Whiteley provides a basically conservative treatment of St. Paul's theology. Whiteley accepts the scholarly consensus which concludes that Ephesians, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus were not written by Paul. He accepts, however, Paul's authorship of 1 & 2 Thessalonians and Colossians, which is quite conservative by comparison to most scholars. Whiteley also concludes, "later Gnosticism grew from Christianity ... as opposed to the view that St. Paul 'copied from Gnosticism'." That conclusion again marks Whiteley's work as conservative in orientation.

The layout of the book is topical. For example: Chapter 1 surveys background issues, including the question of whether Paul is indebted to Greek modes of thought (e.g. Gnosticism) and Paul's sometimes prickly relationship with the other Apostles. Chapter 3 considers the Fall and the wrath of God. Chapter 4, "Preparation for the Gospel" includes a discussion of Paul's conflicted view of the Law of Moses and the theological issue of predestination. Chapter 6 covers the fundamentals, Paul's exposition of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Chapter 7 discusses such contested issues as Paul's view of sacramentalism, including specifically baptism and the Lord's Supper. Chapters 9 and 10 treat morality and eschatology, respectively.

This is a somewhat older work, and a relatively brief treatment (approx. 350 pp. in the second edition). Nonetheless it is still cited in the bibliographies of scholars including E.P. Saunders and J.D.G. Dunn. Dunn describes Whiteley's book as "a remarkably durable English language study."

 -- Stephen Peltz