Theological Implications of the New Perspective on Paul
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2023.022Keywords
New Perspective on Paul, Paul the Apostle, theology and exegesis, E.P. Sanders, N.T. Wright, J.D.G. DunnAbstract
The release of E.P. Sanders’ groundbreaking Paul and Palestinian Judaism in 1977 inaugurated a new perspective on Paul. This current interpretation of Paul’s thought has had a great impact on modern understanding of the Bible, even in the presence of zealous polemicists and opponents of this interpretation. This new perspective differs from the old one as it tries to look at Paul not through the prism of later theological disputes, especially those related to the beginning of the Reformation, but in the real-life context and ideological background of the apostle. Therefore, researchers emphasize, above all, the Jewish nature of his thought, showing that Paul did not oppose Judaism as such, but rather reinterpreted it in the key of the events of Jesus as the Messiah. At the same time, Paul is considered to be the father of Christian theology. Then what are the implications for systematic theology from the new perspective on Paul? This article attempts to answer this question based on the theses of key representatives of the current thought, such as E.P. Sanders, J.D.G. Dunn, and N.T. Wright.
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