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2021/08/10

Christ of the American Road: E. Stanley Jones, India, and Civil Rights | Journal of American Studies | Cambridge Core

Christ of the American Road: E. Stanley Jones, India, and Civil Rights | Journal of American Studies | Cambridge Core



Christ of the American Road: E. Stanley Jones, India, and Civil Rights


Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 October 2017
DAVID R. SWARTZ
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Abstract


This article, which emphasizes the importance of transnational history, tracks the influence of E. Stanley Jones, a missionary to India in the early twentieth century, on evangelicals in the United States. It contends that global encounters pushed Jones to hold integrated ashrams, conduct evangelistic crusades, and participate in the Congress on Racial Equality. During his time abroad, he discovered that racial segregation at home hurt the causes of missions and democracy abroad. Using this Cold War logic, Jones in turn provoked American evangelicals to consider more fully questions of racial inequality.
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Journal of American Studies , Volume 51 , Special Issue 4: Exploring the Global History of American Evangelicalism , November 2017 , pp. 1117 - 1138
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875816001420[Opens in a new window]
CopyrightCopyright © Cambridge University Press and British Association for American Studies 2017

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References

1


For “cantankerous conservatism” see Jones, E. Stanley, A Song of Ascents: A Spiritual Autobiography (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1958), 67 Google Scholar. On integration at Asbury see Thacker, Joseph A., Asbury College: Vision and Miracle (Nappanee, IN: Evangel Press, 1990), 202–3Google Scholar.

2


E. Stanley Jones, “Integration,” Chapel address at Asbury College, 16 Oct. 1958; Myrdal, Gunnar, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944)Google Scholar.

3


For “breath-taking” see Jones circular letter, 28 Jan. 1959, Box 10, Folder 9, E. Stanley Jones Papers, ARC 2000-007, Asbury Theological Seminary Special Collections.

4


On the Asbury students’ visit to Sat Tal Ashram see Graham, Stephen A., Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Mission: The Life and Work of E. Stanley Jones (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005), 212–13Google Scholar. On “India's curse” see “India's Conscience Awakened over Untouchables,” The Journal, 8 March 1934. On the “American caste system” see “Stanley Jones Startles South,” Christian Century, 50, 15 (12 April 1933), 510 Google Scholar. Clippings of both articles are in Box 40, Folder 2, ATSSC.

5


For examples of “soul-winning” see Jones, E. Stanley, Christ of the Indian Road (New York: Abingdon Press, 1925), 84, 105Google Scholar.

6


For “Eastern travellers” see ibid., 6. For “Indian setting” see ibid., 26. For “international meddlers” see ibid., 42. For “disentangle Christ” see Jones, E. Stanley, Christ of the Mount: A Working Philosophy of Life (New York: Abingdon Press, 1931), 11 Google Scholar. For “total setting of the world” see Jones, E. Stanley, Christ of the American Road (Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1944), 9 Google Scholar.

7


On the strength of communism in India see Horne, Gerald, The End of Empires: African Americans and India (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008), 189 Google Scholar. On Jones's anticommunist work at the Sat Tal Ashram and in Kerala see Jones circular letters, 18 June 1952 and 26 June 1954, Box 19, Folder 53, ATSSC.

8


For Bowles and “repeatedly zeroed in on Jim Crow” see Horne, 198. For Jones's rattlesnake analogy see E. Stanley Jones, “What Have the Churches to Offer,” no date, Box 21, Folder 10. Also see Jones, “History in the Making in India” (1946), Box 19, Folder 2, ATSSC. For “native land” see NBC radio broadcast, Feb. 17 of an unknown year, Box 33, Folder 21, ATSSC.

9


For India's “curse” see “India's Conscience Awakened over Untouchables,” The Journal, 8 March 1934, Box 40, Folder 2, ATSSC. Barbara Brady, “Just Plain Missionary,” Sunday Digest (David C. Cook), 9 Oct. 1955, Box 44, Folder 7, ATSSC. On the ashram at Travancore see Jones, Christ of the Indian Road, 243–44. On Jones's influence see Immerwahr, Daniel, “Caste or Colony? Indianizing Race in the United States,” Modern Intellectual History, 4, 2 (2007), 275–301, 290–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar. For “more Christian and more Indian” see Yates, Timothy, Christian Mission in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 114 Google Scholar. For Jones's poem “I Took My Lamp” and its background see Jones, Christ of the Indian Road, 164; Taylor, Richard W., “The Legacy of E. Stanley Jones,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 6 (July 1982), 102 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, in “600 Faculty/Staff: E. Stanley Jones Biographical,” Asbury University Archives. For Jones on Gandhi see Jones circular letter, 1 Oct. 1926, Box 10, Folder 6, ATSSC, underlining in original.

10


For “truly Christian and truly Indian” see Jones quoted in Taylor, 102. The description of Sat Tal comes from Dorothy Speer, “The Ashram at Sat Tal,” Woman's Missionary Friend, Nov. 1934, 367–68; “Indian Witness,” 6 June 1963, Box 40, Folder 2, ATSSC.

11


For “Indian genius and life” see Jones circular letter, 3 July 1930, Box 10, Folder 7, ATSSC. On meals at Sat Tal see Jones circular letter, 3 July 1930, Box 10, Folder 7, ATSSC. On clothing at Sat Tal see Taylor, 102; Vivian Weeks Dudley, “Indian Night: A Story of the E. Stanley Jones Ashram,” World Outlook, Feb. 1939, 52–55, 39, Box 44, Folder 3, ATSSC.

