One of the striking things about Paul’s letters is they sound like Papal missives or decrees. Paul was a self-made man from Tarsus and a self-proclaimed apostle. But his long and weighty letters make him sound like a Roman provincial administrator. In fact, the letters themselves depict Paul as such an administrator who makes the rounds to his communities, keeping in touch with local leaders, sending out official embassies, solving problems, receiving deputations, and keeping the power that the faith serves at the forefront of their minds. But would the historical Paul have the time and the authority to write such stately letters? It seems that by day Paul makes tents by day but by night makes polished, almost papal correspondence. (M. David Liwa)

I tried to defend Livesey’s thesis as best I could by explaining and supporting her arguments, and extending them by trying to show what might also be true if she is right even if she didn’t explicitly make those connections and inferences herself.  I think readers will be interested because hers is a new and unique thesis published by a very reputable publisher (Cambridge University Press) under academic peer review. Here’s the final essay: https://infidels.org/library/modern/quest-for-historical-paul-d/