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Title: What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity? by N. T. Wright, Tom Wright ISBN: 0-8028-4445-6 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: June, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.86 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Concise intro to the New Perspective on Paul
Comment: N.T. Wright again bridges the gaps between scholarship and spirituality; liberal and orthodox. Many readers will find his work shocking because he is conservative, but never orthodox. The most controversial aspect of this book challenges the tradition interpetation of justification (righteousness) by faith. For Wright, righteousness before God is not imputed or imparted by God, for instance by "accepting the free gift of Christ." Righteousness and Justification are the verdicts rendered in the law court to those that keep the covenant.
This raises the question about who is "in" and who isn't, as well as how can you tell who is "in." What are the markers of covenant membership? Wright tells us that Paul's great ephiphany is that the covenant markers of circumcism and keeping Torah have been replaced by the covenant marker of Faith. Justified by Faith, not works.
Recommended, but this book will leave you wanting to explore Wright's ideas to their fullest implications.
Rating: 5
Summary: Tentatively, I find this book superlative
Comment: I have skimmed or read in detail most of Wright's book, but since I will be working with it for the rest of this semester I may find need to reappraise it. So far, so good, as I am concerned.
This book is only "dangerous" and "unorthodox" if you interpret the entire Pauline corpus based on Romans 5 and Galatians 3. Wright's claim is that a larger horizon needs to be accorded to Paul's thought than justification by faith (which is NEVER "alone")--however, what some other reviewers here neglect to mention is that Wright says that this is *central*, but not THE center, of Paul's theology.
I approached the book very guardedly, because I thought his prologue was rather pompous. But I actually found the writing to be very good and the scholarship to be judicious, even if he doesn't on the surface appear to immerse himself in "hardcore" exegesis. He takes what is good from Sanders and other modern biblical scholars and tries to separate it from liberal crap.
His exposition on the Pauline Trinity--God, Lord, and Spirit--was breathtakingly good. His defense of Jesus' primacy in the founding of Christianity is admirable. Finally, his treatment of Paul's Jewishness was very helpful and gives further motivation to my desire to immerse myself in the OT/Jewish world, to help my understanding of the roots of Christianity.
As an aspiring scholar, with conservative-leaning tendencies, I found this book to be quite inspiring. I think Wright provides a good example of scholarship that is largely CORRECT, illuminating, and at the same time beneficial spiritually.
May the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord be with you.
Rating: 5
Summary: The end of Protestantism
Comment: There are multiple ironies at work here. First, it is ironic that such a slight book could signal the end of Protestantism. But that is what this thin volume does. How? By definitely demonstrating that the heart of Protestantism--the Reformation understanding of Justification as primarily the imputation of Christ's righteousness--is not really what St. Paul was getting at. Honest Protestants like Alister McGrath have admitted as much, while still maintaining the "usefulness" of the Reformed understanding of Justification for soteriological purposes (a position that is absurd on its face). By the way, it does no good trying to make Wright's critique go away by labeling it Covenantal Nomism, identifying it with Sanders and Dunn's New Perspective, or by simply reissuing warmed-over Protestant classics. For the Protestant project to continue, Wright must be answered. And so far, he hasn't been.
Second, it is ironic, but perfectly understandable, that the deconstruction of the Protestant project comes from within Protestantism itself--and from the conservative not the liberal wing, at that. How does this work? Well, Protestantism arose as a critique of abuses in the Catholic Church. If it is to be true to itself and its highest aspirations, it must be honest and open enough to investigate anything of substance that presents itself to its purview. As N. T. Wright has unfolded the aims of Jesus in his magisterial projected six-volume undertaking, Christian Origins and the Question of God, the first three of which are out, certain questions have presented themselves for investigation, one of which is the relation of Jesus to the movement (and esp. to St. Paul, as the definitive spokesman for that movement) that arose after his death and resurrection. That he has done both in this book and in The Climax of the Covenant. Interestingly, Wright was a St. Paul scholar before he began Christian Origins, having written The Climax of the Covenant before writing The New Testament and the People of God (vol. I of Christian Origins).
If the Wright project succeeds, that is, if Protestantism cannot adequately answer the issues he raises, it will mean, I believe, the end of Protestantism. Conservative evangelical Protestantism will find itself in a position of having to thematize its soteriological understandings in accordance with the new paradigm, which sees Justification not primarily as the imputation of Christ's righteousness, but as the believer's entrance into and faithfulness to the Covenant community that Jesus established. That raises a whole series of further relevant questions, such as, What is this Covenant community? Where can it be found? What constitutes entering it? What constitutes faithfulness to it? How does the gospel endure in time? Once these questions are carefully addressed, it will be seen that this Covenant community has existed continually and continuously from the first century A.D. through today, that it is, in fact, the Catholic Church. The reason for being a Protestant--that is, one who protests against the Catholic Church--will have ceased to exist.
Perceptive Protestants, especially those of a strict Reformed orientation, have recognized the threat that Wright poses to their position, accurately understanding that acceptance of the Wright project entails the collapse of the cornerstone of Reformation thought, and thus the end of Protestantism itself. For example, you can see this hinted at in their reviews posted here and on other Amazon pages featuring books by Wright. And they are correct.
For me personally, the writings of N. T. Wright have been a significant (though by no means the only) factor of a move from the conservative evangelical camp to the Catholic Church, where this summer I will be entering the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) class at our local Catholic parish, St. Peter Church of Monument, Colorado.
Be that as it may, What St. Paul Really Said is among the most important works on the Christian faith ever written (along with Climax of the Covenant and the Christian Origins volumes). Essential reading for anyone seriously interested in what has divided the Church in the West for 500 years, as well as a possible basis for ending that divide.
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Title: The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is by N. T. Wright ISBN: 0830822003 Publisher: Intervarsity Press Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, 3) by N. T. Wright ISBN: 0800626796 Publisher: Fortress Press Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.00 |
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Title: The New Testament and the People of God (CHRISTIAN ORIGINS AND THE QUESTION OF GOD) by N. T. Wright ISBN: 0800626818 Publisher: Fortress Press Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Jesus and the Victory of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2) by N. T. Wright ISBN: 0800626826 Publisher: Fortress Press Pub. Date: August, 1997 List Price(USD): $41.00 |
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Title: Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship by N. T. Wright ISBN: 0802841325 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: October, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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