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New Perspective on Paul
The New Perspective on Paul is an academic movement within the field of biblical studies concerned with the understanding of the writings of the Apostle Paul. The "New Perspective" movement began with the publication of the 1977 essay Paul and Palestinian Judaism by E. P. Sanders, an American New Testament scholar and Christian theologian.
The Protestant perspective has generally asserted that Paul advocates justification through faith in Jesus Christ over justification through works of the Mosaic Law. During the Protestant Reformation, this theological principle became known as sola fide ("faith alone"); this was traditionally understood as Paul arguing that good works performed by Christians would not factor into their salvation; only their faith in Jesus Christ would save them. In this perspective, Paul dismissed 1st-century Judaism as a sterile and legalistic religion.
According to Sanders, Paul's letters do not address good works but instead question Jewish religious observances such as circumcision, dietary laws, and Sabbath laws, which were the "boundary markers" that set the Jews apart from other ethno-religious groups in the Levant. Sanders further argues that 1st-century Judaism was not a "legalistic community", nor was it oriented to "salvation by works". As God's "chosen people", they were under his covenant. Contrary to Protestant belief, following the Mosaic Law was not a way of entering the covenant but of staying within it.
In 1963, Krister Stendahl, a Swedish New Testament scholar, Christian theologian, and professor emeritus at Harvard Divinity School considered by modern biblical scholarship to have been as influential as E. P. Sanders in the development of the "New Perspective on Paul", published a paper arguing that the typical Lutheran view of Paul's theology did not align with statements in Paul's writings. He argued that its view was based on incorrect assumptions about Paul's beliefs, not careful interpretation of his writings. Stendahl warned against imposing modern Western ideas on the Bible, and especially on the works of Paul. In 1977, E. P. Sanders, an American New Testament scholar and Christian theologian, published the essay Paul and Palestinian Judaism.
Sanders continued to publish books and articles in this field, and was soon joined by James D. G. Dunn, a British New Testament scholar and Wesleyan theologian who served as President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas in 2002. Dunn reports that N. T. Wright, a British New Testament scholar and Anglican theologian who served as bishop of Durham from 2003 to 2010, was the first to use the term "New Perspective on Paul" in his 1978 Tyndale lecture. The term became more widely known after being used by Dunn as the title of his 1982 Manson Memorial lecture, in which he summarized and affirmed the movement. The work of these writers inspired a significant volume of study, as well as a new generation of scholars. N. T. Wright has written a large number of works aimed at popularising the "new perspective" outside of academia.
The "New Perspective" movement is closely connected with a surge of recent scholarly interest in studying the Bible in its historical and geopolitical context and in comparison with other ancient texts through the use of social-scientific methods. Scholars affiliated with The Context Group have called for various reinterpretations of biblical texts based on studies of the ancient world.
It is often noted that the singular title "New Perspective" gives the impression of unity that is unjustified. In 2003, N. T. Wright, distancing himself from both Sanders and Dunn, commented that "there are probably almost as many 'new' perspective positions as there are writers espousing it—and I disagree with most of them".
The Pauline epistles contain a substantial amount of criticism regarding the "works of the Law". By contrast, "New Perspective" scholars see Paul as talking about "badges of covenant membership" or criticizing God-fearers who had begun to rely on the Torah to reckon Jewish kinship. It is argued that in Paul's time, Israelites were being faced with a choice of whether to continue to follow their ancestral customs, the Torah, or to follow the Roman Empire's trend to adopt Greek customs, a phenomenon known as Hellenization, an outgrowth of whichws Hellenistic Judaism. The "new perspective" view is that Paul's writings discuss the comparative merits of following Torah-based or ancient Greek customs. Paul is interpreted as being critical of a common Jewish view that following traditional Israelite customs makes a person better off before God, pointing out that Abraham was righteous before the Torah was given. Paul identifies customs he is concerned about, such as circumcision, dietary laws, and observance of special days.
