Staff Review: Simon J. Gathercole, New Testament lecturer at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, has entered the scholarly fray over the “new perspective” on Paul with his fascinating Where is Boasting? Early Jewish Soteriology and Paul’s Response in Romans 1-5. In this book, Gathercole seeks to offer two interconnected arguments. The first relates to the relative paucity of studies on boasting in Paul’s letters. This study seeks to address that lacuna with an examination of Romans 1-5. The second argument involves a critique of certain aspects of the “New Perspective” on Paul (in particular, the work of E. P. Sanders, James D. G. Dunn, and N. T. Wright), especially as that view relates to works and eschatology. - Jeff Waddington, Westminster Bookstore Staff
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Publisher Review: This important work challenges the validity of the "New Perspective" on Paul and Judaism. Working with new data fom Jewish literature and a fresh reading of Romans 1–5, Simon Gathercole produces a far-reaching criticism of the current approach to Paul and points a new way forward. Building on a detailed examination of the past generation of scholarship on Paul and early Judaism, Gathercole's work follows two paths. First, he shows that while early Judaism was not truly oriented around legalistic works-righteousness, it did consider obedience to the Law to be an important criterion at the final judgment. On the basis of this reconstruction of Jewish thought and a rereading of Romans 1–5, Gathercole advances his main argument — that Paul did indeed combat a Jewish perspective that saw obedience to the Law both as possible and as a criterion for vindication at the final judgment. Paul's reply is that obedience to the Law is not a criterion for the final judgment because human nature makes obedience to the Law impossible. His doctrine of justification can therefore be properly viewed in its Jewish context, yet anthropological issues also take center stage. |
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