Customer Reviews

Approaches to Paul: A Student's Guide to Recent Scholarship

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This book is a very nice intro to current Paul studies. Professor Zetterholm starts with liberal protestant studies (Bultmann, Kasemann, Bornkamm), moves through the "new perspective"(treating Sanders, Dunn, and Wright), and then into what he refers to as the "radical new perspective" (Gaston, Nanos, and others). He then moves back into contemporary conservative authors (treating Das, Thielmann, and Westermann). He ends with a brief survey of alternate approaches (such as the feminist perspective).

In all the evaluations of each individual author are, in my opinion, very fair. His 3-5 page summaries condense the important features of each author's work and add incisive commentary about the potential biases or limitations of those works.

He does a nice job of demonstrating how the "Lutheran" assumptions have colored Paul studes and how the theological biases of many authors (even liberal ones) have affected their works. He makes a point to introduce the "radical new perspective" as a loose group of approaches which, although different, share a commonality in the fact that they do not take anything for granted.

Though far from exhaustive this very readable 240 page book is a superb introduction - or even refresher course - for those intersted in Paul studies. Though the author claims to be writing from a secular vantage point, and in the end gives a nod to the "radical new perspective", his work is completely fair and objective.

Highly recommended, especially for conservatives (like me) who may not have as much familiarity with the nonchristian authors.

APPROACHES TO PAUL is a comprehensive, but concise overview of the last thirty or so years of Protestant scholarship in the study of St. Paul's soteriology.

Being only an amateur in New Testament theological studies, this book finally provided me the "big picture" of the debate between E.P. Sander's New Perspective on Pauline theology and its critics.

Prior to reading this book, I had to piece together, as best as I could, what the terms of that debate were from the works of partisan authors. APPROACHES TO PAUL filled in the gaps and objectively clarified where each of the major contributors to the debate (Sanders, Wright, Dunn, Gathercole, etc.) stood.

APPROACHES TO PAUL also convinced a Catholic like me (I won't hazard to say what other readers will take away from this book) that Protestant Pauline theology - at least among academics - is slowly converging with Orthodox, Catholic, and even Jewish soteriological views.

The author offers a wide angle view of Paul that goes beyond the man, his efforts, doubts and enemies. He includes how Paul was used and manipulated by the early church and later Protestant propagandists.

Readers can implicitly grasp that once the Jesus movement is launched, the question whether Jesus existed or not becomes subsidiary. And once the Church is launched, it's Paul's turn to become a symbol and be used to support orthodoxy, internal splits and segregating from Judaism. The author shows how the reformed Church will use grace as a divinely offered righteousness to oppose self-righteousness by works of the law and condemn Judaism.

The tug of war using Paul explains that few agree on what he really said or meant to say. The initial message and intentions are presently boomeranging back into Pauline studies, attempting to see more honestly his indelible Jewish outlook and the meaning of the Jesus movement. The author shows the meanders of the scholarly paths that are leading to a revised Paul.

What the man really meant and the reasons for his dedication to the cause he initially scorned will however not be fully accessible until the background of the gospels is correctly cleared.

Future developments, not presented here, to which students may be more receptive than scholars will take into account the non historical Jesus. With Jesus messiah standing for a strongly opinionated community group, Mark's gospel was written as a reaction against Essene traditionalists. The early gospels related community history supported by a symbolic messiah.

It then becomes clearer that Paul's commitment consists in propagating a Jewish messiah-mediated revival cult and not the deeds and words of a contemporary man. Accordingly, Paul has to invent suitable answers to unforeseen problems. In the course of his messiah proselytizing, Paul necessarily stumbles, contradicts himself, and by the time he get's his arguments better sorted out, they don't really matter any more: Messiah Jesus has an audience and the story will expand well beyond Paul's wildest dreams.

Alongside to E.P. Sander's "Very Short Introduction" this brief and well exposed book offers a useful general approach to Paul.