activities within the broader cultural and religious context of Mediterranean civilization in the 1st century. She pays considerable attention to debunking the modern notion of the mutual exclusivity of the concepts of Christian and Jewish, the disunity and instability of religious currents in ancient Judaism, and the relationships between Jews living in the diaspora and their pagan surroundings. Paul is presented as a full-fledged member of the Jewish religious tradition, not as the first truly 'non-Jewish' Christian. From the position of an unbiased expert and a skilled popularizer, she manages to engage both lay and knowledgeable readers.