12


For “Morning of the Open Heart” see “What Is an Ashram,” Box 17, Folder 4, ATSSC. For ashram inscriptions see “Statements Appearing on the Walls at the Sat-Tal Ashram in India,” no date, Box 17, Folder 4, ATSSC. On work practices see “Beautiful Sat Tal,” no date, Box 17, Folder 4, ATSSC. For “foretaste” see “And What Is an Ashram?”, Box 44, Folder 54, ATSSC.

13


For “great summer” see Jones circular letter, 30 June 1931, Box 10, Folder 7, ATSSC. For “kingdom in miniature” see “What Is an Ashram,” Box 17, Folder 4. For “haven of brotherhood” see “The Ashram,” 1934, Box 17, Folder 4. For other reflections on Sat Tal see Jones circular letter, 3 July 1930, Box 10, Folder 7; Dorothy Speer, “The Ashram at Sat Tal,” Woman's Missionary Friend, Nov. 1934, 367–68, Box 17, Folder 4, ATSSC.

14


For a description of Jones as rooted in the “experiential piety of historic Methodism see Bill Kostlevy's 2001 biographical sketch in “E. Stanley Jones ARC 2000–007 Finding Aid,” 2012, ATSSC. For Jones's exchange with the Texas pastor see Graham, Ordinary Man, 282–83.

15


On Jones not returning to India see “Stanley Jones Barred from Return to India,” 25 April 1945, Box 40, Folder 2. E. Stanley Jones, “Why I Do Not Return to India at Present,” Box 4, Folder 1. For “caste is doomed” see Jones, “After India's Independence – What?”, Box 18, Folder 3, ATSSC. For other Protestant condemnations of “caste” see Gallagher, Buell, Color and Conscience: The Irrepressible Conflict (New York: Harper & Bros, 1946)Google Scholar; Du Bois, W. E. B., Color and Democracy: Colonies and Peace (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1945), 137 Google Scholar. On the varied use of “caste” by Indian and American activists see Immerwahr, 276, 283–85.

16


Manis, Andrew, Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2004), 139–40Google Scholar; Horne, End of Empires, 158, 163–65; White, Walter, A Rising Wind (Garden City, NJ: Doubleday, 1945)Google Scholar.

17


For “false America” see Jones, Christ of the American Road, 75–79, 95–98. Also see E. Stanley Jones, “India's Caste System and Ours,” Christian Century, 20 Aug. 1947, 995–96, Box 19, Folder 18; “Stanley Jones Startles South,” Christian Century, 12 April 1933, Box 47, Folder 15, ATSSC.

18


For Jones's letter from Sat Tal see “An Appeal to the People of Alabama” (n.d.), Box 24, Folder 2. For “embarrassing our witness” see Jones, Christ of the Indian Road, 132–34. For “hesitant people” see “E. Stanley Jones Issues Appeal,” Box 40, Folder 8. On segregation as a national issue see Jones, Christ of the American Road, 179.

19


On Jones's efforts in Macon – and the firestorm that Jones's presence sparked – see Manis, 137–38. For more on Jones's interracial revivals see W. G. Cram, “Stanley Jones in the South,” World Outlook, June 1933, 4–6, Box 44, Folder 35; Jones, Christ of the American Road, 172; J. Maurice Trimmer, “Stanley Jones Discusses Race and Imperialism,” Box 40, Folder 4. For memories of Jones's interracial revivals see William Chafe interview of Mary Taft Smith, 11 July 1973, University of North Carolina–Greensboro Archives.

20


“Suggestions for ‘Little Ashrams’,” Box 14, Folder 15; E. Stanley Jones, “How to Set Up and Run a Little Ashram,” Box 14, Folder 15; “The United American Christian Ashrams – 1958,” Box 47, Folder 20, ATSSC. On the Green Lake ashram see Howard Whitman, “One Week with God,” Collier's, Sept. 1951, 24–25, 40, 24, copy in Box 44, Folder 18; Barbara Brady, “Just Plain Missionary,” Sunday Digest, 9 Oct. 1955, Box 44, Folder 7, ATSSC; William E. Berg, “My Spiritual Journey with Brother Stanley,” in “600 Faculty/Staff: E. Stanley Jones Biographical,” AU Archives.

21


On the North Carolina ashram see Mow, Anna B., “I Remember!” Transformation, 18, 4 (Winter 1983), 13 Google Scholar. On Dellinger see Kosek, Joseph Kip, Acts of Conscience: Christian Nonviolence and Modern American Democracy (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), 186 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. On the transdenominational nature of the ashrams (and of Jones himself) see “Ashram Report,” Sept. 1961, Box 16, Folder 23, ATSSC. For numbers on ashrams in 1963 see Box 47, Folder 22, ATSSC. On the popularity and growth of Jones's ashrams see Preston King Sheldon, “Retreats Slated by Church Group: 25 Christian Leaders to Join with Methodist Missionary in Conducting Assemblies,” New York Times, 19 June 1954, 16.

22


For MOWM see Calling! Calling! All! Negroes! We Are Americans Too! Conference (Chicago: March on Washington Movement, 1943)Google Scholar, copy available in the Historical Society Library Pamphlet Collection, University of Wisconsin; Kapur, Sudarshan, Raising Up a Prophet: The African-American Encounter with Gandhi (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 114–15Google Scholar; Graham, 283; Tyson, Timothy B., Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999), 28 Google Scholar; Chicago Daily Tribune, 5 July 1943; Philadelphia Tribune, 10 July 1943; “Puts Race Riot Blame on New Deal Policies,” Chicago Daily Tribune, 5 July 1943, 22. Also see Jones, E. Stanley, “Is Civil Disobedience the Answer to Jim Crow?”, Non-violent Action Newsbulletin, 2 (1943), 21 Google Scholar.

