This book contributes to the discussion of the relationship between Paul and contemporary Judaism by investigating Paul's understanding of Israel's election. In two passages Paul rejects election-based privileges as basis for confidence before God: 2 Cor 11:16-12:10 and Phil 3:1-11. Sigurd Grindheim argues that, for Paul, the elect identity can only be rightly conceived of as entailing conformity to Christ and his cross. Jewish election-based confidence is critiqued because it does not conform to this pattern, and it must therefore be rejected as incompatible with the mind-set that is modeled after Christ. As a control of these results, this book also contains an exegesis of Rom 9-11, where Paul approaches the question of Israel's election from a more positive angle. In light of the results reached, the study concludes with a critique of the new perspective on Paul.
Born 1968; 2002 Ph.D.; since 2003 Assistant Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, USA. |
