Saturday, April 2, 2016

Book Alert: Paul's New Perspective: Charting a Soteriological Journey

Despite the fact that the New Perspective on Paul (NPP) is not really new anymore, does not mean that scholars/students of Paul are no longer in dialogue with this viewpoint on the Apostle and his attitude toward the law and its abiding significance for the communities to which he founded and ministered.

In steps an offering from Garwood P. Anderson, Professor of New Testament and Greek, Nashotah House Theological Seminary, entitled, Paul's New Perspective: Charting a Soteriological Journey (IVP; forthcoming October 2016). Among the features of the book are as follows:

  • An innovative approach to issues of law and justification in Paul’s letters 
  • Attempts to resolve the tension between new and old perspectives on Paul 
  • Provides an informative overview of a current debate in Pauline scholarship
  •  Attends carefully to Paul’s soteriological language
  •  Argues for a theory of development in Paul’s theology 
Endorsements include:


Garwood Anderson
"Garwood Anderson's study of Paul's soteriology charts a bold course over the troubled seas of Pauline debate and among darkened clouds of theological dispute. He successfully shows that there is way a forward in the disputes about 'justification' and 'ethnicity'—a way beyond the entrenched dogmatism and intractable polarities that have emerged. Anderson brings us to a peaceful oasis where the treasures of the old and the freshness of the new come together. Among his insights are the multidimensional nature of union with Christ and the overlooked significance of Paul's sacramental realism for informing this discussion. This book is not the final word in the debate, but it is a good word—one that hopefully moves the discussion about Paul, justification and the New Perspectives along." —Michael F. Bird, lecturer in theology, Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia 

"Casting scholarly timidity to the wind, Garwood Anderson's engaging book takes up the question of the 'center' of Paul's theology—and whether Paul discovered and articulated it from the beginning of his ministry or developed it over the course of many years and letters. It is normal to find books that discuss Pauline chronology, the literary and theological shape of particular passages or the texts' theological 'afterlife' in the history of the church. It is rare to find books that do all these things at once—and do them with such verve and sophistication that one is reminded yet again why wrestling with Paul is so invigorating." —Wesley Hill, assistant professor of biblical studies, Trinity School for Ministry, author of Paul and the Trinity

Anderson's book will weigh in at 420 pages and retail for $36.00.