Product Description

"For me," says N.T.Wright, "there has been no more stimulating exercise, for the mind, the heart, the imagination and the spirit, than trying to think Paul's thoughts after him and constantly to be stirred up to fresh glimpses of God's ways and purposes with the world and with us strange human creatures." Wright's accessible new volume, built on his Cambridge University Hulsean Lectures of 2004, takes a fresh look at Paul in light of recent understandings of his Jewish roots, his attitude toward the Roman Empire, and his unique reframing of Jewish symbols in relation to his experience of the risen Christ. Then Wright attempts a short systematic account of the main theological contours of Paul's thought and its pertinence for the church today.

Part One Themes 1. Paul's World, Paul's Legacy 2. Creation and Covenant 3.Messiah and Apocalyptic 4. Gospel and Empire

Part Two Structures 5. Rethinking God 6. Reworking God's People 7. Reimagining God's Future 8. Paul, Jesus, and the Task of the Church

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11669 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 195 pages

From AudioFile
Wrights book, taken from his lectures, gives a solid outline of the Apostle Pauls theology. Simon Vance captures the essence of Wrights treatise, giving full attention to complex details as he explicates Pauls thoughts. Part One of the book discusses Pauls world and his legacy, giving a general introduction to Pauline thought. The following chapters focus on major biblical themes for the purpose of providing a historical and cultural Pauline worldview. With effortless narration, Vance describes Paul as belonging to the called out ones, those set apart for Christ. This is not an easy listen. It should be sipped--like a full-bodied wine. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
N.T. Wright is one of the premier New Testament scholars in the world right now, but his views not least some of those set out in Paul in Fresh Perspective are quite controversial.

He is part of a group of scholars (by no means agreed among themselves) arguing for the "New Perspective on Paul," or NPP. Wright is the foremost NPP popularizer. He is an engaging speaker and lucid writer who works admirably hard at bringing his view to lay people.

However, Paul in Fresh Perspective is not easy reading and not quite for most lay people. This small book (just 174 pages of text and a few endnotes) comprises the Hulsean Lectures Wright delivered at Cambridge. These lectures, Wright says, are a further development beyond another small book he wrote, What St. Paul Really Said. In Paul in Fresh Perspective Wright hits themes familiar from that earlier book: the narrative of creation and covenant, Messiah and apocalyptic, and gospel and empire.

The most controversial of Wright's emphases are those which have a bearing on justification. He is famous for arguing that justification is not about how you get into God's family; it's proof that you are in. It's God's declaration that you are, in fact, part of His covenant family. He thus questions the traditional Reformation doctrine of imputation.

In the second half of Paul in Fresh Perspective, Wright takes Jewish theology as an organizing principle for laying out a Pauline theology, viewing it through the three primary lenses of monotheism, election, and eschatology. This is a work with a popular look but a scholarly appeal. It appears to be a forerunner to the fourth volume of what will likely prove Wright's magnum opus, the New Testament and the People of
God series. It will bring readers up to date on the thinking of a very good writer and important scholar and theologian. --Mark L. Ward, Jr., Chrisitan Library Journal, June 2007

About the Author
N. T.Wright is the Bishop of Durham and the author of several Fortress Press books, including Jesus and the Victory of God (1996), The Resurrection of the Son of God (2003), The New Testament and the People of God (1992), and The Climax of the Covenant (1992).

Customer Reviews

Fantastic
This is exhibit one in what Roger Olson calls "post conservative theology": how we re-understand the scriptures in a way that leads to orthodox or evangelical beliefs without seeking to affirm ideas of early modernism that may no longer fit. While Calvin and Luther were orthodox, orthodoxy does not mean understanding what Paul meant by, for example, "justification" in the same way Calvin and Luther understood it, because frankly their understanding of the first century church and first century Judaism was not as strong as that we can reconstruct using contemporary methods. Bishop Wright is probably closer to Paul's original authorial intent than any other scholar.

Spurring me on to further study - 3.5 stars
In Paul in Fresh Perspective, N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham (in England), sets out to place the writing, thought, and ministry of Paul in his first century context of Judaism, Imperial Rome, and Greek culture of the Eastern Mediterranean. Wright takes us on a fascinating journey into what the mind of Paul might have been like and how the particular challenges of ministering in his three-fold world affected his writings and the early church, finishing with suggestions for how we can work out Paul's methods in making Jesus' message understandable to our own world. It is highly readable and yet so scholarly that it references many unfamiliar ideas and authors. I foresee buying more books to get a better picture of the many subjects that hover around the edges of Wright's thesis. So, if you are book geek like me who loves bibliographies you will like this book.

This is book is controversial in that it espouses a different take on "justification by faith" than the traditional Protestant line as espoused by the Reformers and many theologians over the past 500 years. Wright understands justification as not about how people become Christians, "but about how one could tell in the present, who God's true people were..." (p. 159). This is an assertion he makes often in this book, and he does spend time building a case for it, but his proof is not convincing. It warrants a whole book of its own with not only biblical/theological foundation, but lots of textual support which is beyond the scope of this little book. All that said, Wright's perspective definitely warrants more study of both those who oppose this teaching and other writings of Wright, because the implications for redefining justification are enormous.

So, read this to get your feet wet in a debate that is raging through scholarly circles and pastors gatherings around the world as well as a glimpse into the Jewish roots of Christianity. As you read pray for discernment and use your bible b/c of the importance of the debate and its outcome.

Great Service
Product was shipped as advertised and received in a very timely manner. I would purchase from again.