Written by Crossan and Borg, a founder member and a leading luminary of the very liberal Jesus Seminar academic grouping, this book will always be a challenge to the traditional and evangelical arms of Christian readership. Setting out their stall they claim to have proof that of the letters attributed to St Paul only 7 were original to the radical St Paul’s hand with the other 6 being written by others at later dates with political motives to tone down the radical message and to promote the status quo. There is some refreshing detail presented, particularly with regard to the imperial theology of the Roman Empire, but the underlying agenda of the authors that set out to deny the physical resurrection of Jesus; deny the person of the Holy Spirit; provide an alternative, ‘more persuasive’ alternative to substitutionary atonement and the meaning of salvation. Although claiming the support of many scholars, there is a serious lack of corroborative academic support. A good read for the theologically aware but not a title for the novice.