The Deliverance of God: an Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul

Article Sections

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Part one: Justification Theory and its Implications
  3. Chapter One: The Heart of the Matter: the Justification Theory of Salvation
  4. Chapter Two: Intrinsic Difficulties
  5. Chapter Three: Systematic Difficulties
  6. Chapter Four: The Question of Judaism
  7. Chapter Five: The Question of Conversion
  8. Chapter Six: Beyond Old and New Perspectives
  9. Part Two: The Hermeneutical Clarifications
  10. Chapter Seven: The Recognition of a Discourse
  11. Chapter Eight: Distortions: The Church-Historical Pedigree
  12. Chapter Nine: Dangers - The Modern European Pedigree
  13. Part Three: The Conventional Reading and Its Problems
  14. Chapter Ten: A Mighty Fortress: Justification Theory's Textual Base
  15. Chapter Eleven: Feet of Clay
  16. Chapter Twelve: Wide and Narrow Paths
  17. Part Four - a Rhetorical and Apocalyptic Rereading
  18. Chapter Thirteen: Rereading The Frame
  19. Chapter Fourteen: Rereading Romans 1.18-3.20 - Indictment Reconsidered
  20. Chapter Fifteen: Faith and Syntax in Romans 1.16-17 and 3.21-31
  21. Chapter Sixteen: Atonement and "Justification" in Romans 3.21-26
  22. Chapter Seventeen: The Deliverance of God and Its Rhetorical Implications
  23. Chapter Eighteen: Rereading Romans 3.27-4.25 - Our Forefather Reconsidered
  24. Part Five: Rereading the Heartland
  25. Chapter Nineteen: Rereading the Rest of Romans
  26. Chapter Twenty: Rereading Galatians
  27. Chapter Twenty-One: Rereading the Heartland - Philippians and Beyond
  28. Conclusions

Chapter Four: The Question of Judaism

S.1. Preamble

S.2. E.P. Sanders

Attacks the notion of Judaism as "a religion of legalistic works-righteousness" (p97). Second Temple "covenantal Nomism": the Covenant demands obedience to commandments and supplies atonement for transgression (p98). Transfer of Lordship to Jesus in "participationist eschatology. "... Paul presents an essentially different type of religiousness from any found in Palestinian Jewish literature" (p99).

S.3. Key Terms

benevolence, mercy, grace and response (p100); the conflating of the conditional and the unconditional rules words not used unless they are meant as unconditional (p101); Sanders rejected mercantile terms; but contractual language is unavoidable (p102). Self-interest is unavoidable in contracts. Thus in strictly theoretical terms little difference between covenantal nomism and legalism (p103); the more radical divide is conventional conditionality and Qumran unconditionality (p104).

S.4. Distinguishing between Theory and Psychology

Sanders dislikes the characterisation of Judaism as petty and legalistic and finds it noble, a reaction to racial stereotyping (p105); JDG Dunn distinguishes degenerate Pharisaic Judaism (p106); separation of theory and psychology (p107-08) happy legalists (Alexander) and unhappy nomists (Dunn) (p109); flaws in Sanders do not imply perfection in predecessors (p110). J P1 requires strong negative in Judaism (p111); Judaism conceived by J leads to Christianity; it is impossible for JT to work properly outside 100% perfection (p112) but for Jews their practice is not a vestibule to J P2 but a dwelling (p113); the account of Judaism in JT is a theological not an historical construct.

S.5. Qualifying the Descriptive Paradigm (p114)

JT requires monolithic soteriology in Judaism (p115); Judaism lacks the perfectionist soteriology that JT needs (p116); Judaism differs over time and place, aims and beliefs (p117-20); the re-assessment of Sanders no better for JT (p121).

S.6. The Option of Denial

JT tends to assert that most Jews never grasped God's purposes (p122-24).