JUSTIFICATION GOD'S PLAN AND PAUL'S VISION [Hardcover]

 

 

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I came to this book after having read John Piper's negative critique of NT Wright's perspective on justification. I often read both authors and was surprised to see Piper write a book aimed specifically at Wright - he has never done that, and it seemed to me that Wright must have done something very wrong for Piper to address Wright's theology in this way. While I was reading the book, I came across a number of videos and writings by people whom I respect very much from Christian pastoral and theological circles, basically being very upset at Wright's twist on protestant theology. I have to admit to two major points after a careful read of this volume:

1. This is a very well written book, basically tempered by a theological and historical preoccupation for understanding judaism at the time of Jesus, understanding the Jewish notion of justification and trying to connect it up with New Testament (Pauline) statements about justification. I am not a theologian, but I consider myself well-read on the topic. I thought the book addressed some extremely important points on justification, raised some critical questions and perhaps exaggerated some points in some ways. It is definitely a must read, for those interested in doctrinal issues, whether you agree or not with the final conclusions.

2. I don't agree with everything that is in this book. But there is nothing I read that brought me to think of Christian "heresy" or that would otherwise prompt me to wave a "danger" flag. I don't understand the drama that is coming out of the American church on this issue and frankly, perceive it as a threatened response to someone who is not from their tradition. Some of the responses to NT Wright's perspective have been violent and have the look of Communist Party purge trials of the 50's. The fine points that are discussed here are not worth this level of fuss. And of course, a great deal of mud has been thrown about, making everyone look a little dirty. The protagonists have not come away looking very well, on either side of the Atlantic or of the debate.

Agree or disagree, there is nothing "major" about the points that are made, similarly or differently from the way the reformers have made them over the last 500 years. This is not about returning to Roman Catholicism, or about taking away the importance of Grace or the role of the crucifixion in Protestant Christian thought. The book is a fine piece of investigation into one of the cornerstones of Christian life, that of justification before God, that of how humans, as broken images can regain presence before the Creator, without having it depend on their own, flawed ability to do so. This is a core idea of Christianity, an idea that is nowhere to be found among any of the world's great philosophies or religious beliefs in the same, way as in Christian scripture. That those who spend time studying the idea come to somewhat different conclusions as to what it specifically refers to in everyday life is neither cause for alarm or reason for conflict. It is simply to be expected.

A profound introduction by N.T. Wright into the Biblical concept of justification. I call it an introduction because most a good third of the book is literally called introdction before you get to the final two-thirds which is exegesis.

The story of this book is very intersting...Wright wrote it partly because he was forced to after John Piper wrote a book responding to N.T. Wirght's views on justification. The odd thing about Piper writing such a book is that Wright had never written anything comprehensive about justification and so his effort smacks of a sort of advance assault.

At any rate Wright's book is brilliant and still far from comprehensive. It responds very nicely and dirctly to Piper's (and other's) attempts to pigeonhole him as a new perspective theologian. A note on his confidence...Wright could easily be perceived as being patronizing and condescending but in reality I believe this is the result of a lifetime soaked in the original Hebrew and Greek scriptures as well as scholarship - he simply knows what he is talking about most likely better then any theologian alive today.

There is much to commend this book...it has brilliant exegetical observations on Romans, Galatians and Ephesians and is written in Wright's clear and very confident voice. I call this book an introduction because Wright is in the midst of writing a comprehensive book on Paul's theology which will certainly address issues such as jusfication.

I highly recommend the book as yet another brilliant example of the corrective theology that seems to be increasingly published these days.

N.T. Wright is a very interesting and challenging writer. Having read some of his earlier work on the Pauline epistles, I was very pleased to see this specific treatment of an issue where Wright has departed in some significant ways from traditional Protestant views. That said, I think some of the best sections of this book are the sections in which Wright demonstrates that he is not proposing an entirely new approach to justification, but is rather recovering a sense of perspective which was lost in the disputes of the Reformation era. Reading the epistles with the help of Wright's exegesis clarifies how the "Old perspective" (which emphasizes the importance of faith due to the insufficiency of any human works) and the "New perspective" (which emphasizes the doctrine of the Church and the bringing together of Jews and Gentiles in a common Church family) can be reconciled within a comprehensive framework that gives due emphasis to both these aspects of St. Paul's teaching.
I was tempted to give this book five stars, but settled on four for the simple reason that Wright's discipline in keeping to his main topic can be a little frustrating at times. I felt that some specific issues, like the relation between present justification and the final judgment, for example, could have been expanded on to a greater degree without distracting from the main thrust of the text. That said, this is a fairly mild criticism, and is just one more reason to look forward to Wright's upcoming new volume on Paul in his "Christian Origins and the Question of God" series.

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