Source: “PAUL WITHIN JUDAISM: Restoring the First-Century Context to the Apostle”, Fortress Press 2016.
A Critical Evaluation From A New Perspective.wav
This podcast on, "Paul within Judaism: A Critical Evaluation from a 'New Perspective' Perspective" by Terence L. Donaldson, critically examines how Paul's teachings and mission relate to the Judaism of his era, particularly through the lens of the "New Perspective on Paul." Donaldson initially acknowledges the problematic nature of the "New Perspective" label itself, given its varied interpretations and applications among scholars. He then outlines his agreement with E.P. Sanders's foundational insights regarding Judaism's "covenantal nomism" and Paul's "solution preceded the problem" framework, but notes Sanders's lack of explanation for Paul's radical shift to becoming the "apostle to the gentiles," particularly their inclusion "on equal terms." The core of Donaldson's critique centers on two key issues: first, he questions the prevailing scholarly view that Paul's allowance for uncircumcised gentiles to be Christ-believers aligns straightforwardly with Jewish "eschatological pilgrimage" expectations, arguing that these traditions are ambiguous on gentile Torah observance. Second, he highlights the truly "anomalous" aspect of Paul's theology, which asserts that uncircumcised gentiles "in Christ" can be considered part of Abraham's "seed" (sperma), a concept typically linked to circumcision and Jewish identity in the Genesis narrative. Donaldson concludes by emphasizing the complexity of defining "Paul within Judaism," suggesting that the answer depends on discerning who is doing the defining and whether the focus is on conceptual or sociological aspects.
Topic 1: The New Perspective on Paul (NPP) and its Ambiguity This topic introduces the scholarly framework known as the "New Perspective on Paul." The author, who identifies with this perspective, highlights that the term "new perspective" has become increasingly problematic because it is used in diverse ways, applying to scholars whose interpretations of Paul differ significantly. The term gained popular currency from a 1983 article by James Dunn, originally referring to the groundbreaking work of E. P. Sanders. Over time, it also came to encompass the efforts of scholars like Dunn and N. T. Wright, who sought to refine Sanders's arguments, particularly focusing on Paul's critique of "works of the law" as a polemic against Jewish confidence in ethnic "boundary markers." More broadly, the term is now often used less precisely to refer to scholars who share a common interest in questions stimulated by Sanders's work, rather than a single, unified position. The author clarifies their own position within this framework, indicating their significant influence by Sanders while also articulating where they diverge or seek to supplement his arguments.
Topic 2: Key Insights from E. P. Sanders Adopted by the Author The author outlines several foundational insights from E. P. Sanders that they readily adopted. These include Sanders's characterization of Judaism as "covenantal nomism," which posits that God's covenant with Israel was based on grace, and human response involved adherence to the law. Another crucial insight is that for Paul, the "solution preceded the problem," meaning Paul's conversion to Christ was not a solution to a prior perceived deficiency in Judaism but a new conviction. Sanders also emphasized the importance of distinguishing between Paul's "surface rhetoric" (the specific arguments he employed in various contexts) and his "underlying convictional structure" (his fundamental beliefs). As an example, Paul's juridical language, such as "justification by faith," is understood as an argument used in specific situations rather than a primary theological principle. Furthermore, Sanders described the religious pattern arising from Paul's convictions as "participatory eschatology." Finally, Sanders identified Paul's most fundamental conviction as the belief that God had provided Christ as a means of salvation for all, both Gentiles and Jews, on equal terms.
Topic 3: The Author's Departure Point from Sanders and the "Black Box" Problem While embracing many of Sanders's insights, the author's own work took its point of departure from Sanders's identification of Paul's core conviction regarding Christ as salvation for all on equal terms. The author contends that Sanders, despite demonstrating how this conviction makes sense of Paul's complex arguments, did not adequately explain how Paul himself arrived at this conviction, particularly the universal and egalitarian aspects ("for all" and "on equal terms"). This unexamined aspect is termed an "interpretive 'black box'" in Sanders's reconstruction, where the conviction functions as an explanatory tool but remains closed off from investigation. The author's approach aimed to "open up this black box," seeking to reconstruct the cognitive process through which Paul transitioned from being "a zealot for the traditions of [his] ancestors" to becoming "the apostle to the gentiles," and specifically, to understanding how he moved from a "covenantal nomist" worldview to preaching salvation for all on equal terms. This exploration involved examining Jewish conceptions of the religious status of non-Jews, referred to as "patterns of universalism," in Paul's native Jewish environment.
