Paul and Money

The apostle Paul, one of the most prominent figures in the early Jesus movement, had a lot to say about money. His letters deal with real people as they lived their Christian lives in the Greco-Roman world. He finds it necessary to address those who are rich in this present world (1 Tim 6:17). But he also has to address those do not want to work, for whatever reason, and are idle and disruptive (2 Thess 3:6). Moreover, whereas most churches today have a certain socio-economic homogeneity, some of Pauls churches had a combination of upper class wealthy people and lower class slaves worshiping side-by-side, and it inevitably created friction (esp. 1 Cor 11:1734). During the past twenty years a significant amount of research has been done on class-consciousness in the Greco-Roman world and on the significance of Pauls fund-raising venture for the poor among the Lords people in Jerusalemthe collectionfor his ministry. Relying on the surprising results of current Pauline scholarship and a careful exegesis of a variety of New Testament texts, this book offers a thorough investigation of the apostle Pauls sayings and dealings with money.