23


On Jones and CORE see James Farmer to John F. Kennedy, 26 April 1961, in Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project. For an example of Jones's Congressional and presidential lobbying efforts see Jones to Eisenhower, 26 Dec. 1956, Box 5, Folder 5, ATSSC. For an example of Jones's call for interracial committees and federal intervention see E. Stanley Jones, “Christianity and Race,” World Outlook, April 1943, 37–39, Box 40, Folder 8, ATSSC.

24


On reenergizing missions in the mainline see E. Stanley Jones, “The Missionary Crisis,” Christian Century, 1 Nov. 1933, 1358–59; Strong, Douglas M., They Walked in the Spirit: Personal Faith and Social Action in America (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 77–90 Google Scholar. For “way of salvation” see Florence E. Clippinger to E. Stanley Jones, 23 Jan. 1944, Box 35, Folder 38, ATSSC. For examples of Jones describing himself as evangelical see Jones circular letter, 6 July 1945, Box 10, Folder 8, ATSSC; E. Stanley Jones, to “My Dear Friend,” 30 Aug. 1943, Box 3, Folder 7, ATSSC; E. Stanley Jones Radio Talks, published by Radio Devotional League, and “The Christ of the Andean Road” pamphlet, Asbury College and Seminary, “600 Faculty/Staff: E. Stanley Jones Literary Productions,” AU Archives. For Jones and Graham see undated, unattributed biographical sketch of Jones, Box 1, Folder 3; Box 5, Folders 5 and 6, ATSSC. For Vereide see Abraham Vereide to Jones, 7 Dec. 1964, Box 7, Folder 2, ATSSC. On Jones's relationship with Kamaleson see the back cover of Jones, E. Stanley, Gandhi: Portrayal of a Friend (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1983)Google Scholar. “Mark Hatfield Taps into the Real Power on Capitol Hill,” Christianity Today, 26 (22 Oct. 1982)Google Scholar.

25


For “personal piety and social gospel activism” see Kostlevy, “E. Stanley Jones.” For correspondence with Wesleyan institutions see Box 8, Folder 2; Box 14, Folder 3; Box 6, Folder 2; Box 7; and Box 3; Box 47, Folder 21, ATSSC. On Jones's commencement addresses see Thacker, Asbury College, 49; Box 40, Folder 9, ATSSC. For correspondence between Jones and Asbury Seminary see Will Beauchamp to Jones, 9 Sept. 1962, Box 6, Folder 5; Boxes 6–8, ATSSC.

26


On Jones and the liberal speaking circuit see Miller, Keith D., Voice of Deliverance: The Language of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Its Sources (New York: The Free Press, 1992), 68, 95Google Scholar. For “crystalline sincerity” see “Noted Missionary in City Tomorrow,” Box 13, Folder 1, ATSSC.

27


For “Christ of the Asbury Road” see “Faculty/Staff: Dr. E. Stanley Jones Day, 8 May 1942,” in “600 Faculty/Staff: E. Stanley Jones Literary Productions,” AU Archives, underlining in original. For “treatment of the Negro” see Jones to Jesse Arnup, 20 Jan. 1944, Box 4, Folder 1, ATSSC.

28


On Jones's reputation as a civil rights leader see Fellowship of Reconciliation Executive Secretary Richard L. Deats, “E. Stanley Jones: A Tribute,” Fellowship, Feb. 1973, Box 1, Folder 26, ATSSC. On Jones's accomplishments see the Encyclopedia of Christian Literature, Volume II (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010), 396 Google Scholar; “Missions: Keeping Up with E. Stanley Jones,” Time, 24 Jan. 1964, 34; “E. Stanley Jones’ Name Cited for 1962 Peace Award,” New York Times, 26 Jan. 1962, 16; “E. Stanley Jones, Wrote on Religion: Methodist Missionary for 60 Years Dies at 89,” New York Times, 26 Jan. 1973, 38.

29


On Jones's 1958 reception at Asbury see Box 5, Folder 7, ATSSC. On Jones's visit to Africa see 25 Jan. 1958, circular letter, quoted in Graham, 368–69. For “real blow” see Jones to Z. T. Johnson, 20 Feb. 1959, in “600 Faculty/Staff: E. Stanley Jones Correspondence,” AU Archives.

30


“Results of Integration Questionnaire Tabulated,” Asbury Alumnus, Dec. 1958, 3; Zachary Taylor Johnson, “The Story of Asbury College”; Appendix in Vol. 3, AU Archives; 600 “Faculty/Staff: E. Stanley Jones Correspondence”; Thacker, 258–54; 202–3. On no more restrictions see Folder 7: “Asbury College Trustees Approve Full Integration,” 3 Oct. 1962, Box 100-2, AU Archives.

31


On the international dimensions of the civil rights movement see Horne, End of Empires; Borstelmann, Tim, The Cold War and the Color Line: American Race Relations in the Global Arena (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001)Google Scholar; Dudziak, Mary, Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000)Google Scholar. On broader evangelicals see Miller, Steven, Billy Graham and the Rise of the Republican South (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011), 23–24 Google Scholar; Willis, Alan Scot, All According to God's Plan: Southern Baptist Missions and Race, 1945–1970 (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2005)Google Scholar; Newman, Mark, Getting Right with God: Southern Baptists and Desegregation, 1945–1995 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001)Google Scholar.

