Ten Theology Books to Watch For – June 2022

Paul, Then and Now

Matthew Novenson

(Eerdmans)

Matthew Novenson has become a leading advocate for the continuing relevance of historical-critical readings of Paul even as some New Testament scholars have turned to purely theological or political approaches. In this collection of a decade’s worth of essays, Novenson puts contextual understandings of Paul’s letters into conversation with their Christian reception history. After a new, programmatic introductory essay that frames the other eleven essays, Novenson explores topics including:

• the relation between theology and historical criticism
• the place of Jews and gentiles in Paul’s gospel
• Paul’s relation to Judaism
• the relevance of messianism to Paul’s Christology
• Paul’s eschatology in relation to ancient Jewish eschatologies
• the aptness of monotheism as a category for understanding antiquity
• the reception of Paul by diverse early Christian writers
• the peculiar place of Protestantism in the modern study of Paul
• the debate over the recent Paul-within-Judaism movement
• anti-Judaism in modern New Testament scholarship
• disputes over Romans and Galatians
• the meta-question of what it would mean to get Paul right or wrong 

Engaging with numerous schools of thought in Pauline studies—Augustinian, Lutheran, New Perspective, apocalyptic, Paul-within-Judaism, religious studies, and more—while also rising above partisan disputes between schools, Novenson illuminates the ancient Mediterranean context of Paul’s letters, their complicated afterlives in the history of interpretation, and the hermeneutical struggle to make sense of it all.

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God at Work in the World: Theology and Mission in the Global Church

Lalsangkima Pachuau

(Baker Academic)

A leading scholar offers an up-to-date articulation of the theological grounding of the missionary endeavor. Lalsangkima (Kima) Pachuau argues that theology of mission deals with God’s work in and for the world, which is centered on salvation in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Pachuau brings a global perspective to mission theology, explains how theology of mission is related to theology as a discipline, and recognizes recent critiques of “missions,” offering a compelling response rooted in the very nature of God.

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