This book is novel in its questioning of the adequacy of interpreting Paul from the perspective of the Reformation and in its application of sociological methods to the New Testament.

'One of the most interesting books on Paul to appear in recent years … Watson offers a fresh and innovative reading of Paul, page after page of perceptive comment, and the best exegetical critique of the Lutheran position now available.'

E. P. Sanders Source: Journal of Jewish Studies

'A bold and provocative thesis, presented clearly and readably.'

Source: Journal of Theological Studies

'A timely contribution, offering a reassessment of the New Testament texts behind the Reformation and encouraging us to see them differently.'

Source: Theology

'The great asset of this important book is that it brings coherence into the Pauline writings from Galatians to Romans.'

Source: The Heythrop Journal

'In the past few years or so Paul's theology, especially his relationship to Judaism, has become a highly controversial topic in NT studies. In this book Watson launches into that controversy with one of the most important and adventurous contributions to date, which is sure to spark off further controversies in its wake … that he has managed to produce strikingly novel but not wild or idiosyncratic results is a measure of his rigorous methods of argument.'

Source: Themelios