Paul, the enigma

Reformation scholar Timothy George ponders the life and influence of the Apostle Paul at First Things:

“Paul and his ideas have been controversial throughout the history of the Church. Paul’s teaching has stirred many reforms and renewals led by great theologians such as Augustine, Luther, Pascal, Wesley, and Barth; but Paul has also been derided and denounced. Nietzsche called Paul a dysangelist, a preacher of bad news, and this opinion has been echoed by many others. Jesus, some say, preached a simple message of love and brotherhood which was perverted by Paul with his legalism and intellectualism—justification, predestination, and all that.”

And Colin Adams reflects on the marks of Paul’s preaching.