{"id":6372,"date":"2010-06-04T06:46:36","date_gmt":"2010-06-04T06:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2010\/06\/deliverance-of-god-2-matt-edwa.html"},"modified":"2010-06-04T06:46:36","modified_gmt":"2010-06-04T06:46:36","slug":"deliverance-of-god-2-matt-edwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/06\/deliverance-of-god-2-matt-edwa.html","title":{"rendered":"Deliverance of God 2 (Matt Edwards)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an incredible series being offered to us by Matt Edwards: a nine part summary and response to Douglas Campbell’s mega-book, The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em>. Thanks to Matt Edwards.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Deliverance of God<\/span><\/i><\/b>
\n2–Contradictory Epistemologies in Justification Theory<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

We are evaluating Douglas
\nCampbell’s rereading of Romans 1-4 as presented in The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in
\nPaul<\/i>. In the book, Campbell rejects “justification theory” (JT), the
\ntraditional way of understanding Romans 1-4. He describes JT as having two
\nphases–“the rigorous contract” (in which God’s ethical demands are made clear
\nto all people, all people are found to have fallen short of these demands, and
\nall people are declared worthy of God’s retributive justice) and “the
\nappropriation of salvation” (in which God, in his grace, offers a more
\nmanageable criterion for salvation, “faith”). Most western Christians interpret
\nRomans 1-4 according to JT.<\/p>\n

Campbell has suggested three steps
\nthat JT advocates need to take in response to his rereading: (1) demonstrate
\nthat JT is a valid option for Paul, (2) answer his critique, and (3) show how
\nJT is a better interpretive option than his rereading. We have undertaken step
\n(1) in a previous post, and over the next few posts we will be undertaking step
\n(2). When we are finished, I will suggest an approach to step (3).<\/p>\n

One of Campbell’s strongest
\ncritiques of JT is its contradictory epistemologies. He summarizes the
\ncritique: “Justification theory argues in terms of two incompatible
\nepistemologies: a general, atemporal, philosophical, and rational conception of
\nknowledge–“objective” philosophical reasoning; and a particular, historical,
\nrevelatory, and interpersonal conception–notably, the witness of Scripture, but
\nalso the voice of God.” (37)<\/p>\n

By this, he means that phase one and
\nphase two are navigated through different types of knowledge. On the one hand,
\nphase one is navigated through reason and observation of nature. Romans 1:18-20
\n(NET) says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
\nungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their
\nunrighteousness, because what can be known about God is plain to them, because
\nGod has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his
\ninvisible attributes–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly
\nseen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are
\nwithout excuse.” In JT, God is justified in judging people (whether they have
\nheard the gospel or not) because they know him through nature and reason, and
\nthey have rejected him.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, phase two can
\nonly be navigated by revelation. Phase two centers around temporal events–the
\ncrucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It can only be delivered by
\ncontextualized activity–the preaching of the church, the reading of the Bible,
\nthe voice of God, etc.<\/p>\n

Campbell writes of the tension
\ninvolved in switching knowledge types midstream:<\/p>\n

“The most obvious [difficulty] is
\nthat conclusions derived by the second approach are not necessarily valid in
\nterms of the first (and vice versa, but this is not so important; the model
\nmoves forward). The generic, philosophical individual has no way of verifying
\nthe truth of particular, revelatory claims; these have not been derived from
\nthe rational contemplation of the cosmos but are presented by a person as
\nreceived truths. Hence, there is no way of objectively assessing them. Further,
\nthe philosophical argumentation within Justification has no real need of
\nscriptural corroboration. Such support for the former is redundant if not
\nopaque. These are serious problems.” (38)<\/p>\n

What do you think? Do the two types of epistemologies involved in JT
\nmake it incoherent? <\/b><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is an incredible series being offered to us by Matt Edwards: a nine part summary and response to Douglas Campbell’s mega-book, The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul . Thanks to Matt Edwards. The Deliverance of God 2–Contradictory Epistemologies in Justification Theory We are evaluating Douglas Campbell’s rereading of Romans…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gospel"],"yoast_head":"\nDeliverance of God 2 (Matt Edwards) - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/06\/deliverance-of-god-2-matt-edwa.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deliverance of God 2 (Matt Edwards) - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is an incredible series being offered to us by Matt Edwards: a nine part summary and response to Douglas Campbell’s mega-book, The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul . 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