The Theology of Paul's Letter to the Galatians

Description

Paul's Letter to the Galatians is one of the fiercest and most polemical writings in the Bible. That is what makes it, for the author of this study, such an exciting document to deal with. It emerges from the early days of a vigorous new movement (Christianity), when basic principles were first being formulated, and when the whole character of the movement was at stake. In the pages of Galatians we witness fundamental features of Christian theology taking shape before our eyes, where the living heart of Paul's gospel is encountered. For James D. G. Dunn there is an elemental quality about the letter, to which those tired of compromising half-truths are drawn when they feel the impulse to return to first principles. This book, which benefits from the new perspective on Paul, explains more clearly than hitherto both the issues which confronted Paul and the powerful theological arguments he brought to bear in response, and casts fresh light on a document still capable of shaping lives and theology today.

"...balanced and judicious research in the best tradition of conservative NT scholarship. Those of a more critical bent can also profit from reading these volumes, as will seminarians and advanced students of the NT for whom the series as a whole is intended." The Catholic Biblical Quarterly "Dunn's study will furnish both a benchmark and a provocation for future theological studies of Galatians and of each of the Pauline letters individually. Ultimately, perhaps, such a work will provide the necessary basis for a more nuanced interpretation of Pauline theology as a whole." Journal of Biblical Literature "Commendably, though written in a fresh and uncomplicated way, Dunn avoids sounding pedagogical. Instead, engaging himself as well as the readers, he leads them into the thicket of Paul's theological argumentation. Thus, while not breaking new ground, the volume is helpful also as a good introduction for undergraduate and seminary students. This aim and purpose is underscored by useful and up-to-date bibliographical annotations." Hans Dieter Betz, Journal of Religion