New Testament

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Browsing New Testament by Author "Song, Jae Young"

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    Paul’s disinterest in the fulfilling of the law - a new reading of Pauline theology
    (Univesity of the Free State, 2015-01-31) Song, Jae Young; Tolmie, Donald Francois
    English: The most important purpose of any investigation of Paul’s theology of the law is to explain why Paul believes that the law cannot give life. An overview of such studies shows that the failure to fulfil (keep) the law has always been the answer given by Pauline scholars, even though there might be a difference of opinion amongst them as to the reason for such a failure. In this regard, even the New Perspective was not really new. If a failure to fulfil the law were the reason for Paul’s problems with the law, it would mean that his interest lies in showing such a failure or the impossibility of fulfilling the law, which would basically constitute an anthropological approach as the problem of the law would then be related to humankind. However, Paul never refers to the impossibility of fulfilling the law perfectly in any of his letters. Instead this study shows that the answer that Paul gave to this question did not focus on humankind but on the essential nature of the law. Paul was interested in revealing the identity of the law in redemptive history, an issue for which human failure to fulfil the law was not important. Accordingly, this study introduces the following two very important Pauline ideas that have not been considered adequately by scholars before, namely the personal nature of the law and the plural nature of the law. The first one implies that fulfilling the law in the sense of being obedient to the law is unavoidable, and failing to do so is impossible. Thus a failure to fulfil the law was not what Paul was interested in. The second one implies that life and death are not determined by human failure in fulfilling the law but by the identity of the particular law that is served. By means of an intertextual reading it is showed that, for Paul, Deut. 30 hints at Gen. 3. In Rom. 7, he presents this redemptive historical framework, hinting at the two texts (Gen. 3 and Deut. 30) in a circle of intertextuality in the following way: For Paul, the two trees of death and life in Eden and the two laws of curse and blessing on Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim overlap. Furthermore the Torah and the word of Christ overlap with the two laws of blessing and curse. The Torah is thus linked to the commandment of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as well as to the law on Mt Ebal, whereas the word of Christ is linked to the lost commandment of the tree of life and to the lost law on Mt. Gerizim. This means that the Torah cannot give life regardless of one’s fulfilling of the law. Once again, it is clear that the fulfilling of the law as such is not what Paul is interested in. Lastly, the study shows that the fulfilling of the law that Paul refers to (Gal. 5:14, 6:2; Rom. 13:10) should not be regarded as his response to the issue of the failure to fulfil the law, either. In this instance, the focus does not fall on humankind, but on the divine side of things. It refers to the relationship between the Torah and (the word or the law of) Christ. The Torah is fulfilled (transformed) to become the law of Christ. Once again it is clear that Paul is not interested in the fulfilling of the law. This study focuses on texts that are generally interpreted by scholars as referring to the impossibility of fulfilling the law. In Part A, the study shows how scholars have interpreted texts in this way by means of a historical overview. The presuppositions and basic ideas in this regard are considered and a new approach is suggested. In Part B, the study focuses on Paul’s disinterest in the fulfilling of the law in Galatians, and highlights Paul’s views on the personal nature of the law in this letter. In Part C, the study focuses on the same issue in Romans, focusing on the plural nature of the law, as well as on its personal nature. The two opposing laws, the Torah and the law of God (mind and life) are discussed. Finally, in Part D, the study deals with the meaning of the expression ‘fulfilling the law’. T he study concludes that Paul is not interested in the fulfilling of the law and that current explanations of Paul’s views of the law focus on something that Paul was not interested in himself.
