Lively, accessible introduction to recent scholarly debates about justification
Much has been written of late about what the apostle Paul really meant when he spoke of justification by faith, not the works of the law. Justification Reconsidered: Rethinking a Pauline Theme is a short study by Stephen Westerholm that carefully examines proposals on the subject including:
Krister Stendahl
E. P. Sanders
Heikki Raisanen
N. T. Wright
James D. G. Dunn
Douglas A. Campbell
In doing so, Westerholm notes weaknesses in traditional understandings that have provoked the more recent proposals, but he also points out areas in which the latter fail to do justice to the apostle.
Readers of this book will gain not only a better grasp of the ongoing theological debate about justification but also a more nuanced overall understanding of Paul.