32


For “race-blind and colorblind” see http://globalchristiancenter.com/1126-english/devotionals/daily-devotions/60-seconds/33700-60-seconds-the-idols-of-yesterday. On the limits of color-blindness and the persistent individualism of postwar evangelicals see Emerson, Michael and Smith, Christian, Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000)Google Scholar; DuPont, Carolyn, Mississippi Praying: Southern White Evangelicals and the Civil Rights Movement, 1945–1975 (New York: New York University Press, 2013)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Wadsworth, Nancy, Ambivalent Miracles: Evangelicals and the Politics of Racial Healing (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2014)Google Scholar. For “potentially inequality-reducing national policies” see Emerson, Michael, People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008), 162 Google Scholar.

33


Jenkins, Philip, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Hanciles, Jehu, Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration, and the Transformation of the West (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008)Google Scholar.
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2021/07/18

New Perspective on Paul - Wikipedia

New Perspective on Paul - Wikipedia

New Perspective on Paul

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"New Perspective" redirects here. For the song by Panic! at the Disco, see New Perspective (song).
Valentin de Boulogne: Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, 1618-1620 circa (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas).

The "New Perspective on Paul" is a movement within the field of biblical studies concerned with the understanding of the writings of the Apostle Paul. The "new perspective" was started with E. P. Sanders' 1977 work Paul and Palestinian Judaism.[1][2]

Paul advocates justification through faith in Jesus Christ over justification through works of the Law. Under influence of the Lutheran and Reformed perspective, known as sola fide, this was traditionally understood as Paul arguing that Christians' good works would not factor into their salvation – only their faith would count. In this perspective, first-century Palestinian Judaism was dismissed as sterile and legalistic.[citation needed]

According to Sanders, Paul does not address good works in general, but instead questions only observances such as circumcision, dietary laws, and Sabbath laws, which were the "boundary markers"[3] that set the Jews apart from the other nations. According to Sanders, first-century Palestinian Judaism was not a "legalistic community," nor was it oriented to "salvation by works." Being God's chosen people, they were under his covenant. Contrary to what the Protestants thought, keeping the Law was not a way of entering the covenant, but of staying within the covenant.[3]

Development[edit source]

Since the Protestant Reformation (c. 1517), studies of Paul's writings have been heavily influenced by Lutheran and Reformed views that are said to ascribe the negative attributes that they associated with sixteenth-century Roman Catholicism to Second Temple Judaism.[citation needed] These Lutheran and Reformed views on Paul's writings are called “the old perspective” by adherents of the "new perspective on Paul." The "new perspective" is an attempt to lift Paul's letters out of the Lutheran-Reformed framework and interpret them based on what is said to be an understanding of first-century Judaism, taken on its own terms.

In 1963 the Lutheran theologian Krister Stendahl, who is considered by modern scholarship to have been as influential as Sanders in the development of the “new perspective on Paul”,[4]:63 published a paper arguing that the typical Lutheran view of the Apostle Paul's theology did not fit with statements in Paul's writings, and in fact was based more on mistaken assumptions about Paul's beliefs than careful interpretation of his writings.[5] Stendahl warned against imposing modern Western ideas on the Bible, and especially on the works of Paul.[6] In 1977 E. P. Sanders published Paul and Palestinian Judaism.[7] In this work he studies Jewish literature and Paul's writings, arguing that the traditional Lutheran understanding of the theology of Judaism and Paul was fundamentally incorrect.

Sanders continued to publish books and articles in this field, and was soon joined by the scholar James D. G. Dunn. Dunn reports that Anglican theologian N.T. Wright was the first to use the term “new perspective on Paul” in his 1978 Tyndale Lecture.[8] The term became more widely known after being used by Dunn as the title of his 1982 Manson Memorial Lecture where he summarized and affirmed the movement.[9][10] The work of these writers inspired a large number of scholars to study, discuss, and debate the relevant issues. Many books and articles dealing with the issues raised have since been published. N.T. Wright has written a large number of works aimed at popularising the “new perspective” outside of academia.[11]

The “new-perspective” movement is closely connected with a surge of recent scholarly interest in studying the Bible in the context of other ancient texts, and the use of social-scientific methods to understand ancient culture. Scholars affiliated with The Context Group[12][13][14] have called for various reinterpretations of biblical texts based on studies of the ancient world.

Main ideas[edit source]

It is often noted that the singular title "the new perspective" gives an unjustified impression of unity.[citation needed] It is a field of study in which many scholars[who?] are actively pursuing research and continuously revising their own theories in light of new evidence, and who do not necessarily agree with each other on any given issue. It has been suggested by many that a plural title of "new perspectives" may therefore be more accurate.[citation needed] In 2003, N. T. Wright, distancing himself from both Sanders and Dunn, commented that "there are probably almost as many 'new' perspective positions as there are writers espousing it – and I disagree with most of them".[15] There are certain trends and commonalities within the movement, but what is held in common is the belief that the historic Lutheran and Reformed perspectives of Paul the Apostle and Judaism are fundamentally incorrect. The following are some of the issues being widely discussed.

Works of the Law[edit source]

Paul's letters contain a substantial amount of criticism regarding the "works of the Law".[16][17] The radical difference in these two interpretations of what Paul meant by "works of the Law" is the most consistent distinguishing feature between the two perspectives. The historic Lutheran and Reformed perspectives interpret this phrase as referring to human effort to do good works in order to meet God's standards (Works Righteousness).[citation needed] In this view, Paul is arguing against the idea that humans can merit salvation from God by their good works alone (note that the "new" perspective agrees that we cannot merit salvation; the issue is what exactly Paul is addressing).

