Pauline Perspectives: The Apostle's Theology in Context presents key contributions from over 20 years of work by Jörg Frey, one of the world's most influential New Testament scholars, in English for the first time. The aim is to highlight the apostle's own perspective and message amid the confusion of perspectives on Paul.
Frey brings old and new perspectives from European research and Reformation readings into current discussion and makes Paul's core message conceivable for theology and for the church today. Against the backdrop of a broad knowledge of the history of interpretation, Frey classifies the newer perspectives on Paul and discusses the Apostle’s place in the Judaism of his time, his intellectual background, his interpretation of the Scriptures and his negotiation of circumcision and law. In its main part, the book exposes the core of Paul’s message, the salvific significance and efficacy of Jesus’s death from a post-Easter perspective. Based on the early confessions and the Pauline statements, the author discloses the meaning of atonement and substitution, Paul’s theology of the cross, and the relevance of Jesus’s resurrection. Further chapters focus on Paul’s self-understanding as an Apostle, his relationship with his fellow-apostles, his struggle for unity and his ministry between zeal and tragedy. The final section discusses the problems and legacy of the Reformers’ readings and, finally, the relevance of Paul’s message for Christians today: What is Faith, according to Paul, and how can the Pauline perspective on faith and grace be understood and implemented in the life of the church and of believers?
So, Pauline Perspectives is a fresh attempt to bring together new and old views on the hero of Protestantism for theology and Christian life.
