5.0
The Righteousness of One
ByPublisher Description
Since the publication of E.P. Sanders' Paul and Palestinian Judaism in 1977, Paul's soteriology has received extensive evaluation in light of second temple Judaism. These works have focused on exegesis of the Pauline text and evaluating Sanders' proposal of covenantal nomism within the second temple Jewish literature. There has been an unfortunate gap in this discussion: historical theology.
This work addresses the historical claims made by proponents of the New Perspective on Paul regarding Luther's theology and the early church. In The Righteousness of One, Jordan Cooper demonstrates that the portrait of Luther given by many of the New Perspective writers is a caricature, read through the lens of both Protestant scholasticism and twentieth-century existentialist theology. Luther's views are more nuanced and balanced than many Pauline interpreters are willing to admit.
In light of this reevaluation of Luther's own theology, early Patristic writings are evaluated in terms of similarity and disparity between Patristic Pauline interpretation and Lutheran Pauline interpretation, and thus it becomes apparent that there is continuity between the patristic tradition and Luther's reading of the Pauline text. Rather than being driven purely by medieval debates about merit, Luther's reading of Paul is both exegetically sensitive and consistent with the broader catholic tradition.
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5.0
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. - Proverbs 18:17 (ESV)
The New Perspective on Paul (NPP), as promoted by New Testament scholars such as N.T. Wright, claims that Luther (and traditional Protestants in general) have misinterpreted Paul's teachings on justification by faith and the distinction between Law and Gospel. They claim that Martin Luther was incorrect because he interpreted Paul's letters through the lens of debates going on in his own day, apart from the context of the New Testament and the early Church.
But if NPP scholars are correct, shouldn't their interpretation be echoed in the teachings of early Church fathers, who were much closer to the context of the New Testament? Jordan Cooper examines the teachings of the early Christian teachers Clement, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and the author of The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus. I believe he makes a strong case that their teachings are much closer to Luther's interpretation than the NPP. He exposes the NPP scholars' caricature of Luther's teachings and reaffirms that Lutheran/Protestant teaching on justification by faith alone is consistent with the apostle Paul's teachings in Paul's context, not merely Luther's medieval European context.”
About Jordan Cooper
Jordan Cooper is the pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in Brighton, IA, host of the Just & Sinner podcast (visit http://www.justandsinner.com), and the author of The Righteousness of One: An Evaluation of Early Patristic Soteriology in Light of the New Perspective on Paul (2013).
Peter J. Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is a Senior Fellow of Theology and Literature at New St. Andrews College, Moscow, Idaho, and serves on the pastoral staff of Trinity Reformed Church. He is the author most recently of Athanasius (2011). He and his wife, Noel, have ten children.
Other books by Peter J. Leithart
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