By contrast, new-perspective scholars see Paul as talking about "badges of covenant membership" or criticizing Gentile believers who had begun to rely on the Torah to reckon Jewish kinship.[18] It is argued that in Paul's time, Israelites were being faced with a choice of whether to continue to follow their ancestral customs, the Torah, or to follow the Roman Empire's trend to adopt Greek customs (Hellenization, see also Antinomianism, Hellenistic Judaism, and Circumcision controversy in early Christianity). The new-perspective view is that Paul's writings discuss the comparative merits of following ancient Israelite or ancient Greek customs. Paul is interpreted as being critical of a common Jewish view that following traditional Israelite customs makes a person better off before God, pointing out that Abraham was righteous before the Torah was given. Paul identifies customs he is concerned about as circumcision, dietary laws, and observance of special days.[16][17][19]

Human effort and good works[edit source]

Due to their interpretation of the phrase "works of the law," theologians of the historic Lutheran and Reformed perspectives see Paul's rhetoric as being against human effort to earn righteousness. This is often cited by Lutheran and Reformed theologians as a central feature of the Christian religion, and the concepts of grace alone and faith alone are of great importance within the creeds of these denominations.[citation needed]

"New-perspective" interpretations of Paul tend to result in Paul having nothing negative to say about the idea of human effort or good works, and saying many positive things about both. New-perspective scholars point to the many statements in Paul's writings that specify the criteria of final judgment as being the works of the individual.

Final Judgment According to Works... was quite clear for Paul (as indeed for Jesus). Paul, in company with mainstream second-Temple Judaism, affirms that God’s final judgment will be in accordance with the entirety of a life led – in accordance, in other words, with works.

— N. T. Wright[20]

Wright however does not hold the view that good works contribute to one's salvation but rather that the final judgment is something we can look forward to as a future vindication of God's present declaration of our righteousness. In other words, our works are a result of our salvation and the future judgment will show that.[21] Others tend to place a higher value on the importance of good works than the historic Lutheran and Reformed perspectives do, taking the view that they causally contribute to the salvation of the individual.[citation needed]

Advocates of the historic Lutheran and Reformed perspectives often see this as being "salvation by works", and as a bad thing, contradicting fundamental tenets of Christianity. New-perspective scholars often respond that their views are not so different. For in the perspective of Luther and Calvin, God graciously empowers the individual to the faith which leads to salvation and also to good works, while in the "new" perspective God graciously empowers individuals to the faith (demonstrated in good works), which leads to salvation.[citation needed]

See also Synergism in theosis in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Orthopraxy in Christianity.

Pistis Christou – 'faith in', or 'faithfulness of'[edit source]

An ongoing debate related to the "new" perspective has been over Paul's use of the Greek word pistis (πίστις, meaning "trust", "belief", "faith", or "faithfulness"). Writers with a more historic Lutheran and Reformed perspective have typically interpreted this word as meaning a belief in God and Christ, and trust in Christ for salvation with faith that he will save you.[citation needed] This interpretation is based on several passages from the Bible, notably the epistle to the Ephesians: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:9). E. P. Sanders has conceded that Ephesians 2:9 teaches the traditional perspective.[22]

By contrast, many recent studies of the Greek word pistis have concluded that its primary and most common meaning was faithfulness, meaning firm commitment in an interpersonal relationship.[23][24][25][26] As such, the word could be almost synonymous with "obedience" when the people in the relationship held different status levels (e.g. a slave being faithful to his master). Far from being equivalent to "lack of human effort", the word seems to imply and require human effort. The interpretation of Paul's writings that we need "faithfully" to obey God's commands is quite different from one which sees him saying that we need to have "faith" that he will do everything for us. This is also argued to explain why James was adamant that "faith without works is dead" and that "a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (Js. 2:24), while also saying that merely to believe places one on the same level as the demons (see James 2). The "new" perspective argues that James was concerned with those who were trying to reduce faith to an intellectual subscription without any intent to follow God or Jesus, and that Paul always intended "faith" to mean a full submission to God.

Another related issue is the pistis Christou ("faith of Christ") debate. Paul several times uses this phrase at key points in his writings and it is linguistically ambiguous as to whether it refers to our faith in Christ ("objective genitive"), or Christ's own faithfulness to God ("subjective genitive"), or even our faith/faithfulness to God like that which Christ had ("adjectival genitive"). There is wide disagreement within the academic community over which of these is the best rendering.[27] The NET Bible translation became the first mainstream English Bible translation to use a subjective genitive translation ("the faithfulness of Jesus Christ") of this phrase.[28]

Grace, or favor[edit source]

Writers with a more historic Lutheran and Reformed perspective have generally translated the Greek word charis as "grace" and understood it to refer to the idea that there is a lack of human effort in salvation because God is the controlling factor. However those who study ancient Greek culture have pointed out that "favor" is a better translation, as the word refers normally to "doing a favor". In ancient societies there was the expectation that such favors be repaid, and this semi-formal system of favors acted like loans.[29] Gift giving corresponded with the expectation of reciprocity.[30] Therefore, it is argued that when Paul speaks of how God did us a "favor" by sending Jesus, he is saying that God took the initiative, but is not implying a lack of human effort in salvation, and is in fact implying that Christians have an obligation to repay the favor God has done for them. Some argue that this view then undermines the initial "favor"—of sending Jesus—by saying that, despite his life, death and resurrection, Christians still have, as before, to earn their way to heaven. However, others note this is the horns of a false dilemma (all grace versus all works). Many new-perspective proponents that see "charis" as "favor" do not teach that Christians earn their way to heaven outside of the death of Christ. Forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ is still necessary to salvation. But, that forgiveness demands effort on the part of the individual (cf. Paul in Phil. 3:12–16).[31]

The Atonement[edit source]

See also: Atonement in Christianity

To writers of the historic Lutheran and Reformed perspectives the penal substitution atonement theory and the belief in the "finished work" of Christ have been central. New-perspective writers have regularly questioned whether this view is really of such central importance in Paul's writings. Generally new-perspective writers have argued that other theories of the atonement are more central to Paul's thinking, but there has been minimal agreement among them as to what Paul's real view of the atonement might be.

