Reformation Readings of Paul Explorations in History and Exegesis

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 Pauline doctrine 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.

Publisher: IVP
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780830840915

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Michael Allen (PhD, Wheaton College) is associate professor of systematic and historical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He is the author of several books, including Justification and the Gospel: Understanding the Contexts and Controversies, Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics: An Introduction and Reader, Reformed Theology and The Christ’s Faith: A Dogmatic Account. He is also the coauthor, with Scott Swain, of Reformed Catholicity: The Promise of Retrieval for Theology and Biblical Interpretation. Jonathan A. Linebaugh (PhD, Durham University) is lecturer in New Testament studies in the faculty of divinity at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of God, Grace, and Righteousness in Wisdom of Solomon and Paul's Letter to the Romans.

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"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." J. Todd Billings, Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, MI