Reformation Readings of Paul
Explorations in History and Exegesis
- Theology
- Publisher: IVP Academic (InterVarsity Press)
- Published: 2015
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Publisher's Description
Did the Protestant Reformers understand Paul correctly? Has the church today been unduly influenced by Reformation-era misreadings of the Pauline epistles? These questions—especially as they pertain to Martin Luther's interpretation of the Paulinedoctrine of justification—have been at the forefront of much discussion within biblical studies and theology in light of the New Perspective on Paul. But that leads to another question: Have we understood the Reformers correctly? With that in mind, these essays seek to enable a more careful reading of the Reformers' exegesis of Pauline texts. Each chapter pairs a Reformer with a Pauline letter and then brings together a historical theologian and a biblical scholar to examine these Reformation-era readings of Paul. In doing so, this volume seeks a better understanding of the Reformers and the true meaning of the biblical text.
Endorsements (4)
“This is a very important book that opens up a long-overdue conversation among biblical exegetes, historical theologians and students of the Reformation. In a series of sparkling essays, we learn how Luther, Melanchthon, Bucer, Calvin and Cranmer read particular Pauline texts and what that might mean for the renewal of the church today. A book for every pastor and teacher of Scripture.”
“This volume is a timely contribution to studies in the history of exegesis and Pauline studies, supported by an impressive array of historical theologians and New Testament scholars. Readers who desire richly contextualized and evenhanded evaluations of early modern readings of Paul will not be disappointed.”
“Reformation Readings of Paul provides an insightful, bracing study of the apostle Paul's writings in light of their echoes and developments in early Protestant commentary. In this groundbreaking collaborative study, biblical scholars do not simply 'leap over' the history of interpretation, and historians make no attempt to claim that sixteenth-century reformers offer the final exegetical word. Yet, in moving beyond the common caricatures and attending to the concrete exegesis of key Protestant reformers, these biblical scholars and historians show the power and scope of Paul's writings not only in the sixteenth century but also today. This book is a model of interdisciplinary theological inquiry.”
“Modern Pauline scholarship has largely done away with caricatures of Early Judaism, which arose out of ignorance of the sources, and replaced them with caricatures of the Protestant Reformers, spawned by a similar ignorance. This volume sets the record straight on a number of counts and raises the question of whether the concerns of the Reformers in their day may not have made them sensitive to aspects of Paul's thought to which moderns are oblivious. A provocative and timely study.”
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