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New Perspective on Paul
The New Perspective on Paul is an academic movement within the field of biblical studies concerned with the understanding of the writings of the Apostle Paul. The "New Perspective" movement began with the publication of the 1977 essay Paul and Palestinian Judaism by E. P. Sanders, an American New Testament scholar and Christian theologian.
The Protestant perspective has generally asserted that Paul advocates justification through faith in Jesus Christ over justification through works of the Mosaic Law. During the Protestant Reformation, this theological principle became known as sola fide ("faith alone"); this was traditionally understood as Paul arguing that good works performed by Christians would not factor into their salvation; only their faith in Jesus Christ would save them. In this perspective, Paul dismissed 1st-century Judaism as a sterile and legalistic religion.
According to Sanders, Paul's letters do not address good works but instead question Jewish religious observances such as circumcision, dietary laws, and Sabbath laws, which were the "boundary markers" that set the Jews apart from other ethno-religious groups in the Levant. Sanders further argues that 1st-century Judaism was not a "legalistic community", nor was it oriented to "salvation by works". As God's "chosen people", they were under his covenant. Contrary to Protestant belief, following the Mosaic Law was not a way of entering the covenant but of staying within it.
In 1963, Krister Stendahl, a Swedish New Testament scholar, Christian theologian, and professor emeritus at Harvard Divinity School considered by modern biblical scholarship to have been as influential as E. P. Sanders in the development of the "New Perspective on Paul", published a paper arguing that the typical Lutheran view of Paul's theology did not align with statements in Paul's writings. He argued that its view was based on incorrect assumptions about Paul's beliefs, not careful interpretation of his writings. Stendahl warned against imposing modern Western ideas on the Bible, and especially on the works of Paul. In 1977, E. P. Sanders, an American New Testament scholar and Christian theologian, published the essay Paul and Palestinian Judaism.
Sanders continued to publish books and articles in this field, and was soon joined by James D. G. Dunn, a British New Testament scholar and Wesleyan theologian who served as President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas in 2002. Dunn reports that N. T. Wright, a British New Testament scholar and Anglican theologian who served as bishop of Durham from 2003 to 2010, was the first to use the term "New Perspective on Paul" in his 1978 Tyndale lecture. The term became more widely known after being used by Dunn as the title of his 1982 Manson Memorial lecture, in which he summarized and affirmed the movement. The work of these writers inspired a significant volume of study, as well as a new generation of scholars. N. T. Wright has written a large number of works aimed at popularising the "new perspective" outside of academia.
The "New Perspective" movement is closely connected with a surge of recent scholarly interest in studying the Bible in its historical and geopolitical context and in comparison with other ancient texts through the use of social-scientific methods. Scholars affiliated with The Context Group have called for various reinterpretations of biblical texts based on studies of the ancient world.
It is often noted that the singular title "New Perspective" gives the impression of unity that is unjustified. In 2003, N. T. Wright, distancing himself from both Sanders and Dunn, commented that "there are probably almost as many 'new' perspective positions as there are writers espousing it—and I disagree with most of them".
The Pauline epistles contain a substantial amount of criticism regarding the "works of the Law". By contrast, "New Perspective" scholars see Paul as talking about "badges of covenant membership" or criticizing God-fearers who had begun to rely on the Torah to reckon Jewish kinship. It is argued that in Paul's time, Israelites were being faced with a choice of whether to continue to follow their ancestral customs, the Torah, or to follow the Roman Empire's trend to adopt Greek customs, a phenomenon known as Hellenization, an outgrowth of whichws Hellenistic Judaism. The "new perspective" view is that Paul's writings discuss the comparative merits of following Torah-based or ancient Greek customs. Paul is interpreted as being critical of a common Jewish view that following traditional Israelite customs makes a person better off before God, pointing out that Abraham was righteous before the Torah was given. Paul identifies customs he is concerned about, such as circumcision, dietary laws, and observance of special days.