The legacy of Pauline scholarship, from ancient to modern, is characterised by a surfeit of unsettled, conflicting conclusions that often fail to interpret Paul in relation to his Jewish roots. William S. Campbell takes a stand against this paradigm, emphasising continuity between Judaism and the Christ-movement in Paul’s letters. Campbell focusses on important themes, such as diversity, identity and reconciliation, as the basic components of transformation in Christ. The stance from which Paul theologises is one that recognises and underpins social and cultural diversity and includes the correlating demand that because difference is integral to the Christ-movement, the enmity associated with difference cannot be tolerated. Thus, reconciliation emerges as a fundamental value in the Christ-movement. Reconciliation, in this sense, respects and does not negate the particularities of the identity of Jews and those from the nations. In this paradigm, transformation implies the re-evaluation of all things in Christ, whether of Jewish or gentile origin. Table of Contents Abbreviations 1 Trajectories of Conversations with Paul and Others 2 The Contribution of Traditions to Paul’s Theology (1993) The Need for a Framework of Interpretation The Cultural Context that Informed Paul’s Experience The Influence of Scriptural Interpretation in the Formulation of Paul’s Theological Statements The Interaction between Scriptural Interpretation and Events of Everyday Life New and Old in Paul’s Theology The Shape of Paul’s Theology Conclusion 3 The Rule of Faith in Romans 12:1—15:13 (1995) Introduction: Interpretive Tendencies in the Understanding of the Letter The Diatribe Style as an Indirect Witness to What Paul is Not Saying The Situation of Paul’s Addressees in Romans 12–15 Political Factors Theological Factors Social Factors: The Weak and the Strong in First-Century Roman Society The Identity of the Weak and the Strong in Romans 14–15 The Rule of Faith: Norms for the Believing Community The Failure of the Romans to Accept One Another: Boasting in Distinction and Ignoring Common Allegiance to Christ Conclusion: Paul’s Theology of Faith in Romans 4 Divergent Images of Paul and His Mission (2000) Examples from the Reception of Romans in the Twentieth Century Paul, Champion of the Gentiles: The Partisan Paul Continuity Between Romans 3–4 and Romans 9–11 Romans 9 and the “Surprise” Ending to Romans 11 Recontextualizing Paul’s Statements in Romans 9 Divergent Understandings of the Significance of Paul’s Gentile Mission as a Factor in the Roman Context The Inclusive Paul: The Purpose of God for Jews and also for Gentiles 5 “All God’s Beloved in Rome!”: Jewish Roots and Christian Identity (2004) Structure and Content in Romans 8:14—11:36 Jewish versus Christian Identity? Christian Identity and Negative Self-Designation Diversity in Christian Identity 6 “As Having and as Not Having”: Paul, Circumcision, and Indifferent Things in 1 Corinthians 7:17–32a (2006/7) Introduction Transformation in Christ The Process: The Interaction between Continuity and Transformation Resocialization and Reversal of Values Circumcision, Transformation, and Christ-Identity 7 Unity and Diversity in the Church: Transformed Identities and the Peace of Christ in Ephesians (2008) Introduction Unity is Both a Cause for Celebration and a Process to Be Worked At The New Anthropos is Not a “Third Entity” Ephesians Constructs an Alternative Society in Implicit Contrast with Roman Imperialistic Claims The Reconciliation Advocated Involves Diverse Communities of Christ-Followers Being in Christ and Israelite Identity are Interdependent in Ephesians Conclusion 8 The Addressees of Paul’s Letter to the Romans: Assemblies of God in House Churches and Synagogues (2010) Introductory Issues Historical Issues and Possible Inferences Arising from These Interpretative Factors The Approach Adopted in this Study Evidence Concerning the Historical Context Prior to Paul’s Writing to the Romans The Evidence from the Letter Concerning Those Whom Paul Addresses Evidence Concerning the Addressees within Romans 9–11 The Weak and the Strong in Romans 14:1—15:13 The Collection and the Jerusalem Aspect of Romans Conclusion 9 “Let us Maintain Peace” (Rom 5:2): Reconciliation and Social Responsibility (2011) Introduction: Why Focus on Reconciliation in Paul The Source of Paul’s Imagery of Reconciliation Locating Reconciliation Language within the Structure of Romans Inter-Group Conflict among the Roman Christ-Followers Reconciliation in Practice Reconciliation and Paul’s Purpose in Romans Conclusion: The Pursuit of Peace 10 Universality and Particularity in Paul’s Understanding and Strategy of Mission (2011) Introduction Commonality in Paul’s Teaching Common Content across Paul’s Letters Imitation in Paul Common Destiny—Conformity with the Image of Christ Being Linked with Christ for Paul Means Being Inducted into a Jewish Symbolic Universe Universality and Particularity in First-Century Judaism Philo Philo and Paul: Commonality and Difference The Contextuality of Paul’s Universal Mission—Recognizing the Limits Conclusion 11 “I Rate All Things as Loss”: Paul’s Puzzling Accounting System: Judaism as Loss or the Re-evaluation of All Things in Christ? (2012) Introduction “Remain as you were when called”: Reading 1 Corinthians 7:20 in Context Circumcision and Glorying in the Flesh (Gal 6:11–16) “I rate all things as loss”: Philippians 3:8 Re-evaluating All Things in Christ: The Rhetoric of Pauline Comparisons The Re-evaluation of All Things in Christ: A New Paradigm for Pauline Studies? Bibliography Index of Scriptural Passages Index of Modern Authors

Unity and Diversity in Christ: Interpreting Paul in Context - Collected Essays

Religion & Spirituality

Campbell, William S.

