Jason Maston reassesses the understanding of divine and human action in second temple Judaism. Sirach and the Hodayot are used to establish the diversity of opinions. The Apostle Paul is situated into this Jewish debate through an analysis of Rom 7–8.
How far did Paul stray from the view of salvation handed down to him in the Jewish tradition? Following a hunch from E.P. Sanders's seminal book Paul and Palestinian Judaism,Preston Sprinkle finds buried in the Old Testament's Deuteronomic and prophetic perspectives a key that starts to turn the rusted lock on Paul's critique of Judaism.
Re-examines Paul within contemporary Jewish debate, attuned to the significant theological issues he raises without imposing upon him the frameworks developed in later Christian thought
Following recent intertextual studies, Kyle B. Wells examines how descriptions of ‘heart-transformation’ in Deut 30, Jer 31–32 and Ezek 36 informed Paul and his contemporaries' articulations about grace and agency. Beyond advancing our understanding of how these restoration narratives were interpreted in the LXX, the Dead Sea Literature, Baruch, Jubilees, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, and Philo, Wells demonstrates that while most Jews in this period did not set divine and human agency in competition with one another, their constructions differed markedly and this would have contributed to vehement disagreements among them. While not sui generis in every respect, Paul's own convictions about grace and agency appear radical due to the way he reconfigures these concepts in relation to Christ.
In this careful and provocative study, Chad Thornhill considers how Second Temple understandings of election influenced key Pauline texts with sensitivity to social, historical and literary factors. While Paul is able to move beyond ancient categories of a collective view of election, Thornhill shows how he also follows these patterns.
Lively, well-informed portrait of the complex figure who was the apostle Paul Though Paul is often lauded as the first great Christian theologian and a champion for Gentile inclusion in the church, in his own time he was universally regarded as a strange and controversial person. In this book Pauline scholar Michael Bird explains why. An Anomalous Jew presents the figure of Paul in all his complexity with his blend of common and controversial Jewish beliefs and a faith in Christ that brought him into conflict with the socio-religious scene around him. Bird elucidates how the apostle Paul was variously perceived — as a religious deviant by Jews, as a divisive figure by Jewish Christians, as a purveyor of dubious philosophy by Greeks, and as a dangerous troublemaker by the Romans. Readers of this book will better understand the truly anomalous shape of Paul’s thinking and worldview.
A careful and exegetical reading and examination of the Pauline passages that suggests particular atonement, together with a thorough engagement with contemporary scholars on the subject. In For Whom Did Christ Die? Williams argues that according to Paul, Jesus died exclusively for the elect to achieve their salvation. The book attempts to show that particular atonement is not simply an abstract theological doctrine, imposed on the text by theologians, and void of a biblical or exegetical foundation, but that this doctrine is biblical, is Pauline, and that particular atonement can be detected in Pauline theology by means of a careful, exegetical analysis of the relevant Pauline texts and of the relevant texts in the Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism.
Describing Jesus as an “agent” of divine actions, or as one who possesses human “agency,” is commonplace in christological discussions. Yet these discussions often wade in a shallow understanding of the terms' meanings and the theological implications of such claims. For example, while many theologians who are committed to the definition of Chalcedon consider Jesus one agent, we might ask if this implies that the triune God comprises “three agents?” Or, if Christ possesses “singular agency,” how are his divinity and humanity operative in his actions? In response, this work draws from the theology of John Owen and advancements in philosophy of action in order to offer an account of divine and human agency in christological action from within the Reformed tradition. It provides clarity to the christological and trinitarian uses of the language of “agent/agency” in Christ and attends to the theological (esp. trinitarian) entailments therein. While at first glance there may appear to be internal inconsistencies with accounts that subscribe to classical trinitarianism and Reformed Christological agency, this book argues that Owen helps us recover an understanding of christological agency that is internally coherent and theologically prudent. As such the Reformed tradition can articulate Christological “agency” in a way that is coherent with the testimony of Scripture, the ecumenical councils, and classical trinitarianism while contributing to contemporary theological discussions. The case not only provides terminological clarity and theological coherence, but also inclines Christians to appreciate the trinitarian love of God in Christ's action and the human sympathy of Christ for his people.
Readers of Paul today are more than ever aware of the importance of interpreting Paul’s letters in their Jewish context. In Reading Romans in Context a team of Pauline scholars go beyond a general introduction that surveys historical events and theological themes and explore Paul’s letter to the Romans in light of Second Temple Jewish literature. In this non-technical collection of short essays, beginning and intermediate students are given a chance to see firsthand what makes Paul a distinctive thinker in relation to his Jewish contemporaries. Following the narrative progression of Romans, each chapter pairs a major unit of the letter with one or more thematically related Jewish text, introduces and explores the theological nuances of the comparative text, and shows how these ideas illuminate our understanding of the book of Romans.
This five-views work brings together an all-star lineup of Pauline scholars to offer a constructive, interdenominational, up-to-date conversation on key issues of Pauline theology. The editors begin with an informative recent history of biblical tradition related to the perspectives on Paul. John M. G. Barclay, A. Andrew Das, James D. G. Dunn, Brant Pitre, and Magnus Zetterholm then discuss how to interpret Paul's writings and theology, especially the apostle's view of salvation. The book concludes with an assessment of the perspectives from a pastoral point of view by Dennis Edwards.