The following is a broad sample of different views advocated by various scholars:

  • E. P. Sanders argued that Paul's central idea was that we mystically spiritually participate in the risen Christ and that all Paul's judicial language was subordinate to the participatory language.[7]
  • N. T. Wright has argued that Paul sees Israel as representative of humanity and taking onto itself the sinfulness of humanity through history. Jesus, in turn, as Messiah is representative of Israel and so focuses the sins of Israel on himself on the cross. Wright's view is thus a "historicized" form of Penal Substitution.[32]
  • Chris VanLandingham has argued that Paul sees Christ as having defeated the Devil and as teaching humans how God wants them to live and setting them an example.[33]
  • David Brondos has argued that Paul sees Jesus as just a part in a wider narrative in which the Church is working to transform lives of individuals and the world, and that Paul's participatory language should be understood in an ethical sense (humans living Christ-like lives) rather than mystically as Sanders thought.[34]
  • Pilch and Malina take the view that Paul holds to the Satisfaction theory of atonement.[35]
  • Stephen Finlan holds that Paul uses numerous different metaphors to describe the atonement; “justified by his blood” (Rom 5:9) means that a cultic substance has a judicial effect. Paul also taught the transformation of believers into the image of God through Christ (Theosis).[36]

Criticism[edit source]

The "new" perspective has been an extremely controversial subject and has drawn strong arguments and recriminations from both sides of the debate.[37]

In 2003 Steve Chalke, after being influenced by new-perspective writers, published a book targeted at a popular audience which made comments highly critical of the penal substitution theory of the atonement.[38] This caused an extensive and ongoing controversy among Evangelicals in Britain, with a strong backlash from laypeople and advocates of the Lutheran and Reformed traditions.[39] Chalke's views drew much support as well as criticism, with numerous articles, blogs and books being written on both sides of the debate.

The continuing controversy led to the Evangelical Alliance organising a symposium in July 2005 to discuss the issue. A record of this symposium includes a chapter by Chalke and his views are also contained in "the atonement debate."[40][41][42] A group of three conservative evangelical theologians responded to Chalke with their book, Pierced for our Transgressions (Crossway Publishing, 2007), which strongly criticised Chalke's position as inconsistent with some evangelical confessions of faith.[43][44] However, N. T. Wright endorsed Chalke and spoke out against the latter book, commenting, for instance, that ‘despite the ringing endorsements of famous men, it [Pierced For Our Transgressions] is deeply, profoundly, and disturbingly unbiblical.’[45]

Both sides of the debate have attempted to claim the higher, and more accurate, view of scripture. New-perspective advocates claim that supporters of the historic Lutheran and Reformed perspective are too committed to historic Protestant tradition, and therefore fail to take a "natural" reading of the Bible; while those of the Lutheran and Reformed perspectives claim that new-perspective advocates are too intrigued by certain interpretations of context and history, which then lead to a biased hermeneutical approach to the text.[citation needed]

The "new" perspective has been heavily criticized by conservative scholars in the Reformed tradition, arguing that it undermines the classical, individualistic, Augustinian interpretation of election and does not faithfully reflect the teachings of the Scriptures. It has been the subject of fierce debate among Evangelicals in recent years, mainly due to N. T. Wright's increasing popularity in evangelical circles. Its most outspoken critics include Calvinists John Piper,[46] Sinclair Ferguson,[47][48] C. W. Powell,[49] Mark A. Seifrid, D. A. Carson,[50] Tom Holland,[51] Ligon Duncan.[52]

Barry D. Smith has claimed that the New Perspective's challenge to the traditional view of Jewish faith practice as legalistic is misplaced.[53] Biblical passages which do describe the Jewish people as struggling with legalism and the concept of earning salvation by good works include Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, and more importantly, Paul's own words in passages like Romans 4:4-5: "to the one who works his wages are not a gift but what is owed, but to the one who does not work but trusts in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness." Paul also alludes to Deuteronomy 9:4, in which God warned the Jewish people not to think that he chose them because they were better than other people and deserved it, when he contrasts the righteousness of the law and the righteousness of faith in Romans 10:5-8.

In 2015 John M.G. Barclay published Paul and the Gift which re-frames Paul's theology of grace and, in doing so, provides a nuanced critique of the New Perspective.[54] The book has been praised for keeping grace at the center of Paul's theology (pace the New Perspective) while illuminating how grace, understood in light of ancient theories of gift, demands reciprocity and thus the formation of new communities based not on ethnicity but the unqualified Christ-gift (much like the New Perspective).[55][56]

Catholic and Orthodox reactions[edit source]

The "new" perspective has, by and large, been an internal debate among Protestant scholars. Many Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox writers have responded favorably to new-perspective ideas,[57] seeing a greater commonality with certain strands of their own traditions. For some within the Catholic Church, the "new" perspective is seen as a step toward the progressive reality of human salvation in Christ.[clarification needed] But for those who follow the exegesis of doctors and saints like Clement, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas, the so-called "new perspective" is not welcomed as an accurate reading of the pauline texts. Roman Catholic scholar Fr. Joseph Fitzmyer has written a commentary on Romans that is decidedly Augustinian, contradicting the "new perspective" in many ways.

