Paul’s Three Paths to Salvation

by Gabriele Boccaccini

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2020

Overview

“We no longer need to separate Paul from Judaism in order to claim his Christianness,” writes Gabriele Boccaccini, adding, “nor do we need to separate him from the early Jesus movement in order to state his Jewishness.” With this guiding principle Boccaccini unpacks the implications of Paul’s “belonging” simultaneously to Judaism and Christianity to arrive at the surprising and provocative conclusion that there are in fact three means of salvation:

• For Jews, adherence to Torah
• For gentiles, good works according to conscience and natural law
• For all sinners, forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ

Paul’s Three Paths to Salvation is an attempt to reconcile the many facets of Paul’s complex identity while reclaiming him from accusations of intolerance, and Boccaccini’s work in reestablishing the figure of Paul as a messenger of God’s Mercy to the sinners is an important contribution to the ongoing conversation about Paul’s place in the contemporary pluralistic world.

Key Features

• Explores the implications of Paul’s “belonging” simultaneously to Judaism and Christianity
• Addresses accusations of intolerance
• Reconciles the many facets of Paul’s complex identity

Contents

• Introduction: Paul the Jew and Paul the Christian
• Paul the Convert Who Never Converted
• Paul the Apocalyptic Jew
• Paul the Messianic Jew
• The Eschatological Gift of Forgiveness
• The Divine Christology of Paul the Jew
• Justified by Faith, Judged by Works
• Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles
• Summary and Conclusion

Product Details

• Title: Paul’s Three Paths to Salvation
• Author: Gabriele Boccaccini
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 2020
• Pages: 182
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Topic: Pauline Studies

About Gabriele Boccaccini

Gabriele Boccaccini is professor of Second Temple Judaism and early rabbinic literature at the University of Michigan. He is also the founding director of the Enoch Seminar, a forum of international specialists in early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam affiliated with the Society of Biblical Literature. In 2019, he was awarded knighthood by the president of Italy in recognition of his contributions to Italian culture in the world.

Sample Pages from Paul’s Three Paths to Salvation