Customer Reviews

Justification: What's at Stake in the Current Debates

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Here is a book from various scholars that deals with the very important (and often, contentious) doctrine called justification. The contributors of this book come from various backgrounds - from Baptist to Roman Catholic. The book is divided into four sections: 1) Justification in Biblical Theology; 2) Justification and the Crisis of Protestantism; 3) Justification in Protestant Traditions; and 4) Justification and Ecumenical Endeavor. The quality of the essays are a mix bag. Some notable essays were written by Robert H. Gundry, D. A. Carson, Mark A. Seifrid, and A. N. S. Lane. Gundry's article dealt with the issue of whether the Bible advocates "imputed righteousness" (which he denies). Carson's essay was a response to Gundry's, and he argues that imputation is something that is clearly spoken of in Scripture. Seifrid's article is interesting since he deals with the doctrines of justification in Luther, Melanchthon, and Paul. Surprisingly, Seifrid argues that Luther held to a more dynamic view of justification and that modern Protestants really follow the highly forensic model of Melanchthon (Seifrid holds to the dynamic model and tries to put Luther on his side - which is a questionable reading of Luther). Lane's article on the Regensburg Colloquy (1541) was quite interesting. Lane argues that modern Protestants and Roman Catholics should learn from this Colloquy as a possibility for them to reach a consensus. (Whether Lane succeeds in convincing the reader is questionable since Regensburg did contain some ambiguous statements that would make most Protestants - especially Lutheran and Reformed Protestants - uncomfortable.) The other essays were either mediocre or unhelpful. Bruce L. McCormack gives the reader a pretty good overview of the doctrine in the history of the Western Church. Robert Kolb gives a good Lutheran understanding of justification. Paul D. Molnar's essay on justification in Karl Rahner and Karl Barth might be of interest to those who are doing research on those two notable theologians. And Kenneth J. Collins' essay on Wesley's view of justification is very eye-opening. He argues that Wesley only saw PAST sins removed during the time of justification (this was to safeguard against any form of antinomianism). Collins' essay shows that Wesley was definitely not in accord with Luther, Calvin, and the Reformation tradition on this matter. The essays by Philip G. Ziegler ("Justification and Justice: The Promising Problematique of Protestant Ethics in the Work of Paul L. Lehmann") and Geoffrey Wainwright ("The Ecclesial Scope of Justification") did not help much to add anything insightful into the whole discussion (especially the latter's). Overall, an interesting and informative book. The only complaint I have is that the book should have been indexed (as the reviewer below pointed out). With a book of this nature, a Scripture, subject, and name index could go a long way. Perhaps, there will be a future edition where the editors will include an index for the benefit of the readers.

A collection of essays well worth reading. D. A. Carson's chapter on imputation is especially helpful. I can't resist, however, pointing out an inexcusable omission for an academic book: no indexes! No Scripture index; no person index; no subject index. Very strange and frustrating.

"The current reviewer's opinion is that the most important essays in this volume are the ones written by Carson and Gundry. At the end of the day, the debate over justification is a debate over Paul, and this is precisely what their essays discuss. It is interesting that so little of the volume addresses the debate on the so-called 'New Perspective' on Paul. There will be a Copernican revolution in conservative systematics and biblical theology if this new paradigm carries the day. Thus, we would like to have seen more interaction on this subject. Nevertheless, this volume is useful in setting forth a variety of contemporary perspectives on this seminal doctrine."

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