Paul and the Torah [Paperback]

Lloyd Gaston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1991

While the task of exegesis after the Holocaust has been to expose the anti-Judaism inherent in the Christian tradition, the founding of the Jewish state has also helped show the continuation of the covenant between God and Israel. For Lloyd Gaston the living reality of Judaism makes possible a better understanding of Paul's prophetic call as Apostle to the Gentiles. In "Paul and the Torah", Gaston argues that the terms of Paul's mission must be taken seriously and that it is totally inappropriate to regard his "conversion" as a transition from one religion to another. Paul's congregations were not made up of Christian Jews: they were exclusively Gentile. Thus Paul focused on God's promises to Abraham concerning Gentiles which were fulfilled in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. The inclusion of Gentiles in the elect people of God through their incorporation into Christ thus does not mean a displacement of Israel. Nowhere does Paul speak of the rejection of Israel as God's chosen people, of the Sinai covenant as no longer in effect for Israel, or of the church as the new and true Israel. He also says nothing against the Jewish understanding of Torah as it applies to Israel when he speaks of "law" in reference to Gentiles. But for those outside the covenant God made with Israel, the law acted in an oppressive and condemning way, and Gentiles needed liberation from it. "Lloyd Gaston is professor of New Testament at the Vancouver School of Theology. He is a past president of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and author of "No stone on another: studies in the significance of the Fall of Jerusalem in the Synoptic Gospels.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Overall it is a remarkable work: original, provocative, and lucidly argued. The arguments are such that at times the reader rubs his eyes in astonishment ... I would predict that even those who are not finally persuaded will, like me, never read Paul in quite the same way again ... The debate will go on. But it will not be the same debate now that Gaston's book has appeared. - S.G. Wilson, University of Toronto Quarterly Gaston's work is a scholarly and thought-provoking attempt to arrive at what Paul really said. Gaston is to be commended for his courage in presenting a point of view which he admits "runs against the grain of the entire Christian exegetical tradition." His work cannot be ignored; it forces Pauline scholars to re- examine old hypotheses and test new ones. - A. Edward Milton, Religious Studies and Theology (Paul and the Torah) "is an unqualified success in that it raises in a coherent and self-consistent fashion questions about Paul's view of Judaism itself and of the Torah that is central to Judaism. . . Paul and the Torah is must reading for anyone interested in a coherent Paul. - Peter Richardson, Toronto Journal of Theology

About the Author

Lloyd Gaston is a professor of the New Testament at the Vancouver School of Theology. He is a past president of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and author of No Stone on Another: Studies in the Significance of the Fall of Jerusalem in the Synoptic Gospels (1970).

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Univ of British Columbia Pr (January 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0774803754
• ISBN-13: 978-0774803755
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,011,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christian view of Torah, October 17, 2001

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CER (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Paul and the Torah (Paperback)

This book has some interesting approaches to the writings of Apostle Paul. Gaston has made his own translations of difficult sections of Romans and Galatians. These contain subtle adjustments, and he is correct in asserting the bias all translations bring to the table. He has numerous suggestions on passages like 2 Cor 3 and Galatians 4 that fit aspects of those passages better than other views I've encountered. The Paul was a Jew and continued to respect Torah is clear. But he didn't urge gentiles to observe it, on the contrary he said they should not. We're left with two distinct branches of one faith. I would also suggest writings of John Gager and Mark Nanos in the same vein. More academic are those of John Sanders.