The Englewood Review of Books
Best Books of 2020
Advent Calendar
December 17
The Englewood Review of Books
Pauline Dogmatics:
The Triumph of God’s Love
Douglas Campbell
Hardback: Eerdmans, 2020
Buy Now: [ IndieBound ] [ Amazon ] [ Kindle ]
In my career in the academy only a few books about Paul really stand out as paradigm-shifting and mind-changing. I think of E.P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism, and then flowing out of the well he tapped, one thinks of James D.G. Dunn’s culmination of his work on Paul, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift, N.T. Wright’s massive Paul and the Faithfulness of God, and Douglas Campbell’s The Deliverance of God.
But not one of these books does what Douglas Campbell does in his newest (big) book, Pauline Dogmatics: The Triumph of God’s Love. This is nothing less than a (echoing Karl Barth) a theology built on Paul. But there’s even more: it is nothing less than a pastoral theology of Paul, a Barth-shaped theology of Paul that focuses on Paul’s pastoral, missionary ministry of planting churches in Asia Minor and Greece. It’s big but it’s very readable.
He divides his book into the following major divisions: Resurrection, Formation, Mission and Navigation. Those terms are not immediately obvious as to topics discussed, so we will break them down in the blog series that follows. His own summary, however, will serve us today: “Theology is a series of disciplined acts and practices that is caught up in actual relationships and that expects relationships to be formed and to flourish as a result” (741). Which leads to what is the grand contribution of this book: “Th end point of a proper Pauline theology, then, is a practical manual instructing leaders how to plant and to nurture communities of Jesus followers, and to do so navigating the challenges of any context, including the especially astringent challenges offered by modernity” (741).
- From Scot McKnight’s introduction
to the book on his blog
*** Watch a talk by the author based on this book…
<<<<<< PREVIOUS DAY’s Book
[ Return to the Advent Calendar ]
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
Understanding Christian Nationalism [A Reading Guide] |
 Most Anticipated Books of the Fall for Christian Readers!
|
 Hilarious One-Star Customer Reviews of Bibles |
