New Perspective on Paul
What is the "New Perspective on Paul?" The New Perspective (NPP) is a shift in Christian scholarship in the interpreting of the writing of the apostle Paul in a more judaic and historical context. The argument is that in the past, a "Lutheran" view has influenced how Christians have primarily understood the writings of the apostle Paul and as such has misinterpreted Paul. The old focus only on an individual justification has led the church further away from an understanding of Paul's teaching.
NPP argues that Paul was not debating against legalism in Judaism that sought salvation in the law. Instead, it was understood that the works of the law were done in order to express covenant membership. In Galatians, then, the problem for Paul is not legalism (not about how someone becomes a Christian) but about sabbath keeping, dietary laws and circumcision for new pagan and gentile converts. Circumcision, Wright points out, is not a moral issue, it is a mark of the covenant. The justification debate was not so much about salvation as about who now comprised the "people of God". The question could be poised as "who is accepted into the body of Christ?" In Christ, social, economic and racial barriers have been torn down and a new community of believers instituted and entrance is through faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
In fact, this is underscored by the Pauline teaching on the early confession of the church that Jesus Christ is Lord. Justification is not the center of Paul's theology instead, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and his ascension as Lord over all is a much stronger focus.
The below video is a link to a project (Video Timeline Project) an Christian multimedia educational project. This video however, gives a good introduction to the new perspectives from two sources, N.T.Wright and James Dunn.
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