Anomalous Jew

Joshua W. Jipp --Trinity Evangelical Divinity School "This is vintage Bird, perhaps with a noticeable tinge of N. T. Wright thrown in as well. In this book we find historically informed, strong readings of the Pauline texts, a deep awareness of the scholarly debates and positions on Paul and first-century Judaism, and overall a substantive and important contribution to situating Paul in his first-century context." Francis Watson --Durham University "Michael Bird argues persuasively that Paul did not cease to be a Jew when he became Christian--and yet his previous Jewish convictions were shaken to the core and transformed. Paul remained a Jew, but he became an anomaly to his Jewish contemporaries." Nijay K. Gupta --George Fox Evangelical Seminary "Even though contextualizing Paul is necessary in order to understand him, Bird argues that Paul nevertheless defies categorization. He was a maverick apostle, an inimitable thinker, and an anomalous Jew. Bird cogently sets Paul within his world, not to domesticate him, but to draw out his peculiarity. This is engaging reading, peppered with fresh insight into the historical Paul." -- Review of Biblical Literature "I doubt whether there is a better introduction to Paul's thought and theology that could be placed in the hands of students of the apostle. The book not only highlights Bird's ability to engage the views of others but also reveals how insightful a commentator he is."