The increased importance new-perspective writers have given to good works in salvation has created strong common ground with many within the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Historic Protestantism has never denied that there is a place for good and faithful works, but has always excluded them from justification, which Protestants argue is through faith alone, and to which good deeds do not contribute, whether with or without God's grace.[58][59] This has, since the Reformation, been a line of distinction between Protestantism (both Reformed[60] and Lutheran[61]) and other Christian communions.

See also[edit source]

References[edit source]

  1. ^ Sanders, E. P. (1977). Paul and Palestinian Judaism. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0-8006-1899-5.
  2. ^ Dunn, James D. G. (1990). Jesus, Paul, and the Law: Studies in Mark and Galatians. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 1–7. ISBN 0-664-25095-5.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b Dunn, James D. G. (2005). The New Perspective on Paul. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-8028-4562-7.
  4. ^ Seifrid, Mark A. (1992). "The Place of Justification by Faith in Paul's Thought: Basic Lines of Interpretation". Justification by Faith: The Origin and Development of a Central Pauline Theme. Novum Testamentum. 68. Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 1–77. doi:10.1163/9789004267015_002. ISBN 90-04-09521-7. ISSN 0167-9732.
  5. ^ Stendahl, Krister (1963). "The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West". Harvard Theological Review. Cambridge University Press. 56 (3): 199–215. doi:10.1017/S0017816000024779. JSTOR 1508631.
  6. ^ Stendahl, Krister (1963). "The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West". Harvard Theological Review. 56.
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b Sanders, EP (1977), Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion, Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
  8. ^ N. T. Wright, Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision, p. 11–2, at Google Books. SPCK, 2009. ISBN 978-0-281-06090-0
  9. ^ Richard N. Longenecker, Introducing Romans: Critical Issues in Paul's Most Famous Letter, p. 327, at Google Books. Eerdmans, 2011. ISBN 978-0-80286619-6
  10. ^ Dunn, James D. G. (1983). "The New Perspective on Paul". Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester. 65 (2): 95–122. doi:10.7227/BJRL.65.2.6.
  11. ^ For example, Wright, NT (1997), What Saint Paul Really Said, Eerdmans[page needed]
  12. ^ Esler, Philip F. Conflict and Identity in Romans: The Social Setting of Paul's Letter. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.
  13. ^ Malina, Bruce J. & Neyrey, Jerome H., Portraits of Paul: An Archaeology of Ancient Personality, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1996.
  14. ^ Neyrey, Jerome H., Paul, in Other Words: A Cultural Reading of His Letters. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990.
  15. ^ N. T. Wright, New Perspectives.
  16. ^ Jump up to:a b Dunn, James D. G. (Autumn 1993). Reinhartz, Adele(ed.). "Echoes of Intra-Jewish Polemic in Paul's Letter to the Galatians". Journal of Biblical Literature. Society of Biblical Literature. 112 (3): 459–477. doi:10.2307/3267745. ISSN 0021-9231. JSTOR 3267745.
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b Thiessen, Matthew (September 2014). Breytenbach, Cilliers; Thom, Johan (eds.). "Paul's Argument against Gentile Circumcision in Romans 2:17-29". Novum Testamentum. Leiden: Brill Publishers. 56 (4): 373–391. doi:10.1163/15685365-12341488. eISSN 1568-5365. ISSN 0048-1009. JSTOR 24735868.
  18. ^ For "badges of covenant membership", see N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: Romans part one (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2004), 35–41. 5. For reliance on the Torah to reckon Jewish kinship, see Eisenbaum, Pamela (Winter 2004). "A Remedy for Having Been Born of Woman: Jesus, Gentiles, and Genealogy in Romans" (PDF). Journal of Biblical Literature. The Society of Biblical Literature. 123 (4): 671–702. doi:10.2307/3268465. JSTOR 3268465. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
  19. ^ Dunn, James D. 'The New Perspective on Paul', 104, 2005.
  20. ^ Wright, N. T (August 2003), New Perspectives on Paul, 10th Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference.
  21. ^ Wright, NT, New perspective (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-29, retrieved 2011-08-25.
  22. ^ Waters, Guy Prentiss, Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul, p. 167, Sanders has conceded to me that Ephesians 2:9 teaches the traditional view.
  23. ^ Douglas A. Campbell, "The Quest For Paul’s Gospel: A Suggested Strategy", 2005, pp. 178–207
  24. ^ Hay, D. M. (1989). "Pistis as "Ground for Faith" in Hellenized Judaism and Paul". Journal of Biblical Literature. 108 (3): 461–476. doi:10.2307/3267114. JSTOR 3267114.
  25. ^ Howard, G. (1974). "The 'Faith of Christ'". The Expository Times. 85 (7): 212–5. doi:10.1177/001452467408500710.
  26. ^ Pilch and Malina, "Handbook of Biblical Social Values", 1998, pg 72–75
  27. ^ [improper synthesis?]See, e.g.: for subjective genitive:
    [improper synthesis?]For objective genitive:
    • Hultgren, A. J. (1980). "The Pistis Christou Formulation in Paul". Novum Testamentum. 22 (3): 248–63. doi:10.1163/156853680x00143. JSTOR 1560601.
    • Dunn, J. D. G. (1991). "Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ". Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers: 730–44.
  28. ^ E.g., Romans 3:21–22: 'But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. ...' (emphasis added. Also see Gal. 2:20).[non-primary source needed]
  29. ^ David A.deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture, 2000, pg 117
  30. ^ B. J. Oropeza, "The Expectation of Grace," Bulletin for Biblical Research 24.2 (2014) 207-226
  31. ^ Wright, N. T. (1995). "Romans and the Theology of Paul" (PDF). Pauline Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress. 3(3): 30–67.
  32. ^ N. T. Wright, "Jesus and the Victory of God"[page needed]
