Tag: socialjustice

Posted on

#BookReview: Paul For The World by Nijay K. Gupta

Deja Vu / Rinse And Repeat. Either Works. I do believe this is the first time in over 1,800 reviews over the last decade where I can truly say that literally everything I said about the author’s previous book – in this case, 2024’s Strange Religion – still applies to this one. Simply swap out any references to the “early church” to the “Pauline epistles” instead, and truly literally that entire review could be here with just those changes.

And so, the rest of the review is a version of exactly that:

“Fascinating History Marred By Prooftexting And Dearth Of Bibliography. This was an utterly fascinating look at the Pauline Epistles and the world they were written in and for. I genuinely learned quite a bit from reading this book, and Gupta kept the overall tone scholarly enough to be sufficiently serious without going into pretentiousness. Indeed, the *only* problems I had here, that are automatic star deductions when I encounter them, are the rampant prooftexting – the practice of citing Bible verses out of context in order to “prove” a particular point – and the dearth of a bibliography, clocking in at just 12% or so of the overall text when 20-30% is more normal in my experience across hundreds of nonfiction titles over the last several years. Even with being more willing to at least *slightly* lower that given more recent experiences, 12% is still simply too low.

But for anyone interested in the history of the Pauline Epistles and how that history could well change how exactly you interpret them, for any reason: read this book. Christians, no matter your bent, read this book and consider its words in relation to your relationship with the Pauline Epistles.

Very much recommended.”

PS Special To The Review of Paul For The World: After you consider this text and write your review of it, you should also read Frank Viola’s Pagan Christianity. He too has a very illuminating look at these very books of the Bible.

This review of Paul For The World by Nijay K. Gupta was originally written on May 6, 2026.

Posted on

#BookReview: Excluded by Richard D Kahlenberg

Well Documented Examination Of How Class Is Used To Separate More Than Race In Modern Era. Seriously, this is one of the better documented texts I’ve read in quite some time, clocking in at about 37% documentation. And given its claims that some might find extraordinary – such as “In a 2014 analysis, one researcher found that the level of segregation between poor Black and affluent Black families was actually greater than that between Black families and White families” – the extraordinary documentation is needed in order to more fully prove the case, which Kahlenberg does quite well indeed here. As Kahlenberg notes early, zoning isn’t really something most Americans think about too much unless they happen to buy a piece of property (and how many of us actually do that these days??) and have some issue with the local zoning board. But zoning directly impacts the availability of housing – which is something quite a few Americans are worried about in the early part of the 2020s. Kahlenberg pulls no punches here, and shows how elites – no matter their Party or race – have been using these issues to overcome previous (and wrong and correctly outlawed) race-based barriers. As a white dude who grew up in the 80s and 90s in a trailer park, and whose wife once lived in a duplex – both forms of housing that are routinely being zoned out of existence in more recent years – I’ve been in and around this all my life, but Kahlenberg finally puts an academic focus on what I’ve observed “on the street” and shows that the problem is actually far worse than even I had realized. Truly an outstanding work, and one anyone concerned about the housing market or “social justice” needs to read. Very much recommended.

This review of Excluded by Richard D. Kahlenberg was originally written on January 30, 2023.