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corpus-paul - Re: John Gager's "Reinventing Paul"

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  • From: Paul Toseland <patoseland1 AT cableinet.co.uk>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: John Gager's "Reinventing Paul"
  • Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 13:50:14 +0100



Loren Rosson wrote:

> >I'm wondering how other list-members feel about the
> >book, or about the key Pauline texts which strongly
> >devalue the Torah.

It seems to me, though I have not worked in any depth
with Romans or Galatians, that Paul's understanding
of the Law might be greatly illuminated if we took
seriously its nature as a divine covenant, as opposed
to the new covenant. May I suggest two simple
propositions:

1. Baptism, as the rite of entry into the new covenant,
nullifies the obligations of the Jew to the old covenant.
He is no longer subject to the Law, since he has 'died'.
Conversely, circumcision brings the Gentile believer
under the obligations of the old covenant, nullifying the
benefits of the new covenant.

2. The old covenant is defective as a means of salvation,
in that it does not provide for the 'circumcision of the heart',
and the indwelling of the Spirit. Therefore to the Gentile
believer Paul's Judaizing opponents present a very a very
real threat.

If it is true that all of Paul's negative evaluations of the
Law in Galatians and Romans concerned Gentiles alone,
maybe this is because it was to Gentiles alone that the Law
as an alternative covenant presented a real and present
danger.

I have worked in depth with the Corinthian correspondence,
and I think 2 Cor 3:7-18 provides evidence enough for my view
that Paul regarded the Law in a negative light, as a means of
salvation, in the case of Jews as well as of Gentiles.


Regards

Paul Toseland






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