The apostle Paul is a controversial figure. He is both admired and reviled. His letters have highly influenced creeds and dogmatic statements; but he is also accused of turning the 'simple' Gospel that Jesus preached into a complex dogmatic system. Furthermore, on the authority of Paul, for many centuries women have been given second place in church and society. The apostle to the Gentiles has sometimes been a source of inspiration, but more often a stumbling block when Jews and Christians meet.This book presents Paul for the widest possible audience. In his Jesus Matters and Jesus and the Doctrine of the Atonement, C.J. den Heyer has already shown that he has an enviable gift for clear and popular writing. Here he takes on a particularly difficult task and shows great mastery in offering a detailed portrait of one of the most controversial figures of the ancient world.C.J. den Heyer is Professor of New Testament at the Theological University of the Reformed Churches in The Netherlands.