The New Perspective Critique of Luther: A Response Bart Eriksson Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) Department of New Testament Studies Faculty of Theology University of Pretoria August 2018 Supervisor: Prof Ernest van Eck Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER 2 THE BACKGROUND TO THE NEW PERSPECTIVE: A BRIEF HISTORY OF PAULINE INTERPRETATION IN THE WESTERN CHURCH 2.1. THE EARLY CHURCH PERIOD .................................................................................. 17 2.2 JAMES DUNN AND APPROACHES TO THE LAW: ETHICAL VERSUS CEREMONIAL .................................................................................................................. 31 2.3 BACKGROUND TO THE NEW PERSPECTIVE: AUGUSTINE TO LUTHER ...................................................................................................................... 36 2.4 BACKGROUND TO THE NEW PERSPECTIVE. THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND ITS QUEST TO FIND “RATIONAL” MOTIVES FOR PAUL’S CONVERSION .................................................................................................................. 47 2.5 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 52 CHAPTER 3 FORMATIONAL ISSUES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW PERSPECTIVE 3.1. THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS SCHOOL ................................................................. 54 3.2 THE ROOTS OF THE LEGALISTIC CONCEPTION OF JUDAISM ..................... 58 3.3 RUDOLF BULTMANN ................................................................................................... 64 3.4 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 73 CHAPTER 4 THE FORERUNNERS OF THE NEW PERSPECTIVE 4.1 WILLIAM WREDE ........................................................................................................... 75 4.2 ALBERT SCHWEITZER ................................................................................................. 78 4.3 W.D. DAVIES .................................................................................................................... 84 4.4 KRISTER STENDAHL .................................................................................................... 88 2 4.5 JEWISH PAULINE SCHOLARS: MONTEFIORE, SCHOEPS, AND SEGAL ...................................................................................................................... 89 4.5.1 Claude G. Montefiore ....................................................................................... 89 4.5.2 H.J. Schoeps ...................................................................................................... 91 4.5.3 Alan Segal ......................................................................................................... 93 4.5.4 Grace in Judaism, Other Sources ...................................................................... 95 4.6 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 98 CHAPTER 5 THE NEW PERSPECTIVE SCHOLARS AND THEIR VIEWPOINTS 5.1 E.P. SANDERS ................................................................................................................ 100 5.2 N. T. WRIGHT ................................................................................................................. 105 5.3 JAMES DUNN ................................................................................................................. 114 5.4 TERRY DONALDSON .................................................................................................. 120 5.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 123 CHAPTER 6 RESPONSES TO THE NEW PERSPECTIVE 6.1 IS COVENANTAL-NOMISM TRULY GRACE-BASED? ..................................... 127 6.2 IS JUDAISM GRACE-BASED? ................................................................................... 128 6.3 DIVISION BETWEEN THE LAW’S LEGAL AND CEREMONIAL ASPECTS .......................................................................................................................... 133 6.4 ANTHROPOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 138 6.5 BREAKING WITH PROTESTANT THEOLOGY .................................................... 139 6.6 SCRIPTURAL CHALLENGES .................................................................................... 143 6.7 JUSTIFICATION NOT THE CENTRE ....................................................................... 146 6.8 ANACHRONISM ............................................................................................................ 149 6.9 THE DAMASCUS EVENT ........................................................................................... 151 6.10 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 152 3 CHAPTER 7 CORRECTING SOME MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT LUTHER 7.1 JUSTIFICATION AND JEWISH ETHNIC EXCLUSIVENESS ............................. 154 7.2 FAMILIARITY WITH EARLY CHRISTIAN AND MEDIEVAL THOUGHT ....................................................................................................................... 155 7.3 LUTHER AND MORAL LAXITY ............................................................................... 158 7.4 DISCIPLINE WHILE ON EARTH FOR SIN ............................................................. 167 7.5 MORTAL SIN: LOSING SALVATION ...................................................................... 170 7.6 THREE USES OF THE LAW........................................................................................ 170 7.7 LUTHER AND THE ANTINOMIAN CONTROVERSY ......................................... 173 7.8 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 177 CHAPTER 8 LUTHER, DUNN, JUDAISM AND MEDIEVAL CATHOLICISM 8.1 LATE MEDIEVAL NOMINALISM – THE THEOLOGY AGAINST WHICH LUTHER REACTED ...................................................................................... 180 8.2 MEDIEVAL CATHOLICISM: COVENANTAL NOMIST? ................................... 181 8.3 THE PROBLEM FOR DUNN’S ARGUMENT .......................................................... 184 8.4 LUTHER AND THE JEWISH COVENANT .............................................................. 187 8.5 SACRAMENTS BEFORE BAPTISM ......................................................................... 190 8.6 LUTHER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE JEWS ..................................................... 196 8.7 RESULTING ISSUES IN THE INTERPRETATION OF LUTHER ....................... 200 8.8 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 207 CHAPTER 9 PAUL AND JUDAISM 9.1 ARE NEW TESTAMENT APPROACHES TO JUDAISM SUSPECT? ................ 210 9.2 WHAT WAS PAUL RESPONDING TO? ARE THE NEW PERSPECTIVE IDEAS CREDIBLE? ....................................................................................................... 215 9.3 JUDAISM: DIVERSE? ................................................................................................... 219 9.4 JUDAISM AS UNDERSTOOD IN THE GOSPELS ................................................. 227 4 9.5 RIGOROUS JUDAISM: PAUL’S CRITIQUE FROM WITHIN ............................. 244 9.6 THE VIEWS OF SOME OF PAUL’S OPPONENTS ................................................ 248 9.7 DOES PAUL HAVE PRECEDENTS? JUDAISM AND SALVATION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE APOCRYPHA AND OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDEPIGRAPHA ...................................................................................................... 256 9.8 PAUL’S CRITIQUE OF JUDAISM FROM WITHOUT .......................................... 268 9.9 PAUL’S THIRD CRITIQUE ......................................................................................... 274 9.10 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 285 CHAPTER 10 STAYING IN BY GRACE OR BY WORKS 10.1 SUPPLEMENTAL HUMAN INVOLVEMENT IN ATONEMENT ....................... 289 10.2 SCHWEITZER, SANDERS, WRIGHT AND STAYING IN BY GRACE ............ 294 10.3 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 310 CHAPTER 11 CONCLUSION AND MATTERS FOR FURTHER STUDY 11.1 PROTESTANTISM AND SALVATION HISTORY................................................. 316 11.2 LUTHER AND THE REWARD FOR WORKS ......................................................... 322 11.3 PAUL’S LAW OF THE SPIRIT OR LAW OF CHRIST .......................................... 330 11.4 MOVEMENT TOWARDS RHETORICAL CRITICISM ......................................... 332 11.5 INTERPRETING ROMANS 11:13-14 POST-SANDERS ........................................ 340 11.6 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 343 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 345 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people need to be thanked for their patience and help