Lines from the book I'm reading, taken way out of context:

The problem reached its climax in the Reformation, a fight over what Paul meant in which, at times, there seemed to be little concern over what Jesus meant. 4

It is sometimes said that the historical Jesus is hard to find because he left no writings of his own. Paul is hard to find precisely because he did leave writings. 5

Those who believe in a providential revelation through the New Testament must deal with the fact that Providence preserved the first batch of inspired writings with the signature of Paul. 10

I shall argue that what Paul meant was not something other than or contrary to what Jesus meant, but that we can best find out the latter by studying the former. 10

My selection of quotations from the book is a work-in-progress so if it sounds unfinished, that's because it is.

I recommend the book for perhaps unusual reasons.

Again, I appreciate Wills's translation of Scripture ... maybe he'll publish a whole NT, like some modern-day Ronald Knox.

And Wills demythologizes Paul for lay Catholics. Those of us who don't know where to begin with St. Paul's writings can start here with Wills ... along with the Apostle's epistles.

---

Wills's take on WWJD - What Jesus Meant
References of Nietzsche in What Jesus Meant
Some of Wills's soteriology from What Jesus Meant
Link to Wills's NYT op-ed piece, Christ Among the Partisans - April '06
Link to my Amazon review of What Jesus Meant