Perspectives on Paul Collection (8 vols.)

by Christopher D. Stanley; Stephen J. Chester; Rudolf Schnackenburg

and

4 more

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 1984–2004

Overview

The Perspectives on Paul Collection offers a myriad of innovative explorations certain to stir the imagination of all interested in the field of Pauline studies. In eight volumes, world-renowned scholars assess Paul and his contributions to Christianity through the lenses of theology, history and literary criticism.

Issues considered include Paul’s theological development between Galatians and Romans, the use of Scripture in his arguments, his views on conversion, the motivations behind his epistle to the Romans, the relationship between his message and that of Jesus, and much more. Included also is Rudolf Schnackenburg’s significant commentary on Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians which Graham Stanton describes as “the finest available commentary on Ephesians in any language.” Those involved in the pursuit of Pauline thought will find the Perspectives on Paul collection to be a worthwhile investment.

Key Features

• Eight titles of exploration on Pauline studies
• Theology, history, and literary criticism are used

Product Details

• Title: Perspectives on Paul Collection
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Volumes: 8
• Pages: 2,372

Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith

• Author: Francis Watson
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 600

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In recent years, scholars from both Christian and Jewish backgrounds have tried to rethink the relationship between earliest Christianity and its Jewish milieu. Paul has emerged as a central figure in this debate. The present book contributes to this scholarly discussion by seeing Paul and his Jewish contemporaries as, above all, readers of scripture. However different the conclusions they draw, they all endeavor to make sense of the same normative scriptural texts — in the belief that, as they interpret the scriptural texts, the texts will themselves interpret and illuminate the world of contemporary experience. In that sense, Paul and his contemporaries are standing on common ground. Far from relativizing their differences, however, it is this common ground that makes such differences possible.

This book seeks to show how three distinct bodies of literature in fact constitute a single intertextual field. It is therefore necessary to dismantle artificial scholarly boundaries between the Pauline letters, other extant Jewish writings of the period, and the scriptural texts themselves. The method adopted is to set a Pauline and a non-Pauline reading of a scriptural text alongside one another, to compare the ways in which the different readings seek to realize the semantic potential of the scriptural text, and to construct communal identity on that basis. Contrary to the view that these early readers merely impose their own pre-existing viewpoints on the scriptural texts, it becomes clear that they are profoundly engaged in fundamental hermeneutical issues.

This is a truly monumental study; it will not fail to leave its mark on Pauline studies for a long time to come.

—International Review of Biblical Studies

Francis Watson is Professor of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen and was formerly Reader in Biblical Theology, King's College London. Previous publications include Paul, Judaism and the Gentiles, Text, Church and World, Text and Truth and Agape, Eros, Gender.

Law in Paul's Thought: A Contribution to the Development of Pauline Theology

• Author: Hans Hübner
• Series: Studies of the New Testament and Its World (SNTW)
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 192

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

According to the author, “Until now Paul’s theology has been treated in exegetical literature almost exclusively as a systematic whole. Here, by contrast, the attempt is made to show how Paul’s theology can be adequately understood only when it is seen in relation to its development. There is a decisive process of theological development between Galatians and Romans which in turn must be related to Paul’s biography.”

Law in Paul’s Thought examines the relation between Paul’s teaching in Galatians and Romans, arguing that there is a major shift in emphasis between the two. An intriguing and concisely argued monograph, it points to a striking discord within Paul’s view of the Law and asks whether these differences should not be explained in terms of development in Paul’s theology. The skillful way in which he traces the arguments and interconnections between arguments in the different passages is fascinating and illuminating.

Professor Hübner… sustains his interpretation with careful and exact exegesis. This is a book which will have to be taken into account in all future writings on Paul.

—Ernest Best

I regard Professor Hübner’s book as the best treatment of this subject which I know.

—A. Hanson

Hans Hübner is Professor of Biblical Theology at Georg-August University, Göttingen.

Epistle to the Ephesians: A Commentary

• Author: Rudolf Schnackenburg
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 356

Sample pages:1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

A classic ecumenical commentary on Ephesians. In addition to detailed exegesis, Schnackenburg pays special attention to the history of interpretation of Ephesians, taking account of comparative material in the history of religion and, at the end of each exegetical section, shows how findings are relevant for today. The theological focus is the concept of the church, giving rise to ecumenical discussion about ministry and office in the church.

Throughout this accessible study Schnackenburg emphasizes the practical purposes of the text which has been handed down to us: a text written to lead Christians who were in danger of conforming to their heathen surroundings, to a more decisively Christian attitude and way of life.

Rudolf Schnackenburg is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at the University of Würzburg.

On Paul: Essays on His Life, Work, and Influence in the Early Church

• Author: C. K. Barrett
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 208

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

A valuable collection of C. K. Barrett's writings on Paul, the summation of a lifetime's work by the pre-eminent New Testament scholar. This book contains a number of essays, some hitherto unpublished, on historical aspects of Paul's work. Sometimes Professor Barrett takes a broad view, often he looks sharply at important topics. Many of the themes are familiar, but Barrett always illuminates them from new angles, formulating fresh questions and approaches. An extensive introductory essay examines the relation of Paul to Christian leaders in Jerusalem.

