January 08 Book Club Meeting

"Mythmaker Paul and the Invention of Christianity "

Wednesday the 16th at 1:30 PM

By Hyam Maccoby

 

A fascinating detective-style study about Jesus, Saul/Paul, and the creation of Christianity (by Paul?).  The author is Hyam Maccoby, a widely-recognized Old Testament scholar. Here are the usual Amazon reviews.

 

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

The creation of a religion, May 9, 2007

By	K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile"

I will start off by saying I never much cared for Paul, nor for the fact that his writings - all dated decades after the death of Jesus - were the ones that made up most of the New Testament. His misogynistic teachings and dogmatic approach to the system of philosophy created by Jesus would undoubtedly cause that good man to shudder and be shamed.

The Mythmaker shows how Paul took the teachings of the Nazarenes and combined them with the mystery cults and Gnostic teachings to create his very own new religion, completely revising the original teachings and twisting them to fit his own scheme. It is a very well-written and accessible book - Maccoby specifically states in the text that he wrote it for the layman and that he planned a more scholarly work subsequent to this one, which I plan to seek out. A strong recommend to anyone interested in history - whether it is regular history or religious history - and a work that MUST be read with an open mind

 

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

A tough but very interesting look at Paul, March 25, 2006

By	Marc Dubey (Chicago)

I found "Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Xtianity" to be the eye opener that a friend promised it would be. The edition I found is published by Barnes and Noble. So you won't find the current edition at Borders but they may carry earlier editions. While the book is about Paul and exploding the myths around him to see who he really was - what is most interesting is the look at the Jerusalem Xtians and JC in the context of Temple.

Maccoby did an excellent job of navigating Sadducee, Pharisee, and Pauline positions as well as carefully examining where JC's teachings fit in with each. Maccoby succeeds very well in demonstrating that Paul is the inventor of Xtianity as we know it today. He also goes into great detail in describing the Jerusalem sect, which is the inheritor of JC's ministry through his brother James. I think many Xtians may very well appreciate this aspect of the book. While common sense always told me that JC was a Rabbi teaching Torah, I really appreciate Maccoby's ability to look at JC's teaching with great care and demonstrate how they affirm Jewish values as well as looking at Jewish theological, political and (to a lesser degree) social trends of the day.........................

Mythmaker really demonstrated how hand in glove JC's teachings were to Judaism, including his claims of being the Messiah. I think it's a revealing look at a religion just before the first century CE. Perhaps best of all this work represents a door for Xtians back into the Torah, perhaps a means for Jews to find some common ground with the NT. Even Muslims might appreciate this kind of analysis of JC and comparing it to the Koran. Maccoby's perspective offers a good basis for dialogue. That's not to say that he doesn't take a tough look at Paul but it is a well reasoned and often well justified look at Paul.