Justification: Five Views

Publisher's Description

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1). When Paul wrote these words he seemed confident he had made himself clear.

But for centuries the Pauline doctrine of justification has been a classic point of interpretation and debate in Christian exegesis and theology. And while in recent decades there have been moments of hopeful convergence among the various traditions of the Western church, the fine print often reveals more facets and distinctions than ever before.

This volume focuses on five views of justification and calls on representative proponents to set forth their case and then respond to each other.

Traditional Reformed (Michael S. Horton) Progressive Reformed (Michael F. Bird) New Perspective (James D. G. Dunn) Deification, or Theosis (Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen) Roman Catholic (Gerald O’Collins and Oliver Rafferty)

In addition, editors James Beilby, Paul R. Eddy and Steven E. Enderlein provide an extensive introduction to the issues informing this important debate. This distinguished forum of biblical interpreters and theologians offers a lively and informative engagement with the biblical, historical and contemporary understandings of justification. Justification: Five Views is not only a fascinating probe into Paul’s meaning, it is also a case book in theological method.

About the Editors and Contributors

James K. Beilby (PhD, Marquette University) is Professor of Systematic and Philosophical Theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. His books include Why Bother With Truth? (with David Clark), Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views and The Meaning of the Atonement: Four Views (both with Paul Eddy), Naturalism Defeated?, For Faith and Clarity and Epistemology as Theology. His articles and essays have appeared in such publications as Faith and Philosophy, Philosophia Christi, Religious Studies, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, American Journal of Theology and Philosophy, Sophia and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Paul R. Eddy (PhD, Marquette University) is Professor of Theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. His books include John Hick's Pluralist Philosophy of World Religions (Ashgate), Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology (with G. A. Boyd, Baker) and Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views (with James Beilby IVP).

Michael S. Horton (PhD, University of Coventry and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford) is the J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California. A Reformed minister, he also co-hosts the White Horse Inn (whitehorseinn.org) and is editor of Modern Reformation magazine. The author of more than 20 books, his latest is The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way.

Michael F. Bird (PhD, University of Queensland) is Lecturer in Theology at Ridley Melbourne College of Mission and Ministry. He is the author of several books, including Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission and The Saving Righteousness of God: Studies on Paul, Justification and the New Perspective, as well as numerous essays, articles and reviews.

James D. G. Dunn (PhD and DD, University of Cambridge) is Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at the University of Durham, where his research interests cover the evolution of the historical critical method, the third quest for the historical Jesus, the relation between Christianity and Judaism in the first century, and the theology of the New Testament. Professor Dunn's recent publications have included The Partings of the Ways between Christianity and Judaism, commentaries on several New Testament books, and The Theology of Paul the Apostle. He is General Editor of Cambridge's New Testament Theology series, in which he authored The Theology of Paul's Letter to the Galatians (1993).

Veli-Matti Karkkainen is professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He has published numerous articles in international journals of theology. His books include Pneumatology (Baker), Christology (Baker), Toward a Pneumatological Theology (UPA), An Introduction to Ecclesiology (InterVarsity Press), Trinity and Religious Pluralism (Ashgate), The Doctrine of God (Baker) and One with God (Liturgical Press).

Gerald O'Collins, Professor emeritus of the Gregorian University (Rome), is widely known around the world as a lecturer and writer. He has authored or coauthored 62 books. He is currently adjunct professor of Australian Catholic University, and Honorary Fellow MCD University of Divinity.

Oliver Rafferty, a Jesuit priest, has taught at several universities and colleges in Britain and Ireland. He has also been a visiting professor in the United States, Korea and Australia. He has been an examiner at the Master’s and Doctorate level for London and Oxford universities; Trinity College, Dublin, the National University of Ireland, Galway; University College, Dublin, the National Council for Academic Awards, Dublin and the University of Western Australia. He has written or edited six books.