C. K. Barrett is Emeritus Professor of Divinity, University of Durham.

Arguing With Scripture: The Rhetoric of Quotations in the Letters of Paul

• Author: Christopher Stanley
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 208

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Drawing on recent discussions of quotations in the fields of rhetorics, linguistics, and literary studies, Stanley argues that Paul’s explicit appeals to Jewish Scriptures must be analyzed as rhetorical devices that seek to influence the thoughts, feelings, and actions of a first-century audience, an approach that requires a different set of questions and methods than scholars have typically used in their studies of Paul’s quotations.

Key questions include why Paul quoted words of Scripture to support some of his arguments and not others; how quotations help to advance the developing arguments of Paul’s letters; and how a mostly illiterate first-century audience from a variety of backgrounds might have viewed these sudden intrusions of material from a Jewish religious text. Answering these questions requires paying careful attention to the affective and poetic dimensions as well as the intellectual aspects of the original audience’s encounter with the Holy Scriptures of Israel.

Arguing with Scripture is a theoretically sophisticated, methodologically innovative, exegetically sound, thorough, and balanced study of how the Apostle Paul used Scripture to argue with opponents and to persuade members of early Christian churches. By positing different hypothetical audiences for Paul’s letters, at varying levels of familiarity with Jewish Scripture, Stanley moves the debate about Paul’s interpretive practices in new and more fruitful directions, away from concentrating exclusively on Paul’s “intentions” and toward the variety of interpretations that are possible given a variety of possible kinds of audiences. Cognizant of the views of others and in dialogue with recent scholarship, Stanley judiciously demonstrates the remarkable freedom Paul used in quoting and interpreting Scripture, but this study also shows just how persuasive – and sometimes unpersuasive – Paul’s rhetoric may have been in the ancient church. Stanley’s own arguments are persuasive indeed.

—Dale B. Martin, Professor of Religious Studies, Yale University

Christopher Stanley is Professor of Theology at St Bonaventure University. He is the author of Paul the Language of Scripture as well as numerous articles on the social, literary, and rhetorical context of Paul's letters.

Conversion at Corinth: Perspectives on Conversion in Paul's Theology and the Corinthian Church

• Author: Stephen J. Chester
• Series: Studies of the New Testament and Its World (SNTW)
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 416

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Paul's conversion and its impact on his theology have been studied extensively. Yet little has been done to relate this to Paul's attitude towards the conversion of others, or to perspectives on conversion held by converts in the churches Paul founded. Soteriology is often considered in isolation from the practical issues of how conversion was expected to take place and the nature of its expected consequences.

This book addresses these issues, taking account of recent developments in conversion studies in the social sciences and other disciplines. Stephen Chester first reviews these developments and assesses the potential value of sociologist Anthony Gidden's general social theory of structuration. He then utilizes this to explore Paul's perspectives on conversion in relation to both Gentile and Jewish converts. He also explores the Corinthians' perspectives on conversion in the context of Graeco-Roman religious and social life. Here emerges a fascinating account of perspectives on conversion in the crucial formative years of early Christianity.

Further scholarship will have to take note of Chester’s whole approach. Ultimately, both the theoretical discussion of conversion and the exegesis of 1 Corinthians in its cultural environment are first class. But this is a book that demands engagement not just from those concerned with the social world of the Corinthian Correspondence, but from all who are interested in Pauline theology.

—Simon Gathercole, University of Aberdeen

… this is arguably the best particular study to date on the conversion of Paul and of the church at Corinth as reflected in 1 Corinthians… Chester is to be heartily thanked for this stimulating study. He is a worthy dialogue partner for any scholar seeking further understanding of Paul and conversion.

—Review of Biblical Literature

Dr. Stephen J. Chester is Lecturer in New Testament Studies at International Christian College, Glasgow.

The Reasons for Romans

• Author: Alexander J. M. Wedderburn
• Series: Studies of the New Testament and Its World
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 184

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Paul’s letter to the Romans is generally considered his most important. But why did he write it? Professor Wedderburn systematically surveys the range of recent scholarly opinion on this hotly contested question and clarifies the main issues. This remarkable, comprehensive and up-to-date volume will aid students and specialists alike.

This book should find its place in every bibliography on Paul’s letter to the Romans in theological college courses as perhaps the most even-handed and level-headed presentation of the discussion to date.

—The Reformed Theological Review

…a stimulating book which will be of considerable interest to all students of Paul.

—Christian Brethren Fellowship Journal

Alexander J. M. Wedderburn is Professor of New Testament in the Evangelisch-Theologische Facultat, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich.

Paul and Jesus

• Editor: Alexander J. M. Wedderburn
• Series: Library of New Testament Studies (LNTS)
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 208

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

The relationship between the messages of Jesus and Paul, once dubbed by one scholar “the second founder of Christianity,” must count as one of the most central issues in the study of the New Testament. The essays collected in this volume first survey the history of the study of this problem, and look at some of the main evidence for supposing that the connection between Jesus and Paul was slight, notably the paucity of Paul's references to Jesus' teachings and his seeming disinterest in the earthly Jesus. Other essays take up the question of the continuity between the teaching and the manner of life of the two men, and raise the question how this continuity may have been mediated from one to the other. A final essay raises the question how far Paul's statements about Christ were related to the earthly life of Jesus.

This volume brings together a number of substantial contributions to this question, by Professor V.P. Furnish of Dallas, by two scholars from the German Democratic Republic, Professor N. Walter and Dr C. Wolff, and by the editor. Some are published for the first time, some are here made available in English for the first time.

Alexander J. M. Wedderburn is Professor of New Testament in the Evangelisch-Theologische Facultat, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich.