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A Bird's-eye view of PaulDeeper PaulA BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF PAUL Michael F. Bird is a lecturer at the Highland Theological Institute in Dingwall, Scotland. His book aims to be ‘an introduction to the apostle Paul for laypersons and undergraduate students’ and ‘a refresher for pastors’. He seeks to go deeper into Paul without getting bogged down in scholarly debates and complex technicalities, and to show how relevant the apostle’s teaching is to the church today. As the title suggests, the book is an overview, a bird’s eye view. It moves quickly and is therefore unable to go into things in massive depth. Targeted as it is at those who are already grounded in theology, it assumes a fair amount of understanding. Many Bible references are included, not many of which are quoted. Nevertheless, the book is readable — I read it in one sitting on an aeroplane. I found the following sections particularly helpful:There’s a chronology of Paul in Chapter 2, though there is no effort to justify it when particular events are dated at particular times. There’s a survey, well-presented and well-referenced, of some of Paul’s most important themes in Chapter 3. There are summaries of the reasons behind and the contents of Paul’s letters in Chapter 4; you may already have a few such summaries at home, though. There’s a review of different aspects of our salvation in Chapter 6; where we sometimes become a little one-dimensional in our understanding of what the gospel means to us, Michael Bird looks at this great subject from a number of different angles. There’s a different way of illustrating the deity of Christ in Chapter 8. The book does not shy away from dealing with controversial issues. Because it is intended to be an overview, it cannot enter into all the details of the various debates it mentions. However, it touches on such issues as the place of the law, the role of women in the church, and homosexuality. Much of the book, not surprisingly, is taken up with theology. However, there are chapters of a more practical nature towards the end. Naturally, you won’t agree with all Michael Bird’s conclusions or be entirely convinced about some of the writers quoted in the book. A Bird’s-Eye View of Paul, however, is thought-provoking and should stimulate you to examine your own understanding of aspects of Paul’s teaching. James Muldoon,
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