Raises important questions
The book raises questions I never thought to ask. The contrast between the aims of Jesus the practicing Jew, and Paul the religious promoter to the gentiles, is good to be reminded of. Since we know that Jesus of Nazareth and Christ of the Nicene creed are rather different characters, it would not surprise me if the actual Paul is different from how church tradition sees him. However, Maccoby is not an academic historian, and his assertions are sparsely footnoted. I have learned that professional historians are not accepting of some (or many?) of Maccoby's conclusions regarding specific issues such as, the witness of the Ebionites, and Paul's status as a Pharisee (or not). Still, the main point of the book rings convincing, and the book is valuable to raise questions for further study of the historical Paul and Christian origins, which the reader can pursue through books from more trained historians.