A couple year's back Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom co-authored a book with a spiffy little question for a title: Is the Reformation Over?: An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism
. They marshalled evidence to suggest the Reformation had had a powerful impact and the Roman Catholic (evangelical types) and Protestant Evangelicals now had huge connections where there was once massive fissures.If this sketch is accurate to what the Pope says, two questions: (1) is he old or new perspective? (2) is the Reformation over?
Now the Pope, Benedict XVI, has a book that illustrates this all the more: Saint Paul
. I want to illustrate this connection by briefly sketching the Pope's view of justification, and his view reveals dramatic connections to the New Perspective as well as to classic (old perspective) Reformation teaching on justification. Now for the sketch, drawn from chp 13 of this fine introduction to Pauline theology:1. The issues are framed in terms of individual (if not gender inclusive) salvation, as in the old perspective: "How does man become just in God's eyes?" (78).
2. Paul's conversion, as esp emphasized in the new perspective, reshaped his view of the relationship of an Israelite to the Torah. This Torah, as in new perspective, is the 5 books of Moses (and not the law principle). In light of Christ, there is an opposition of Law and Grace, as in the old perspective.
3. The focus at the time of the Paul, as we find in the new perspective, is on those works -- like Sabbath and circumcision -- that built a wall between Jews and Gentiles. Those works had framed "a social, cultural and religious identity" (81). The wall "consisted precisely in the Judaic observances and prescriptions" (81).
4. With Christ the God of Israel became the God of all people, and this meant the wall had been knocked down. This ecclesial emphasis is decidedly new perspective.
5. Union with Christ, faith in Christ -- and here old and new, Lutheran and Catholic become one -- in fact, Christ himself, "makes us just" (82). "For this reason, Luther's phrase "faith alone" is true, if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love" (82). Here he shows how Christ is love, union with Christ puts us into the life of love, and all good works are works that flow from this Christ who is love and makes all good works works of love. [There's nothing here about double imputation, a move that connects the Pope more to the new perspective and not at all to the strident voices today who make justification little more than double imputation. Strike that slightly: on p. 84, when introducing the next chp, he speaks of God conferring his justice upon a person, uniting him to Christ -- getting closer to imputation.]
6. So what is faith? "Faith is looking at Christ, entrusting oneself to Christ, being united to Christ, conformed to Christ, to his life" (82). The form of Christ's life is love. Our actions are insignificant; what matters is faith; genuine faith becomes love. Thus, Gal 5:6, where Paul speaks of circumcision not mattering but only faith working through love. On p. 85 he anchors this in the perichoresis. Thus, Paul and James belong together: "faith that is active in love testifies to the freely given gift of justification in Christ" (86).
"We become just by entering into communion with Christ, who is Love" (82).
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
I enjoy doctrinal nuance, but when we stand before God at the final judgment, He is not going to ask us to articulate our church's statement of faith regarding the atonement; He's not going to inquire as to whether we're "Protestant", "Roman Catholic" or "Orthodox". He won't be concerned as to whether we are "old perspective" or "new perspective" regarding our understanding of Paul. He won't even quiz us to see if we can quote particular scriptural proof texts. He will simply look at our hearts to see if we sincerely trusted in the death of His Son for our salvation; whether we loved Jesus and did our best to follow Him through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
If the reformation being over means people finally realizing just how inherently anti-Christian the notion of schism really is and a concerted effort on the part of all to reconcile 1500 years of wounds to the Body of the Bride of Christ, then I'm all for it.
It is time for us all to come home, whatever that looks like when we're done. It is time to put unity above purity of theology and to humbly be willing to all admit that none of us have a perfect understanding of The Way.
It is time to live real love by being willing to sit side by side and worship next to someone we might think is a heretic.
Scot,
Sorry it took me a little while to get back to you. I figured I'd go do the research for you instead of making you go looking around for things.
Watson wrote a paper entitled "Not the New Perspective" in which he gives a rather cynical critique of the NPP. It was presented at Duke Divinity School. It can be found here:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/divinity/staff/watsonart.shtml
He has also written a work on Romans 1-4 called "Constructing a Hermeneutic: A Rereading of Romans 1-4" which can be found at The Paul Page by searching that title (It's a WORD document so I can't get a link).
Apparently his "Hermeneutic of Faith" and reworking of his doctoral dissertation "Paul, Judaism, and the Gentiles" are all conversant with the NPP, yet quite critical as well. It seems Ben Witherington has given him some praise for his work, and intends to bring some of the same criticisms in his upcoming work on New Testament Theology.
I have only been able to read the three papers available at the Paul Page. I have to read his work on Romans 1-4 a couple more times before I develop a real opinion.
I was just curious if you had read much or had an opinion on this quite different critique. It just seems that this critique has gone unnoticed so far.
In all of this, a big point has been missed. The RC understanding and role of the sacraments in connection with justification and sanctification. That issue has not changed and must be dealt with. For example,
What is baptism? Is it regenerative?
What is the Mass? What is it's role in justification and sanctification? etc....
These, to me, are important and essential issues in this discussion because these are real ethos giving events and practices that highly influence the life and faith of a practicing Catholic.
Chris Zoephel,
Many of your questions are answered at this site:
"The Catholic Perspective on Paul"
www.pauliscatholic.com
I'd encourage you to check it out.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.