Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-352) and indexes

pt. 1. Paul the Jew -- pt. 2. Paul the convert -- pt .3. Paul the Apostle

"The author argues that the best way to understand Paul is by using the conversion language prevalent in the first century. Largely reacting to the writings of Krister Stendahl and E.P. Sanders, Segal writes that Paul did in fact undergo a conversion. This conversion was not an emotional or critic experience, but was demonstrated in Paul's willing change of social setting. So Paul then, a Jew, lives as a non-observant in a Gentile community. Segal uses this distinction to explain the struggle that Paul had with opponents in his letters. While Segal finds that conversions did occur in the first century, Paul's problems started in earnest when he tried to reconcile the observant and non-observant wings of the church. Segal's thesis is that Jews supported the idea of converting Gentiles, but were repulsed by non-observant Gentiles and observant Jews worshiping together. The weakness of this work in its tendency to describe Paul as a kind of first-century religious quester. A position that does not fit with the self-description of the man in his letters."--Amazon.com