Paul in New Perspective?
A few years back I bought Doug Moo’s Romans commentary. This book fascinated me as I watched him work through Romans. So for a long time, Moo’s work convinced me that the Lutheran perspective on Paul is right. However, over the last year I’ve read several Tom Wright books and I’ve found his arguments to be very compelling. I still lean toward the traditional Lutheran perspective on Paul, but I’m starting to realize how many preconceived ideas that I have when it comes to my study of Romans and Galatians. So where am I at now? Here are some important questions that I’m considering.
“Righteousness of God” in Romans 1:17
Does this refer to God’s own righteousness (His covenant faithfulness) or to a God-given status that is transfer to the believer (Luther)?
“The Faith of Jesus” in Romans 3:22
Does this refer to Jesus’ own faithfulness to God (Wright) or to our faith in Jesus (Moo)?
“Law” in Romans 3:27 and Romans 8:1-4
Does “nomos” always refer to the Torah (Wright) or does it sometimes refer to a principle (Moo)?
“Works of the Torah”
Does this refer to legalism (Moo) or to boundary markers (Dunn)?
November 29, 2006 at 9:04 pm
1. Imputed Righteousness
2. Probably Moo
3. The vast majority of nomos refers to Torah
4. Legalism
November 30, 2006 at 10:10 pm
Thanks for the response. I noticed that you’re working with Paul on your blog as well. What about nomos in Rom. 3:27 and Romans 8:1-4? Is the translation “principle” legitimate as in the NIV?