Since I am new to this group of forums, I was not sure where this would be appropriate. I was told that "Paul with Judaism" was a hot topic on these forums, and I have written a book on how this approach affects the interpretation of Paul with a particular focus on Romans 9-11. This is a revision of my dissertation (PhD) and is a bit academic. So I thought a brief summary might help those who want to study this approach.
The book is available on Amazon and in the Kindle Edition it is about $10. Here is the link.
Shameless advertisement over, let's get to the summary.
After the introduction, the book examines three approaches to Paul that are present within the church historically -- Paul against Judaism, the not-Jewish Paul, and Paul within Judaism. In each case, I give examples of how Paul has been interpreted with historical interpretations and scholarly insight, and give summaries of the view. In the first two approaches, I give reasons why I reject the views. The final view (Paul within Judaism) approaches Paul through what James Dunn sees as key aspects of Palestinian Judaism, and I show how Paul's writings and acts fit within this framework. (I also include adherence to Jewish Scriptures as one of these aspects.) Scripture is leveraged throughout.
I should note here that there is not one single view of "Paul within Judaism." Various approaches have been provided by both Christian and Jewish scholars. My view is that Paul is a Jew (a Pharisee even) who has embraced Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
Once this is established, there is a chapter on the rhetorical situation in Rome. That is, what is driving Paul to write to the Romans in the first place? Who is the audience, and what are the constraints in his approach to the problem?
Two chapters are provided on the interpretation of Romans 9-11 as a defense of Israel against the Gentile claim that they have been cut off. I take an intertextual approach, reviewing how Paul is using Jewish Scripture to support his defense of his kindred.
The final chapter summarizes both the current state of affairs between Israel (the Jews) and the church with some concrete advice on how we should relate to each other.
In a nutshell, that is the book. I invite any questions you might have, but you might want to pick up a copy of the book to review. (Another shameless appeal.)
The book is available on Amazon and in the Kindle Edition it is about $10. Here is the link.
Shameless advertisement over, let's get to the summary.
After the introduction, the book examines three approaches to Paul that are present within the church historically -- Paul against Judaism, the not-Jewish Paul, and Paul within Judaism. In each case, I give examples of how Paul has been interpreted with historical interpretations and scholarly insight, and give summaries of the view. In the first two approaches, I give reasons why I reject the views. The final view (Paul within Judaism) approaches Paul through what James Dunn sees as key aspects of Palestinian Judaism, and I show how Paul's writings and acts fit within this framework. (I also include adherence to Jewish Scriptures as one of these aspects.) Scripture is leveraged throughout.
I should note here that there is not one single view of "Paul within Judaism." Various approaches have been provided by both Christian and Jewish scholars. My view is that Paul is a Jew (a Pharisee even) who has embraced Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
Once this is established, there is a chapter on the rhetorical situation in Rome. That is, what is driving Paul to write to the Romans in the first place? Who is the audience, and what are the constraints in his approach to the problem?
Two chapters are provided on the interpretation of Romans 9-11 as a defense of Israel against the Gentile claim that they have been cut off. I take an intertextual approach, reviewing how Paul is using Jewish Scripture to support his defense of his kindred.
The final chapter summarizes both the current state of affairs between Israel (the Jews) and the church with some concrete advice on how we should relate to each other.
In a nutshell, that is the book. I invite any questions you might have, but you might want to pick up a copy of the book to review. (Another shameless appeal.)
