Tag: Paul
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The structure of Romans 2:17-29
In my book, I argue that the Romans 2:17-29 consists of three sections. This cuts across the traditional division of the passage into two sections.
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Romans 2:17 is referring to a “publicly recognized Jew”
In my book, I argue that Paul’s interlocutor in Romans 2:17-29 is a paradigmatic mainstream Jew.
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The social context of Romans 2:17–29: the Jewish synagogue
In my book, I argue that Romans 2:17-29 is set in the Jewish synagogue.
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Romans 2:17-29 is an argument about Jewish Identity
In my book, I argue at length that Romans 2:17-29 is not primarily an argument about salvation, but rather an argument about Jewish identity and vocation.
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The “obedience of faith” in its prophetic context (Romans 1:5)
In my book, I argue that Paul’s phrase “the obedience of faith” in Romans 1:5 can be better understood when read in the context of prophetic (Isaianic) motifs.
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Paul did not proselytise
In my book, I argue that the apostle Paul’s mission should not be described as “proselytism”.
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Paul’s priestly ministry in Romans 15: a fulfilment of Isaiah 60-61
In my book, I argue that Paul’s description of his “priestly” ministry in Romans 15:14-33 is drawn from Isaiah 60-61, which describes Israel’s eschatological priestly role toward the nations. This reinforces Paul’s depiction of his apostolic ministry as an eschatological Jew-Gentile dynamic.
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Paul describes his ministry in terms of Isaiah’s “Servant of the Lord” (Romans 1:1)
In my book, I argue that when Paul uses the term δοῦλος in Romans 1:1, he is drawing on the scriptural figure of the “Servant of the Lord” found in Isaiah 40 –55, especially (but not exclusively) in Isa 49:1–7.
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What was Paul’s former “zeal”? Divine jealous passion for Israel’s purity
In my book, I argue that the ζῆλ* word-group in Paul and in Acts should normally be understood as a “divine jealous passion” for the purity of the people of Israel and their Law.
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When Paul used the word “Judaism” in Galatians 1:13-14, what was he talking about?
In my book, I argue that the rare word Ἰουδαϊσμός–which is usually translated “Judaism” in our Bibles (Gal 1:13-14)–doesn’t mean “Judaism” in the modern sense of a system of religious thought. Rather, it should be understood in a vocational sense.
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Review: Brian S. Rosner. Paul and the Law: Keeping the Commandments of God.
Although some questions remain about the details of his framework, Rosner’s overall approach—“a hermeneutical solution to the puzzle of Paul and the law”—is compelling, and constitutes an important contribution on this key issue.
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“The Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16): gospel-believing Jewish teachers
In my book, I argue that the phrase “as many as will conform with this rule” (Gal 6:16) is a reference to a particular kind of Jewish teacher, which implies that the “Israel of God” is a reference to gospel-believing Jews, not to the church of Jews and Gentiles together.
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“We are the circumcision” (Philippians 3:3) is a reference to Jewish preachers (i.e. Paul and Timothy), not to all Christians
In my book, I argue that the phrase “we are the circumcision” in Phil 3:3 should be understood as a reference to Paul and Timothy, as Jewish teachers of Gentiles. Paul is using the term “circumcision” in order to claim a status for himself and Timothy as true (Jewish) teachers of Gentiles, in direct opposition…
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Does the metaphor of the olive tree (Romans 11:17-24) undermine the notion of Jewish distinctiveness in Paul’s thought?
A number of interpreters regard Paul’s metaphor of the olive tree in Rom 11:17–24 as evidence that Paul is seeking to include Gentiles within a redefined Israel. I contend that this understanding is not consistent with the meaning and purpose of this passage.
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Romans: An exercise in Jewish vocation
In my book, I argue that the occasion and purpose of Paul’s letter to the Romans is bound up with the relationship between his apostolic ministry and his Jewish identity. Romans, in other words, is an exercise in Jewish vocation.
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The vocational dimension of Jewish identity in the New Testament
In my book, I contend that Paul did not conceive of the distinct value of Jewishness principally in terms of salvation, but rather in terms of a special vocation arising from their possession of a unique divine revelation (the Law, or the Scriptures more generally).
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How does Paul’s Jewish identity inform his apostolic ministry?
This is the argument of my book: Paul’s apostolic mission was his way of being Jewish. Paul was convinced that Israel had received a special divine revelation which conferred on Jews a distinct divine vocation. Paul, in other words, was committed to the view that God’s global purposes in Christ included a special place—and correspondingly a special role—for the…
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Review: Roger Mohrlang. Paul and His Life-Transforming Theology: A Concise Introduction.
From the Themelios website: Roger Mohrlang. Paul and His Life-Transforming Theology: A Concise Introduction. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2013. xii + 170 pp. $21.00. According to the author, this book “is designed to be a concise, inviting introduction to the greatest of the early Christian missionaries, the Apostle Paul” (p. ix). The book largely succeeds…
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Book: Paul and the Vocation of Israel
Book – Lionel J. Windsor. Paul and the Vocation of Israel: How Paul’s Jewish Identity Informs his Apostolic Ministry, with Special Reference to Romans. BZNW 205. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2014.
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Borrowing beasts & paying preachers: Why Paul’s use of the Old Testament makes sense
This was a real “Oh yeah – aha!” moment in my understanding of the Bible, especially in my understanding of the way Paul uses the Old Testament. The Law of Moses says: You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain. (Deut 25:4) Paul says: For it is written in the…
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PhD thesis: approved and now available online (Paul and the Vocation of Israel)
This dissertation argues that Paul’s apostolic mission to the Gentiles was the definitive expression of his divine vocation as an Israelite, and thus of his Jewish identity. For many of Paul’s Jewish contemporaries, Israel’s divine vocation was to keep and to teach the precepts of the Law of Moses as an exemplary witness to God’s…
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Not My People: Gentiles as Exiles in Pauline Hermeneutics
David Starling‘s recently published dissertation has received quite a favourable review. Here are some choice excerpts from the review, which made me cheer: [T]he situation of the Israel under judgment in Gal 2:15–4:11 corresponds to the existence of the godless Gentile sinners, and the corollary is that believing and justified Gentiles obtain the same position…
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Identity and reality in the modern Australian and ancient Jewish diasporas
Our family has been away from Australia for almost 3 years now. One of the funny things we’ve noticed about ourselves is how much our Australian identity is wrapped up in symbols and dreams that have little to do with reality. For example, this 1-minute ad for Tourism Australia–based on Les Murray’s poem, “The Dream…
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Review of David J. Rudolph / A Jew to the Jews
My review is now on Themelios. I’ve also included the full text below: David J. Rudolph. A Jew to the Jews: Jewish Contours of Pauline Flexibility in 1 Corinthians 9:19–23. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.304. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011. xii + 290 pp. £69.00/$137.50. In 1 Cor 9:19-23, Paul seems to wear his Jewishness…
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Pet food, pornography, and the law
From The Briefing: One lazy afternoon in 1999, travel writer Bill Bryson discovered a shop that sold pet supplies and pornography.1 It was at the far end of the main street of an unassuming Australian country town called Young. The front of the shop contained rather mundane supplies of flea powder, fish flakes, and other…