Yesterday, I was happy to learn that Oda Wischmeyer has published a new biography of Paul titled Gott Neu Vermessen. Eine Paulusbiographie (Ditzingen: Reclam, 2026).

Since I have not yet obtained a copy, this blog post will instead translate several excerpts from a recent interview with Prof. em. Wischmeyer about her new book: https://www.evangelisch.de/inhalte/255518/15-05-2026/apostel-paulus-stellt-casar-den-schatten

Excerpt 1: German with English Translation

Gab es beim Schreiben der Biografie neue Erkenntnisse für Sie?

Did you gain new insights while writing the biography?

Wischmeyer: “Neu” ist in den Geisteswissenschaften immer relativ. Aber ich wollte über die bisherigen “Paulus-Perspektiven” hinausgehen. Lange wurde Paulus stark lutherisch gelesen, später betonte man mehr seinen jüdischen Hintergrund. Beides war und ist wichtig. Ich versuche nun, Paulus als den zentralen jüdischen Intellektuellen des ersten Jahrhunderts zu verstehen. Er dachte darüber nach, was es bedeutet, dass sich der Gott Israels in Jesus Christus endgültig offenbart hat. Paulus führte Christus als theologische Größe in das jüdische Denken ein. Historisch erstaunlich ist, wie erfolgreich er damit in der nichtjüdischen Welt war.

Wischmeyer: “New” is always relative in the humanities. But I wanted to go beyond the previous “Paul perspectives.” For a long time, Paul was read in a strongly Lutheran way. Later, one emphasized more his Jewish background. Both were and are important. I am now trying to understand Paul as the central Jewish intellectual of the first century. He reflected on what it means that the God of Israel has definitively revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Paul introduced Christ as a theological entity into Jewish thought. What is historically astonishing is how successful he was with this in the non-Jewish world.

Excerpt 2: German with English Translation

Welche Gedanken von Paulus sind auch heute noch besonders aktuell?

What ideas of Paul are still especially relevant also today?

Wischmeyer: Zentral ist für mich Römer 12: das Denken zu erneuern und immer neu nach dem Guten zu suchen. Paulus fordert dazu auf, sich weiterzuentwickeln und nicht stehen zu bleiben. Ebenso wichtig ist seine Vorstellung von Liebe, der Agape. Liebe bedeutet bei Paulus nicht nur Nähe zur Familie oder Freundlichkeit, sondern eine radikale Hinwendung zum anderen Menschen – praktisch, emotional und existenziell. Gerade in einer Gesellschaft, die oft stark um das eigene Ich kreist, halte ich das für hochaktuell.

Wischmeyer: Romans 12 is central for me: To renew one’s thinking and to seek the good ever anew. Paul exhorts one to develop further and not to remain standing in one place. Equally important is his conception of love, of agape. Love in Paul means not simply closeness to family or friendliness but a radical turning to other human beings – practically, emotionally, and existentially. Precisely in a society that often revolves around one’s own self, I regard this as highly relevant.

Translation note: It is difficult to translate “das Denken zu erneuern” and “Paulus fordert dazu auf,” i.e., since it does not read well to write “to renew the thinking” and “Paul exhorts to,” which means that it is probably desirable to add “one’s … one,” or “our … us.” I have added one’s … one, while recognizing that this is not an ideal solution. Similarly, I have used “around one’s own self” rather than writing “around the own I” later in the excerpt. Beyond this, it might be preferable to translate “und nicht stehen zu bleiben” with “and not stop” or “and not to stand still,” but I have chosen to use the expansive rendering “and not to remain standing in one place,” as an attempt to give the phrase a bit more weight.

For further insights into Wischmeyer’s analysis of love in the New Testament, see her book Love as Agape (Baylor, 2021).

For Wischmeyer’s 2024 EKK commentary on James, see here.

For further blog posts on Wischmeyer, see here.