Bøger af Stephen Westerholm

These themes of the Epistle to the Romans help readers understand the major components of Paul's vision of life, providing postmoderns with the big picture of his biblical worldview.

Pious Jews of the Second Temple period sought to conform their lives to Torah, the law God had given Israel. Their different sects disagreed, however, on how to interpret particular laws and even on the question of who had the authority to interpret them. Jesus and his earliest followers, while focusing primarily on what they believed God was doing in their own day, were repeatedly confronted with issues raised by its relation to God's prior revelation in Torah. This volume contains studies by Stephen Westerholm devoted to the meaning and place of Torah in Early Judaism as well as to New Testament understandings, particularly those of the gospels and Pauline literature. Attention is also given to the "New Perspective on Paul," to recent discussions of justification and Paul's relation to Judaism, and to aspects of the transmission of Jesus tradition among his earliest followers.

"Westerholm is admirably concerned to focus our attention on Paul's theology, specifically on the theological issues that arose for the Apostle in his valiant attempt to assess the role of the law after the advent of Christ. Beginning with an unusually mature account of the debate that is currently raging over Paul's understanding of the law, Westerholm has provided an analysis of his own that will certainly claim the attention of all student's of Paul the theologian." - J. Louis Martyn"This is the most clearly written and understandable treatment of the debate over the law in Pauline thought that I have seen." - Robert Jewett"Westerholm has produced an illuminating, engaging, and refreshing book. He sets forth the views of major interpreters of Paul with clarity and candor, engages them, and then makes proposals of his own, which are both well considered and instructive. The book is both interesting and informative, a reader's delight." - Arland J. Hultgren

Here, finally, is a much-needed review and analysis of the divergent interpretations of Paul. With a clear head and winsome sense of humor, Stephen Westerholm compares the traditional understanding of Paul to more recent readings, drawing on the writings of key figures in the debate both past and present.Westerholm first offers a detailed portrait of the "Lutheran" Paul, including the way such theologians as Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Wesley have traditionally interpreted "justification by faith" to mean that God declares sinners "righteous" by his grace apart from "works." Westerholm then explores how Paul has fared in the twentieth century, in which "New Perspective" readings of Paul see him teaching that Gentiles need not become Jews or observe Jewish law to be God's people. The final section of the book looks anew at disputed areas of Paul's theological language and offers compelling discussion on the place of both justification by faith and Mosaic law in divine redemption.