Paul and the Faithfulness of God (2013 Wright), book

Paul and the Faithfulness of God (2013) is a book by Nicholas Thomas Wright.

Abstract

"A masterly exposition of Paul's thought by one of his leading contemporary interpreters. The summation of a lifetime's study, this landmark book offers an unparalleled wealth of detailed insights into Paul's life, times and enduring impact. Destined to become the point of reference in Pauline studies for the next decade, and beyond. 'Tom Wright's long-awaited full-length study of St Paul will not in any way disappoint the high expectations that surround it. From the very first sentence, it holds the attention, arguing a strong, persuasive, coherent and fresh case, supported by immense scholarship and comprehensive theological intelligence. It is a worthy successor to his earlier magisterial studies of the themes of the Kingdom and the Resurrection: lively, passionate and deeply constructive, laying out very plainly the ways in which the faith of the New Testament is focused on God's purpose to re-create, through the fact of Jesus crucified and risen, our entire understanding of authority and social identity.' Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge."--Publisher description (I).

"This text [v. 4] is printed in two book sections: First book comprises Parts I and II and frontmatter. Second book has Parts III and IV plus bibliography and indices. This highly anticipated two-book fourth volume in N.T. Wrights magisterial series, Christian Origins and the Question of God, is destined to become the standard reference point on the subject for all serious students of the Bible and theology. The mature summation of a lifetimes study, this landmark book pays a rich tribute to the breadth and depth of the apostles vision, and offers an unparalleled wealth of detailed insights into his life, times, and enduring impact. Wright carefully explores the whole context of Paul's thought and activity--Jewish, Greek and Roman, cultural, philosophical, religious, and imperial--and shows how the apostles worldview and theology enabled him to engage with the many-sided complexities of first-century life that his churches were facing. Wright also provides close and illuminating readings of the letters and other primary sources, along with critical insights into the major twists and turns of exegetical and theological debate in the vast secondary literature. The result is a rounded and profoundly compelling account of the man who became the worlds first, and greatest, Christian theologian"--Publisher description (II).

Editions

Published in Minneapolis, MN : Fortress Press, 2013.

Contents

pt. 1. Paul and his world -- Return of the runaway? -- Like birds overhead : the faithfulness of the God of Israel -- Athene and her owl : the wisdom of the Greeks -- A cock for Asclepius : 'religion' and 'culture' in Paul's world -- The eagle has landed : Rome and the challenge of empire -- pt. 2. The mindset of the apostle -- A bird in the hand? : the symbolic praxis of Paul's world -- The plot, the plan and the storied worldview -- Five signposts to the apostolic mindset -- pt. 3. Paul's theology -- The one God of Israel, freshly revealed -- The people of God, freshly reworked -- God's future for the world, freshly imagined -- pt. 4. Paul in history -- The lion and the eagle : Paul in Caesar's empire -- A different sacrifice : Paul and 'religion' -- The foolishness of God : Paul among the philosophers -- To know the place for the first time : Paul and his Jewish context -- Sign of the new creation : Paul's aims and achievements.

External links

• [ Google Books]