  33. ^ Chris VanLandingham, "Judgment and Justification in Early Judaism and the Apostle Paul", Hendrickson 2006[page needed]
  34. ^ David Brondos, "Paul on the Cross: Reconstructing the Apostle's Story of Redemption", Fortress Press, 2006[page needed]
  35. ^ Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch, "Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul" Augsburg Fortress 2006[page needed]
  36. ^ Stephen Finlan, Problems with Atonement: The Origins of, and Controversy about, the Atonement Doctrine, Liturgical Press 2005, pp. 58–59, 120–23.
  37. ^ Gathercole, Simon. "What Did Paul Really Mean?". Christianity Today.
  38. ^ Chalke, Steve; Mann, Alan (2003), The Lost Message of Jesus, Zondervan.[page needed]
  39. ^ Ashworth, Pat. "Atonement row gets personal as Evangelical partnership splits", 'Church Times', 27 April 2007.
  40. ^ Derek Tidball, David Hilborn, Justin Thacker. the atonement debate. p. 34 to 45.
  41. ^ "Joint Evangelical Alliance – London School Of Theology Atonement Symposium". Evangelical Alliance. 2005-07-08. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  42. ^ Stephen, Jonathan (February 2005). "Chalkegate". Evangelical Times. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  43. ^ Jeffery, Steve; Mike Ovey; Andrew Sach (2007). Pierced for our Transgressions – Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution. Inter-Varsity Press. ISBN 1-84474-178-8.
  44. ^ "Pierced for our Transgressions – Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution". Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  45. ^ Wright, NT (April 2007). "The Cross and the Caricatures – a response to Robert Jenson, Jeffrey John, and a new volume entitled Pierced for Our Transgressions". Fulcrum. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  46. ^ John Piper, Interview with Piper on Wright, October 11, 2007.
  47. ^ Sinclair Ferguson, What Does Justification Have to do with the Gospel?
  48. ^ Ligon Duncan and Sinclair Ferguson (video resource) Is Wright Teaching Another Gospel?
  49. ^ C. W. Powell, Was There Legalism in First Century Judaism
  50. ^ D. A. Carson Don Carson on the New Perspective, MP3 file of lecture
  51. ^ Tom Holland Contours of Pauline Theology
  52. ^ J. Ligon Duncan, The Attractions of the New Perspective(s) on Paul.
  53. ^ Barry D. Smith, 'The Tension Between God as Righteous Judge and as Merciful in Early Judaism’, What Must I Do to Be Saved? Paul Parts Company with His Jewish Heritage.
  54. ^ Barclay, John M. G. "Paul and the Gift". Eerdmans. Archived from the original on 2016-08-29. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  55. ^ "Paul and the Gift: Prologue". What You Think Matters. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  56. ^ "John Barclay's Paul and the Gift and the New Perspective on Paul". Themelios. The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  57. ^ Despotis, A. 2014, Die „New Perspective on Paul“ und die griechisch-orthodoxe Paulusinterpretation, [VIOTh 11], St. Ottilien: EOS-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8306-7705-5
  58. ^ "Augsburg Confession". Book of Concord. Article 20. Retrieved 8 September 2012. …Furthermore, it is taught on our part that it is necessary to do good works, not that we should trust to merit grace by them, but because it is the will of God. It is only by faith that forgiveness of sins is apprehended, and that, for nothing. And because through faith the Holy Ghost is received, hearts are renewed and endowed with new affections, so as to be able to bring forth good works. For Ambrose says: Faith is the mother of a good will and right doing. For man's powers without the Holy Ghost are full of ungodly affections, and are too weak to do works which are good in God's sight. Besides, they are in the power of the devil who impels men to divers sins, to ungodly opinions, to open crimes. This we may see in the philosophers, who, although they endeavored to live an honest life could not succeed, but were defiled with many open crimes. Such is the feebleness of man when he is without faith and without the Holy Ghost, and governs himself only by human strength. Hence it may be readily seen that this doctrine is not to be charged with prohibiting good works, but rather the more to be commended, because it shows how we are enabled to do good works.
  59. ^ Calvin, John. "Commentary on James". Commentary on the Catholic Epistles. James 2:18–19. Retrieved 8 September2012. …This only he means, that faith, without the evidence of good works, is vainly pretended, because fruit ever comes from the living root of a good tree.
  60. ^ "Canons of Dort". First head: Paragraph 3. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012. Rejections of errors… [of those w]ho teach: That the good pleasure and purpose of God, of which Scripture makes mention in the doctrine of election, does not consist in this, that God chose certain persons rather than others, but in this, that He chose out of all possible conditions (among which are also the works of the law), or out of the whole order of things, that act of faith which from its very nature is undeserving, as well as it incomplete obedience, as a condition of salvation, and that He would graciously consider this in itself as a complete obedience and count it worthy of the reward of eternal life. For by this injurious error the pleasure of God and the merits of Christ are made of none effect, and men are drawn away by useless questions from the truth of gracious justification and from the simplicity of Scripture, and this declaration of the apostle is charged as untrue: "who has saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time (2 Tim 1:9).
  61. ^ "Augsburg Confession". Book of Concord. Article XII. Retrieved 8 September 2012. They also are rejected who do not teach that remission of sins comes through faith but command us to merit grace through satisfactions of our own.

Notes[edit source]

Further reading[edit source]

External links[edit source]

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