Revisiting Paul's Doctrine of Justification: A Challenge to the New Perspective
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Author: Stuhlmacher, Peter
ISBN-10: 0830826610 | ISBN-13: 9780830826612
Binding: Paperback
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Stuhlmacher and Hagner offer a helpful discussion of seminal points in the debate over the validity of the “New Perspective” on the Apostle Paul. Martin Luther once said that the doctrine of justification is the doctrine by which the church “stands or falls.” Stuhlmacher and Hagner demonstrate that Luther’s insight is no less true now than it was at the height of the Protestant Reformation. Stuhlmacher offers an exegetical and theological discussion of Paul’s doctrine of justification and Hagner presents a helpful historical overview of the rise of the “New Perspective” in Pauline studies. Stuhlmacher discusses Paul’s doctrine of justification in three chapters in which he handles the Old Testament background, early Christian ecumenical roots, and the forensic horizon of Paul’s doctrine. Interestingly, Stuhlmacher argues against the belief that the faith in view in Galatians 2:16 is the faith of Jesus rather than the believer’s faith in Jesus. Additionally Stuhlmacher points out that justification and sanctification are distinct but not separate. Hagner’s historical essay traces the “New Perspective” back to a 1963 Krister Stendahl article, “The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West” and the work of E. P. Sanders in the 1970s, of James D. G. Dunn in the 1980s (Dunn is the one who coined the term “New Perspective”), and more recently in the work of N. T. Wright. Readers will not agree with all of Stuhlmacher’s and Hagner’s remarks, but they will find this little volume quite useful. - Jeff Waddington - Westminster Bookstore Staff
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Publisher Review: Since 1963, substantial objections have been raised against the traditional view of the Pauline doctrine of justification, mainly by New Testament scholars such as Krister Stendahl, E. P. Sanders and James D. G. Dunn. This book evaluates the "New Perspective on Paul" and finds it wanting.
With appreciation for the important critique already offered by Donald Hagner, which is included in this volume, Peter Stuhlmacher mounts a forthright and well-supported challenge based on established and more recent scholarship concerning Paul's understanding of justification. In particular he argues that the forensic and mystical elements of Paul's doctrine of justification should not be played off against one another. Rather Paul's understanding can be faithfully rendered only within the context of his apostolic mission to Jews and Gentiles and the expectation of the coming kingdom of God.
This book will be of interest to students and teachers of biblical studies, biblical theology and systematic theology, and to those engaged in Jewish-Christian dialogue, Protestant-Roman Catholic conversation about the doctrine of justification, or discussions of rival views of justification within Protestantism. |
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