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    Rethinking the new perspective on Paul: justification by faith and Paul’s gospel according to Galatians
    (University of the Free State, 2006-05) Song, Jae Young; Tolmie, Donald Francois
    English: The aim of this study is to evaluate the New Perspective on Paul. One of the most important new contributions of the New Perspective, that is a new interpretation of Paul’s view of justification by faith, is the main focus of this study. Especially, two New Perspective arguments that give rise to most of the objections voiced by the followers of the Old Perspective are noted: 1) Paul developed the notion of justification by faith only at a later stage 2) to defend his gentile mission. In Part 1 an overview of the history of the New Perspective is presented, and the problems of the New Perspective are pointed out. In Part 2 the origin of Paul’s Christ-Torah antithesis is investigated to find out when Paul ’s notion of justification by faith originated. As a result, the view of the New Perspective that Paul developed the n otion of justification by faith at a later stage is rejected. In Part 3, independent theological exegesis is done to evaluate the argument of the New Perspective that justification by faith must be understood not in general terms of how human beings can be saved, but in the context of Paul’s gentile mission . The exegesis concentrates on the concepts ‘the works of the law’ and ‘the curse of the law’ in Galatians. Romans 3, 4, and 7 are also investigated to confirm the exegetical results of Galatians. As a result, it is shown that the New Perspective is quite correct in that it reads the notion of justification by faith in the context of Paul’s gentile mission. However, it is al so pointed out that the New Perspective fails in properly evaluating Paul’s gentile mission itself, because it marginalise s both the gentile mission and justification by faith in Paul’s theology. In Part 4, by means of the independent theological exegesis of the word eujaggevlion in Galatians in the redemptive historical context of the Abrahamic covenant, it is proved that for the unique apostle to the gentiles, Paul, his gentile mission was the climax of his gospel. In fact, it must rather be regarded as his gospel itself. This means that, even though the interpretation of justification by faith by scholars from the New Perspective has a better exegetical foundation and leads to valid exegetical results, these results are interpreted wrongly by them. In Part 5, finally, it is concluded that when the interpretation of the Pauline notion of justification by faith by scholars from the New Perspective is reread in the light of the new understanding that Paul’s gentile mission is his gospel, the true meaning of justification by faith is revealed. Afrikaans: Die doel van hierdie studie is om die sogenaamde Nuwe Perspektief op Paulus te evalueer. Een van d ie belangrikste bydraes van die Nuwe Perspektief, naamlik die nuwe interpretasie van die Pauliniese konsep ‘regverdiging deur die geloof’, kry in hierdie studie die meeste aandag. Veral twee argumente van die Nuwe Perspektief word bespreek, naamlik 1) dat die konsep ‘regverdiging deur die geloof’ ’n latere ontwikkeling in Paulus se teologie verteenwoordig, en 2) dat dit ontwikkel is om Paulus se heidensending te verdedig. In Deel 1 word ’n oorsig van die geskiedenis van die Nuwe Perspektief gegee en word die probleme van hierdie siening uitgelig. In Deel 2 word die oorsprong van die Christus- Torah-antitese in Paulus se teologie ondersoek om te bepaal wanneer Paulus se siening van ‘regverdiging deur die geloof’ ontwikkel het. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die siening van die Nuwe Perspektief dat dit eers op ’n later stadium gebeur het, verwerp word. In Deel 3 word onafhanklike teologiese eksegese gedoen om te wys dat die argument van die Nuwe Perspektief dat ‘regverdiging deur die geloof’ nie in algemene sin verstaan moet word nie, maar wel binne die k onteks van die Pauliniese sending, korrek is. Die eksegese konsentre er op die begrippe ‘werke van die wet’ en ‘vloek van wet’ in Galasiërs. Romeine 3, 4 en 7 word ook ondersoek om die eksegetiese resultate ten opsigte van Galasië rs te bevestig. Daar word aangetoon dat die Nuwe Perspektief heeltemal korrek is wanneer ‘regve rdiging deur die geloof’ in die konteks van die Pauliniese sending gelees word. Daar word egter ook aangetoon dat die Nuwe Perspektief nalaat om die Pauliniese sending self korrek te evalueer omdat dit sowel die heidensending as ‘regverdiging deur die geloof’ in die Pauliniese teologie marginaliseer. In Deel 4 word deur middel van onafhanklike teologiese eksegese van die begrip eujaggevlion binne d ie heilshistoriese konteks van die verbond met Abraham aangetoon dat vir Paulus, die unieke apostel na die heidene, sy heidensending die klimaks van sy evangelie was. In werklikheid moet dit as sy evangelie self beskou word. Dit beteken dat, alhoewel die Nuwe Perspektief se interpretasie van ‘regverdiging deur die geloof’ ’n beter eksegetiese basis het en tot korrekte eksegetiese resultate aanleiding gee, die resultate self verkeerd gëinterpreteer word. In Deel 5 word ten slotte aangeto on dat wanneer ’n mens die interpretasie van ‘regverdiging deur die geloof’ deur die Nuwe Perspektief in die lig van die nuwe verstaan van Paulus se heidensending herlees, die ware betekenis van ‘regverdiging deur die geloof’ na vore kom.