Paul, a New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology

by Brant James Pitre; Michael P. Barber; John A. Kincaid

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2019

Overview

After the landmark work of E. P. Sanders, the task of rightly accounting for Paul’s relationship to Judaism has dominated the last forty years of Pauline scholarship. Pitre, Barber, and Kincaid argue that Paul is best viewed as a new covenant Jew, a designation that allows the apostle to be fully Jewish, yet in a manner centered on the person and work of Jesus the Messiah. This new covenant Judaism provides the key that unlocks the door to many of the difficult aspects of Pauline theology.

Paul, a New Covenant Jew is a rigorous, yet accessible overview of Pauline theology intended for ecumenical audiences. In particular, it aims to be the most useful and up to date text on Paul for Catholic Seminarians. The book engages the best recent scholarship on Paul from both Protestant and Catholic interpreters and serves as a launching point for ongoing Protestant-Catholic dialogue.

Key Features

• Provides an overview of Pauline theology intended for ecumenical audiences
• Engages the best recent scholarship on Paul from both Protestant and Catholic interpreters
• Serves as a launching point for ongoing Protestant-Catholic dialogue

Contents

• What Kind of Jew Was Paul?
• Paul and Apocalyptic
• Pauline Christology
• The Cross and Atonement
• New Covenant Justification through Divine Sonship
• The Lord’s Supper and the New Creation
• Conclusion: Paul’s Gospel of Divine Sonship

Top Highlights

“In short, for Paul, one does not simply ‘get in’ to the covenant by grace, one ‘stays in’ by it as well—grace bestows the power needed to do the works that are necessary for ‘staying in.’” (Pages 43–44)

“this book will argue that the apostle is best understood as a new covenant Jew.” (Page 4)

“Paul believed that Christ’s death had atoning significance and that it addressed the problem of sin in a way analogous to the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement.” (Page 150)

“Paul radically transfigures the standard Jewish concept of the two worlds when he makes the claim that through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, ‘the world [kosmos]’ was somehow put to death (Gal 6:14). This means that, for Paul, the death of Christ was, in some sense, the end of the world. It also means that the long-awaited ‘world to come’ is ‘no longer solely a future expectation.’” (Page 72)

“‘What distinguishes Israel’s God from others?’ as follows: the God of Israel (1) is the one God known as YHWH; (2) is the Creator and origin of all things; (3) is the Sovereign Ruler and Judge of the cosmos; and (4) has a unique relationship with the covenant people, which is expressed by receiving an exclusive sort of worship from them.” (Page 116)

Praise for the Print Edition

A helpful synthesis of themes in Pauline theology that reveals connections with one another and with Old Testament precedents. Many of these insights will resonate with Protestant as well as Catholic exegetes, and Protestants such as myself will find these authors gracious, worthy, and willing conversation partners.

—Craig S. Keener, Asbury Theological Seminary

The world of biblical studies and Pauline theology has been waiting a generation for this book. Covering a wide range of major issues, while engaging the wide spectrum of current perspectives, this is a major contribution to Pauline scholarship from three outstanding Catholic scholars—well worth the wait.

—Scott Hahn, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Pitre, Barber, and Kincaid persuasively argue that Paul was a new covenant Jew, an approach that proves to be a convincing way of describing the continuities between Paul and Judaism as well as the discontinuities that emerge out of Paul’s explicit christological recasting of the Jewish worldview. In a deliciously ecumenical approach, their vision of Paul brings together various threads of Jewish apocalypticism, Paul’s core conviction about Jesus, his account of the cross and justification, as well as new creation and communion. A genuinely fresh and insightful study of Paul that all serious students of the Bible will need to read.

—Michael F. Bird, Ridley College

Product Details

• Title: Paul, a New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology
• Authors: Brant Pitre, Michael P. Barber, and John A. Kincaid
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 304
• Resource Type: Collected Essays
• Topic: Pauline Studies

About the Authors

Brant Pitre is Distinguished Research Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology

Michael P. Barber is Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture and Theology at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology

John A. Kincaid is a Visiting Associate Professor of Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville

Sample Pages from Paul, a New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology