Category: Bible
A Profile in Christian Courage: JP Moreland at ETS
JP Moreland isn’t afraid to engage in controversy, or even to start one himself. Two years ago, while addressing the plenary session of the Evangelical Theological Society on the topic of post-modernism, he offered this analysis: In what follows, I...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: Conclusion and Footnotes
VIII. Conclusion My initial move was to outline interpretations of two exegetical issues, namely anthropology and justification, pointing out that a fundamental tension exists within exegesis of both issues, namely which paradigm has primacy in Paul’s thought, the individual or...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: Romans 4 with Respect to 5-8
VII. Romans 4 with Reference to 5-8 In the preceding section I argued that the thematic similarities between Romans 4 and Joseph and Aseneth support my argument that “new creation” is at work in Romans 4. However, this is clearly...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: The Anthropology of Romans Four
(Warning: because this is the heart of the argument, a lengthy post follows). VI. The Anthropology of Romans 4 It is perhaps easiest to begin outside of Paul’s writings to highlight two traditions that Paul may have been aware of,...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: Continuing with Romans Four
Romans 4.9-12 In this section of Romans 4, Paul engages either in actual dialogue or in a bit of dialectical rhetoric with an imaginary interlocutor. Moxnes thinks the former, arguing that Paul is addressing conflict within the contemporary situation in...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: The Turn to Romans Four
V. Romans 4 Paul has just finished arguing that a man is only justified by faith, and not by “works of the law.” In Romans 4, Paul turns to Abraham as an example of this. Moo identifies two reasons for...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: An Exegesis of Romans 3:20-31
IV. Romans 3.20-31 Because Paul’s argument in Romans 4 is an extension of what he has already said, it is necessary to set up our analysis of Romans 4 by examining what Paul had just argued. The debate between traditional...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: The Individual vs. The Communal
III. Individual vs. Communal: Traditional and New Perspective Approaches The competition of interpretations of Paul’s anthropology has its parallel in broader exegetical issues concerning the role of the Law in Paul’s thought. The various interpretations as to the role of...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: An Intro to Pauline Theology
I. Methodological Remarks It is not out of alignment with the rest of Pauline scholarship at this point to offer remarks concerning methodological concerns and limitations. One need only peruse the collection of essays presented at SBL beginning in 1985...
The Anthropology of Romans Four: Prefatory Remarks
The reader must forgive me for beginning this essay on Paul’s anthropology with some personal reflections. Such a beginning is clearly not in consonance with what purports to be an academic paper. However, I feel it beneficial to contextualize this...