Theology

What did Paul find wrong with the Jewish Law? A. Andrew Das returns to E. P. Sanders and argues that both the New Perspective and Paul-within-Judaism overreach: Paul's objection is not to the Law itself but to trusting it for salvation apart from Christ. The grace-works contrast stands, nuanced by the Law's ethnic implications for gentiles.

How can compassion be reimagined today from theological and philosophical perspectives? Daniel Gerte explores Johann Baptist Metz's theology of compassion within the broader context of his work and develops it further into the concept of a »mytho-compathic Christianity.«

Ki-Eun Jang analyzes how identity labels were claimed, disclaimed, and reappropriated in the ancient Near Eastern literary milieu. By contrasting the modern genealogy of gentilics with ancient premises of identification, she demonstrates how these forms encode complex patterns of affiliation beyond ethnic models.

The consensus view in New Testament studies holds that Luke admired Paul but did not understand his theology. Jimmy Myers argues that this view is mistaken. When the whole of each figure's theology is examined and compared with the other's alongside other early Christians, it becomes clear that Luke and Paul belong together theologically.