In this beautifully written study, Douglas Dales examines the autobiographical passages in St. Paul's letters, notably II Corinthians, in the light of the continuing spiritual experience and language of the church, to ascertain the saint's own experience of entering into the dying and rising of Christ. This phenomenon is related to certain aspects of other New Testament writings, especially early Christian attitudes to the passages about suffering in the Old Testament, and the testimony of the Apostolic Fathers. Douglas Dales aims to address the question: 'What makes a church a place where the experience of living through dying may be realised?', and concludes his study with a call to the modern church in the West to pursue afresh the steps of the saints. 'This book takes us back to the heart of that mystery which has been worked out in so many different circumstances. It tells of the mystery of Christ and the cross, above all, as it is expounded in the writings of Saint Paul.' From the Foreword by the Revd Canon A.M. Allchin.