Читать книгу Paul Among the Gentiles: A "Radical" Reading of Romans - Jacob P. B. Mortensen - Страница 13

Even though I present the radical new perspective as a uniform perspective, such a presentation is misleading. This should be stated explicitly. There are, indeed, rather different scholarly views that aim to move beyond the new perspective. Nevertheless, I find it appropriate to group together those whose scholarly views present themselves as radical and new.1 Beyond their own declaration, there is a didactic point to presenting them together.2 The scholars who ascribe to the radical perspective present considerable diversity with respect to particular details of the interpretation of Paul. However, because of the paradigmatic feature around which these scholars’ research converges, many of them ascribe to the ‘Paul within Judaism’ perspective. Hence, from a didactic and a content-oriented perspective, it makes sense to present them together under an umbrella term, such as ‘the radical perspective’.

The reason for designating the perspective under discussion ‘the radical perspective’ is because their scholarship is mainly indebted to the insights of scholars associated with the new perspective on Paul. These representatives include Krister Stendahl, E.P. Sanders, James D.G. Dunn, G.F. Moore, and W.D. Davies, to name just a few. But another inflow of inspiration follows from the Sonderweg or ‘two covenant’ solution as presented by Lloyd Gaston, John Gager, and possibly Stanley Stowers. However, not all the radicals advocate a ‘two covenant’ solution. Nevertheless, they all operate with a positive picture of Judaism. They all reject the ‘traditional’ Christian characterization of Judaism as ‘works-righteousness’. Furthermore, they all agree that Paul did not create a new religion (Christianity), because he found something fundamentally ‘wrong’ with Judaism. Paul did not create a new religion, and he did not become a ‘Law-free’ apostle.3 Another point pertains to the observation that Paul (and the other apostles) endeavoured to engender a specifically Jewish ‘sect’ or ‘coalition’ or ‘reform movement’. Paul and the other apostles managed minor subgroups of Judaism living a Jewish way of life developed for and by Jews, despite the fact that those who joined these subgroups were, and remained, non-Jews. This meant a Jewish way of life (without being actually Jewish) for Gentiles. The fact that these members remained non-Jews concerns the point that Paul addressed Gentiles, and told them to remain Gentiles. These Gentiles should follow the (Mosaic) law (evident in Paul’s admonitions throughout his letters), but they should not become Jews. That is, these Gentiles should not complete the rite of ethnic conversion signified by circumcision, but they should still somehow conform to the (Mosaic) law and its principles. This point is worth dwelling on, because there is a major difference between upholding the behavioural guidelines operative within Jewish communities, and undergoing an ethnic identity transformation from non-Jew to Jew by way of circumcision. To compare: You may behave like a Catholic (or Jew) without actually being a Catholic (or Jew). And, acting like a Catholic (or Jew) does not actually make you a Catholic (or Jew), even if you present yourself as a ‘better’ Catholic (or Jew) than other Catholics (or Jews), and the whole point is to present the Catholic (or Jewish) way of life as the ‘right one’.

A final point to iterate, concerning the radical new perspective, is the relation of the radical to the new perspective on Paul. According to the radicals, the new perspective is not new enough. The new perspective is still too beholden to traditional (Protestant) theological positions. According to the radicals, new questions regarding Paul should be asked, other courses should be pursued to answer these questions, and the consistency of the answers to these questions remain too related to traditional Christian theologies.4 Hence, in search of a more appropriate paradigm for pursuing research about Paul, they radicalize the new perspective on Paul, in a search for a Paul within Judaism.