Christian Books & Bibles

James Clarke & Co.

Paul is traditionally viewed as separating from the churches of Peter and of Jewish Christ-followers to promote his own mission, eventually triumphing in the creation of a church with a gentile identity. In Paul and the Creation of Christian Identity, Campbell argues that the Pauline mission represents only one strand of the Christ-movement that should not be universalized to signify the whole. In conjunction with his gentile mission, Paul acknowledges Jewish identity as an abiding reality, rather than as a temporary, weak form of faith in Christ. Paul's gentile mission was not a reaction to his Jewish heritage, but a transformation based on his vision of Christ: thus the identity of Christianity cannot be that of a new religion.

Paul and the Creation of Christian Identity (The Library of New Testament Studies)

Reference

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

T&T Clark International

Paul And the Creation of Christian Identity (Library of New Testament Studies)

UNKNO

Romans: A Social Identity Commentary (T&T Clark Social Identity Commentaries on the New Testament)

William S. Campbell provides a comprehensive commentary on Paul's most challenging letter. In conversation with reception history and previous scholarship, he emphasizes the contextuality of Romans as a letter to Rome, using social identity theory combined with historical, literary and theological perspectives to arrive at a coherent reading of the entire letter. Because Paul has never visited Rome and is not the founder of the Christ-movement there, Campbell argues that his guidance and teaching are formulated more cautiously than in his other letters. Yet the long list of people who had previous links with him and his mission to the 'gentiles' demonstrates that Paul is well-informed about the situation in Rome and addresses issues that have arisen.\nWith Christ the Messianic Time is beginning, but there was some lack of clarity in Rome about the implications of this for Jews and gentiles. Rather than ethne in Christ replacing Israel, as some in Rome possibly concluded, Campbell stresses that Paul affirms the irrevocable calling of Israel, and that simultaneously the identity of ethne in Christ is also called alongside the people Israel; thus, the integrity of the identity of both is affirmed as indispensable for God's purpose now revealed in Christ. Campbell fully demonstrates how Paul in Romans achieves this by the social and theological intertwining of the message of the gospel.

T&T Clark

Unity and Diversity in Christ: Interpreting Paul in Context

Wipf and Stock

These essays represent William Campbell's ongoing challenge over the last two decades to a residual aspect of the paradigm of Paulinism, namely that of interpreting Paul in antithesis to his Jewish roots. Campbell has proposed a new approach to Paul focusing on such themes as diversity, identity, and reconciliation as the basic components of transformation in Christ. The stance from which Paul theologizes is one that recognizes and underpins social and cultural diversity and includes the correlative demand that since difference is integral to the Christ-movement, the enmity associated with difference cannot be tolerated. Thus reconciliation emerges as a fundamental value in the Christ-movement. Such reconciliation respects and does not negate the particularities of the identity of Jews and those from the nations. This paradigm transformation implies the reevaluation of all things in Christ, whether of Jewish or Gentile origin. An underlying trajectory permeates these essays. What unites them is the emphasis on continuity between Judaism and the Christ-movement, particularly as exemplified in Paul's letter to the Romans. Such continuity is vitally important not only for understanding the past and present of Christ-followers, but even more significantly for the contemporary understanding of the identity of both Judaism and Christianity. "Bill Campbell has led the challenge to traditional approaches on a number of topics arising in Romans and throughout the Pauline corpus. Anyone interested in Paul's Jewish roots, diversity within the Christ movement, and the formation of identity in the Pauline communities will be richly rewarded for making Campbell a conversation partner. His style is clear and readable, informed by the most recent research, and always thought-provoking." --Mark D. Nanos, University of Kansas "With particular attention to Paul's letter to the Romans, Campbell's work is deeply informed by modern theorists and is methodologically sophisticated. His explorations of the relationship between theology and context often lead to original insights. This is one of the best works available today on the nature of Paul's theology." --Margaret Y. MacDonald, St. Francis Xavier University "Rigorously insistent on reading Paul's letters in their historical and rhetorical contexts, yet ever aware of the consequences for us as we deal with issues of identity and diversity today, these are important essays. They show a supple mind at work and present a coherent and compelling understanding of the apostle. No reader of Paul can afford to miss them." --Neil Elliott, author of The Arrogance of Nations

Unity and Diversity in Christ: Interpreting Paul in Context: Collected Essays

Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

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