Daniel Kirk’s New Book

When I read the gospels I am undone by the stories Jesus tells; stories which have worked their way deep down into my soul and have produced in me an allegiance to the teachings of Jesus, and deep down conviction that following his teachings is the best way to be a human being in the world. It has always been this way for me. When I read Paul, I generally had a completely different experience. Paul would always frustrate me. I felt like he was arrogant and closed minded, over-rationalized and dogmatic. I used to say, I really don’t like Paul. (I still tell people who are stuck in the “my information is better than your information” phase of spiritual growth that they should stop reading Paul until they deal with their own dualism.)

Seminary was a gift for me, because it taught be how to read Paul in a different way. I as forced to read Paul in tandem with the gospels and to tease out the tensions in order to refine my view of both. Now I am free to love Paul’s writings, because I know how to read them w/out forcing them to say what I need them to say in order to use them to control people. I often talk with those who either love Paul too much (and for the wrong reasons), or can’t stand Paul because the see too much tension between Paul and Jesus. I never know what to tell them except, “you could go to seminary and it would change the way you feel!”

Now I can send them to this new book by J.R. Daniel Kirk. It’s called Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul?: A Narrative Approach to the Problem of Pauline Christianity. I met Daniel Kirk a few years ago at a conference & have been a follower of his blog, Storied Theology, and his work ever since. Daniel is a top notch New Testament scholar – studied at Duke, teaches at Fuller – with the heart of a new (typically younger), generation of Christians who have come of age after Christendom. I really think you’ll love this book! Here’s a quick video of Daniel talking about why he wrote the book:

https://www.youtube.com/v/QLKnNC7kJ8w?version=3&feature=player_embedded