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Paul, Judaism, and the Gentiles: Beyond the New Perspective
In this new, completely rewritten edition of his major 1986 book, Francis Watson extends, updates, and clarifies his response to E.áP. Sanders's view of Paul, in order to point the way beyond the polarization of "new" and "old" perspectives on the apostle. The Paul who comes to light in these pages is agent and thinker, apostle and theologian. He is a highly contextual figure, yet his account of Christian identity continues to shape the church's life to this day. He is the founder of mainly Gentile, Christ-believing communities, separated from the synagogue; and yet he can see this distinctive existence as an authentic response to Jewish scripture and tradition, as fulfilled in Christ. He is a many-sided figure, transcending all our attempts to categorize him or to co-opt him for our own favored causes.
416 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2007
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March 20, 2021
The 'new perspective on Paul' is (generically) an attempt to apply a more historical approach to interpreting Paul's letters (in the New Testament). The new perspective is an attempt to correct perceived inaccuracies in the Reformation/Lutheran view of Paul. Dr. Watson's book is clearly in the new perspective vein, although he wants to set a somewhat separate course.
I wanted to read something by Dr. Watson (having been introduced to him by a friend) and to understand the new perspective. This proved to be a difficult task - the book is dense. It is full of arguments and responses to other works that I don't know. It is like hearing one side of one part of an ongoing conversation. A lot of Dr. Watson's arguments depend on specific timing of Paul's actions and letters (which are loudly debated subjects) and on intricacies of the Greek text (I don't read/understand Greek).
However, having waded through and reading every section twice, I am very happy I read the book. I have a much better grasp on one view of the new perspective, I learned a lot about careful exegesis, and I have a variety of new ideas that are shaping my theology. To be fair, there are a lot of ideas here that I need to think about and study more before I completely accept them, but that is good.
This is an update of a book written 20 years earlier. Dr. Watson freely admits his view of the exegesis and resulting understanding of Paul has changed a bit over the years. A main thesis of the book is that Paul's writings are all particular to an historical situation. I.e. Romans is not a disconnected systematic theology. Much of Paul's argument is around defending Christianity as a separate sect rather than a reform movement within Judaism. Dr. Watson provides general arguments and comparisons to Reformation theology and spends most of the book going through Galatians and Romans in detail.
If you are up for a challenge, I highly recommend the book. I suggest doing some research on the new perspective, EP Sanders, and NT Wright before starting. Having read this book, I feel empowered to go back and read some of the original work by Sanders and Wright. Plus, it is always good to challenge long standing views (I am a fan of reformed theology). I'm not saying I agree with Dr. Watson on everything, but he makes some pretty strong arguments, and I enjoy the struggle.
I wanted to read something by Dr. Watson (having been introduced to him by a friend) and to understand the new perspective. This proved to be a difficult task - the book is dense. It is full of arguments and responses to other works that I don't know. It is like hearing one side of one part of an ongoing conversation. A lot of Dr. Watson's arguments depend on specific timing of Paul's actions and letters (which are loudly debated subjects) and on intricacies of the Greek text (I don't read/understand Greek).
However, having waded through and reading every section twice, I am very happy I read the book. I have a much better grasp on one view of the new perspective, I learned a lot about careful exegesis, and I have a variety of new ideas that are shaping my theology. To be fair, there are a lot of ideas here that I need to think about and study more before I completely accept them, but that is good.
This is an update of a book written 20 years earlier. Dr. Watson freely admits his view of the exegesis and resulting understanding of Paul has changed a bit over the years. A main thesis of the book is that Paul's writings are all particular to an historical situation. I.e. Romans is not a disconnected systematic theology. Much of Paul's argument is around defending Christianity as a separate sect rather than a reform movement within Judaism. Dr. Watson provides general arguments and comparisons to Reformation theology and spends most of the book going through Galatians and Romans in detail.
If you are up for a challenge, I highly recommend the book. I suggest doing some research on the new perspective, EP Sanders, and NT Wright before starting. Having read this book, I feel empowered to go back and read some of the original work by Sanders and Wright. Plus, it is always good to challenge long standing views (I am a fan of reformed theology). I'm not saying I agree with Dr. Watson on everything, but he makes some pretty strong arguments, and I enjoy the struggle.
Displaying 1 of 1 review