Why Did They Write This Way: Reflections on References to Written Documents in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Literature – By Katherine M. Stott

Abstract

In recent years, further scholarship on Paul and Second Temple Judaism has problematized the former consensus of the 'new perspective on Paul'. At the heart of this debate is the question of agency, both divine and human. In this volume, articles from the leading scholars in this field offer a fresh perspective on Paul's theology within its cultural context. Barclay, in particular, suggests a noncontrastive account of divine agency as a way of faithfully attending to Paul's texts and overcoming the impasse between Engberg-Pedersen and Martyn. Overall, this book is an important contribution to our understanding of Christianity and Judaism, and will be a key text in the field for years to come.Beginning as a symposium in 2004, this volume of essays attempts to address a lacuna in current Pauline scholarship, namely, the lack of attention given to Paul's understanding of divine and human agency. In filling this scholarly gap, the editors, John Barclay and Simon Gathercole, hope to shed fresh light not only on Paul's own theology in its 'cultural context', but also on contemporary debates regarding the relation between divine grace and human obedience, predestination and free will, Judaism and Christianity, and Protestantism and Catholicism. While certainly ambitious, the editors have succeeded in putting together a collection of essays that raises old questions in new ways and thus stimulates fresh thinking about the past, present, and future of divine and human agency.