Description: Using Paul's letter to the Romans as the foundation for his monumental study of Paul's theology, James D. G. Dunn describes Paul's teaching on God, sin, humankind, Christology, salvation, the church, and the nature of the Christian life.
Review Summary: An outstanding, scholarly and practical study of Paul's theology
Date: 2008-12-17
Details: This is an amazing study of Paul's theology that exceeds the bar of scholarship and applicable insights. Dunn has poured into this book an abundance of research that is conveyed in simple, explainable terms so that this book is helpful for academic research and the layperson who wants to better understand Biblical theology or investigate specific topics. The book is well organized so that readers can easily track down particular subjects. It is also so well-done that one can also find him or herself reading it through. This is a book that I recommend every serious Christian adds to the shelf.
Review Summary: Fantastic compendium of Pauline scholarship
Date: 2007-11-21
Details: This is the standard introduction to Paul's theology. Using the template of Romans, Dunn lays out clearly Paul's theology from the rest of his letters in a way that makes for ease of reference. His clear writing style makes this book commendable to college-age students, but his profundity makes it valuable to the most experienced scholar.
This work has some rather stunning insights. For instance, Dunn's thesis that the invitation for those who are in Christ to die Christ's death rather than Adam's clarifies and encapsulates Paul's thought on one of the biggest questions any religion is called upon to answer. That is Dunn at his best, so far in the book as I have gotten.
Dunn is the man who coined the phrase "The New Perspective on Paul" so obviously his work is sympathetic to what may more appropriately be termed a new perspective on Judaism. Thus, those among us who admire reformation theology will have a few axes to grind with this work. But I am yet to find a topic in which he is as unfair to those with whom he disagrees as they are as a rule to him and his views.
Unlike his contemporary N.T. Wright he does not see the "story" of Israel as the overarching category for interpretation, so his work is a bit more atomistic and less likely to find a totally unified theological construction. But unlike some others, he does not see contradiction everywhere he looks in Paul's writing. He accomplishes this admirable feat by not confusing Paul's metaphors with irreducible truth.
This is one of the few books that I have purchased that I wish I had in hardback (or better yet on my computer). I expect to wear at least one copy out in the course of completing my doctoral dissertation.
Review Summary: Wow
Date: 2007-02-19
Details: The depth of scholarship in this work is stunning - Dunn is a master of his field. But the true value of this work lies in its closeness to the text - it will have you diving for Paul's letters again and again. His systematic approach is well conceived and structured; he is careful never to over-conclude or run ahead with an argument: this work is clearly the product of careful laboring over the texts, with secondary sources used purely as aids, not drivers of discussion.
From the start his insights are profound, such as his observation that for Paul, 'sarx' (flesh) is very much an ethnic designation, and it is never directly blamed as a source for sin in Romans 7. The book leaves room for as much agreement or disagreement as you care to share - merely engaging with Dunn's arguments and analysis is the most rewarding exercise for truly encountering Paul that I have ever come across. I have never come across a book so erudite at reading between the lines of Paul, and investigating his unstated assumptions about God and humanity.
Take up this magisterial work - but keep your Bible, and preferably a notebook, close at hand: this is no mere rehearsal of the standard debates about Paul, but an earnest and scholarly attempt to make sense of a grand tapestry - an attempt which respects the fact that Paul wrote with a genius that has stupefied two millenia of great minds.
Review Summary: Theology of Paul
Date: 2006-02-25
Details: This a great scholarly work. It addresses the historical societal conditions of the time of writing, and addresses Pauline metaphors in their original context. Perccieved contradictions reconciled. A great help.
Review Summary: Outstanding value and packaging
Date: 2005-07-19
Details: Very good speed from the States - excellent price and solid packaging meant no damage. All confirmed by emails to.
out of 12 Reviews
