{"id":6384,"date":"2010-06-18T05:36:17","date_gmt":"2010-06-18T05:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2010\/06\/deliverance-of-god-8-matt-edwa.html"},"modified":"2010-06-18T05:36:17","modified_gmt":"2010-06-18T05:36:17","slug":"deliverance-of-god-8-matt-edwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/06\/deliverance-of-god-8-matt-edwa.html","title":{"rendered":"Deliverance of God 8 (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>
\n8–Contradictions between Justification Theory and Paul’s Actual Preaching<\/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 today we will conclude step (2). In the next post, I
\nwill suggest an approach to step (3).<\/p>\n

Campbell argues that JT does not
\naccord with Paul’s actual preaching of the Gospel. Paul mentions his preaching
\nin Romans 1:1-16; 2:16, 29; 3:8; 6:17; 10:6-18; 15:15-24; 16:4, 17-20; 1
\nCorinthians 1:17-2:16; 9:1-2, 12, 14, 16-23, 27; 15:1-17; 2 Corinthians
\n1:18-22; 2:12, 17; 3:3-6; 4:1-6, 13; 5:11, 14-6:3; 10:14-11:6, 12-15; 12:12,
\n14; Galatians 1:1, 4, 6-12, 15-16; 2:2-9, 14; 3:1-5; 4:13, 19; 6:14-16;
\nPhilippians 1:5-7, 12-18, 27-30; 2:16, 22; 4:3. (Campbell 158-59)<\/p>\n

From these passages Campbell
\ndeduces three themes of Paul’s preaching. First, Paul was concerned with the
\nnarrative of Christ’s passion. Second, he was concerned with the Spirit as a
\ndownpayment or guarantee of the eschaton. Third, he was concerned with a
\nthree-part soteriological schema of sin-transition-salvation, with baptism
\noften involved in the transition. However, we do not see in Paul evidence of conditional<\/i> salvation, or of faith as
\nthe means of appropriating salvation. (160)   <\/span><\/p>\n

Campbell also sees six interwoven
\nemphases in Paul: “(1) his constant emphasis on a fundamentally revelatory
\nepistemology; (2) his consequent diplomatic persona; (3) the similarly
\nconsequent mediating role of his speech; (4) the elected, unconditional nature
\nof human response; (5) his complementary disavowal of rhetorical technique; and
\n(6) his complementary disavowal of ‘natural theology.'” (160)<\/p>\n

In summary, Campbell argues that
\nPaul (1) rejected the natural theology required by JT, arguing instead that
\nknowledge of God comes only through revelation; (2) preached unconditional
\nrather than conditional salvation; (3) acted as a mediator between God and man
\nso that his preaching was the announcement of God; and (4) saw his preaching,
\nnot as a means of convincing, but as a means of announcing what was already
\ntrue.<\/p>\n

What do you think about this? Is 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:16 a rejection of
\nnatural theology? If so, how do people become aware of God so that they are
\n“without excuse” (Romans 1:20) in that way that JT requires? If Paul’s
\npreaching was not an answer to the problem discovered by natural theology, what
\nwas the purpose of it? Do you see evidence of conditional salvation in Paul’s
\npreaching? <\/b><\/p>\n

\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 8–Contradictions between Justification Theory and Paul’s Actual Preaching We are evaluating Douglas Campbell’s…<\/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-6384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gospel"],"yoast_head":"\nDeliverance of God 8 (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-8-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 8 (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 . Thanks to Matt Edwards. The Deliverance of God 8–Contradictions between Justification Theory and Paul’s Actual Preaching We are evaluating Douglas Campbell’s…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/06\/deliverance-of-god-8-matt-edwa.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-06-18T05:36:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=jescre-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0802831265\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Deliverance of God 8 (Matt Edwards) - Jesus Creed","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/06\/deliverance-of-god-8-matt-edwa.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Deliverance of God 8 (Matt Edwards) - Jesus Creed","og_description":"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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