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corpus-paul - Re: [Corpus-Paul] Galatians 2:16: Exploring the Relationship between Faith and Works

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  • From: "Ian W. Scott" <iscott2 AT uwo.ca>
  • To: Corpus-Paul <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] Galatians 2:16: Exploring the Relationship between Faith and Works
  • Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 14:35:56 -0400

> Translators out of a desire to bring the english
> sense into line with Pauline theology, prefer the contrastive sense so that
> a
> man is justified through faith and not by works. I am interested in
> exploring the possibilities of the exceptive sense: 'a man is not being
> justified by works of the law except through faith in of Jesus Christ.'

There is, of course, some recent literature about just this point. What your
suggestion might not account for, however, is the last clause of 2:16. There
Paul clearly says that justification is based on pistis Ihsou Christou *and
not* works of the law (hoti ex ergwn nomou ou dikaiwthhsetai pasa sarx). So
however we understand the ean mh in 2:16a, we cannot take an "exceptive"
understanding of that clause as an exhaustive statement of Paul's theology on
the subject. I also think that it is in part because of the clearly
oppositional relationship between pistis Ihsou Christou and ergwn nomou set up
in this latter clause that translators have usually avoided the exceptive
reading of ean mh in 2:16a. After all, it would be strange for Paul to say
that
people can be justified by works of the law if they do it through faith in/of
Christ, but then to contradict himself immediately and deny that any
justification can come on the basis of works of the law.

Ian.

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Ian W. Scott
Lecturer in Religious Studies
King's University College (at the University of Western Ontario)
email: iscott2 AT uwo.ca
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Please visit my web-site at http://www.ian-w-scott.com
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