Nijay K. Gupta, Erin M. Heim, and Scot McKnight, eds., The State of Pauline Studies: A Survey of Recent Research (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2024)
The purpose of this work is to provide readers with a “snapshot” of recent scholarship on St. Paul’s letters and some aspects of his theology. To accomplish this goal, the editors, Gupta, Heim, and McKnight, have divided this volume into two parts. The first consists of chapters 1–7 and explores various topics related to recent Pauline Studies and the second part, which encompasses chapters 8–17, examines current trends in scholarship on every letter of the Pauline corpus.
In chapter 1, “Paul and the Messiah” (7–22), Joshua W. Jipp examines recent scholarship related to Jesus’s Royal Messiahship. Chapter 2, “Paul and Judaism” (23–41) by Kent L. Yinger, explores the state of the place of Judaism, Israel, and Torah and their connections to St. Paul’s congregations in the apostle’s thinking. In chapter 3, “Paul and Salvation” (42–60), Ben C. Blackwell lays out various approaches of salvation in St. Paul’s theology—the Reformational Perspective, the New Perspective, the Paul within Judaism Perspective, the Apocalyptic Perspective, and the Participationist Perspective—and “how these perspectives articulate forms of coherence in his theology” (42).
Chapter 4, “Paul and the Spirit” (61–75) by Kris Song, examines key debates in Pauline studies as they relate to the Holy Spirit and then reviews recent studies in Pauline pneumatology. In chapter 5, “Paul and Gender” (76–102), Cynthia Long Westfall explores mostly evangelical Pauline studies “involved in the ongoing debate about the theology and practice of men and women in the home, the church, and society” (76). Chapter 6, “Paul and Empire” (103–19) by Peter Oakes, investigates recent scholarship on the place of empire in the apostle’s letters and theology. And in the last chapter of Part 1, chapter 7, “Feminist, Postcolonial, and Womanist Approaches to Paul” (120–35) by Angela N. Parker, lays out these current approaches to Paul and how they are “interested in evaluating uneven and complex power relations” in the ancient and modern world as it relates to racism, sexism, colonialism, and imperialism (120).
Chapters 8–17 examine recent interpretative trends in each letter of the Pauline corpus with Jennifer Strawbridge exploring Romans (“Romans,” 139–62), John K. Goodrich 1 Corinthians (“1 Corinthians,” 163–83), B. J. Oropeza 2 Corinthians (“2 Corinthians,” 184–202), Erin M. Heim Galatians (“Galatians,” 203–32), Timothy G. Gombis Ephesians (“Ephesians,” 233–48), Nijay K. Gupta Philippians (“Philippians,” 249–63), Scot McKnight Colossians (“Colossians,” 264–79), Sydney Tooth 1–2 Thessalonians (“1–2 Thessalonians,” 280–97), T. Christopher Hoklotubbe the Pastoral Epistles (“1–2 Timothy and Titus,” 298–316), Dennis R. Edwards reviewing the current state of scholarship on Philemon (“Philemon,” 317–30).
This work is too large and diverse to discuss every contribution so I will limit myself to interacting with four observations that Gupta, Heim, and McKnight highlight about recent Pauline scholarship in the work’s introduction. First, the current state of scholarship on the apostle has moved away from its traditional roots in the Western Church to the point that the historical-critical method is “no longer . . . the default approach to studying Paul” (1) and the study of St. Paul has become a more global and diverse field (2). I am thrilled at the field’s recent diversification, a diversification that reminds me of the early Church, which witnessed the gathering together of peoples of all colors, nations, and languages in and outside the Roman Empire for God’s glory! I think that this variety of perspectives on the apostle will only increase if the Church continues her slow decay in the West and expansion in the Global South.
Second, recent Pauline scholarship is trending away from the modern, and in my opinion false, categories of Pauline letters as authentic and pseudonymous (2). More and more scholars understand that our modern conception of an author was not operative in the first century AD and that most individuals in the Roman Empire, St. Paul included, employed the services of a scribe to compose most of their correspondences. This rightly calls for the need to reevaluate the supposed scholarly consensus that the so-called Disputed Letters—Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians—and the Pastoral Epistles—1–2 Timothy and Titus—are not Pauline and the premises on which the arguments supporting this so-called consensus are built, which is an enterprise that I am currently pursuing (when I have the time).
Third, current Pauline scholarship realizes the complexity of St. Paul’s world. The editors note that based on our current knowledge “it is irresponsible to talk about Paul versus Judaism or Paul against empire” (3). I wholeheartedly agree. This is an area that my own research, the use of inscriptions and material culture to build contextual profiles of St. Paul’s letters and the theology within them, has underscored. Moreover, the more I study archaeological materials, inscriptions, and then read ancient literary sources in light of the former two datasets, the more I am convinced that St. Paul’s world was even more complex than we could ever hope to imagine.
Finally, recent trends among scholars focusing on St. Paul has moved beyond the Reformation Protestant-Catholic debates and into more fruitful territories with the New Perspective on Paul, the Apocalyptic Paul, Paul within Judaism Perspective, modern Jewish interpretations of the apostle, and John Barclay’s “Gift” reading of St. Paul. These so-called schools have informed my own reading of the apostle to the point that I espouse an Apocalyptic “Gift” filled Paul with influences from the Old and New Perspectives and some nuances gleaned from the Paul within Judaism Perspective. However, I continue to see little to no evidence in St. Paul’s letters or in Acts of the Apostles supporting two of the major tenets of the Paul within Judaism Perspective: that the apostle conceived of two tracks of salvation, one for Jews, the Torah, and one for Gentiles, Jesus the Messiah, and that his letters are written exclusively to Gentiles.
In sum, this work is an indispensable resource for any student of St. Paul who wants to familiarize himself or herself with the current state of Pauline scholarship on any letter in the corpus or on the seven areas of Pauline theology on which Part 1 of The State of Pauline Studies focuses. Therefore, I recommend purchasing your a copy!
I am grateful to Baker Academic for providing me with a review copy of this book, which is no way influenced by review of it!