Topic 4: Appreciation for Locating Paul "Within Judaism" and Methodological Considerations The author expresses strong appreciation for the overall project of the volume, particularly its commitment to locating Paul "within Judaism." This approach signifies a shared understanding that Paul's mission to non-Jews should not be seen as a contradiction or abandonment of his Jewish identity, but rather as an expression of it. It aligns with the idea of Paul, like many of his Jewish contemporaries, seeking to understand Judaism within a wider global context. A second point of appreciation is the attention paid to terminological matters. The author notes that many terms used in historical reconstructions, such as "Christianity" and "Judaism," often carry anachronistic meanings and connotations accumulated over centuries, leading to distortions and false assumptions. The text emphasizes the importance of carefully examining such terms and the translation of biblical terms like ekklesia (church) and ethnē (gentiles/nations) to avoid essentializing distinct religious categories that may not have been so clearly demarcated in antiquity. Finally, the author applauds the shift from abstract theological debates about "Paul and Judaism" to grounding the discussion in social realities and lived experiences, such as daily Torah observance, the pervasive presence of gods and cults in urban environments, and the embodied realities of gender and ethnicity.
Topic 5: The Prevailing View on the Eschatological Inclusion of the Ethnē This topic highlights a widespread agreement among the contributors to the volume concerning the framework for understanding Paul's mission to non-Jews: his communities of non-Jewish Christ-believers represent the fulfillment of Jewish eschatological expectations. This expectation envisioned that in the end times, the nations (ethnē) would abandon their idols, worship the God of Israel, and participate in the blessings of the age to come. This framework is also consistently used by contributors to explain a specific and often puzzling aspect of Paul's gospel: his staunch opposition to non-Jewish Christ-believers becoming full Torah observers or proselytes. According to this view, Paul believed that God's broader plan required Gentiles to worship the God of Israel as Gentiles, not as proselytes, in line with prophetic traditions envisioning Gentiles turning to God without becoming Jews.
Topic 6: The Author's Critique of the Eschatological Inclusion Framework Despite the appeal of understanding Paul's mission through the lens of eschatological inclusion, the author raises significant difficulties with this interpretation. The first, a lighter objection, is that after extensive investigation, the author remains unconvinced that the status of non-Jews in Jewish eschatological expectations is as sharply delineated regarding Torah observance as the contributors suggest. While acknowledging a widespread expectation of non-Jews sharing in end-time redemption, the author points to texts (e.g., Philo, Isaiah 2:2-4) that imply or explicitly describe Torah-observing ethnē in the end times. The author argues that the relevant material is ambiguous and often lacks explicit interest in this specific question. Therefore, inferring that non-Jews turning to God must be forbidden from Torah observance as a necessary consequence of these traditions alone is problematic; it would require identifying specific, intervening reasons unique to Paul.
Topic 7: A More Fundamental Challenge: Romans 11 and Paul's Unique Eschatological Scenario The author poses a more fundamental challenge: whether Paul's gospel to the ethnē is accounted for by these particular Jewish eschatological expectations at all. While acknowledging Paul's deep eschatological convictions, the author questions the specific route Paul took to arrive at his distinctive gospel profile, especially as presented in Romans 11. An analysis of Romans 11 reveals several striking aspects: Paul explicitly states that the inclusion of the ethnē into salvation is made possible by Israel's "stumbling," "defeat," or "rejection." This is presented as a temporary "hardening" of part of Israel, which postpones Israel's full restoration until the "fullness of the ethnē has come in." The "incoming" of the "fullness of the ethnē" appears to serve as the eschatological trigger, suggesting a temporal limit to gentile salvation. This scenario is particularly striking because it appears to invert the traditional Jewish restoration eschatology, where the future inclusion of the ethnē is typically predicated on (or follows directly from) the restoration of Israel, not its failure. Paul's scenario, where gentile inclusion is made possible by Israel's temporary rejection, effectively "turns this (eschato-)logic on its head." This suggests that any attempt to derive Paul's gospel to the ethnē directly from Jewish restoration eschatology must be carefully argued, not simply assumed.
Topic 8: The Anomalous Identity of Paul's Non-Jewish Christ-Believers: Neither Convert Nor Traditional God-Fearer This topic explores the distinctive and often-described "ambiguous" or "anomalous" identity that Paul constructs for his non-Jewish Christ-believers. Contributors widely agree that these individuals occupy a unique "in-between space" or "social and religious no-man's land." Paula Fredriksen characterizes Paul's "pagans-in-Christ" as fitting neither the category of traditional "converts" (because they did not adopt Jewish ancestral practices like circumcision or food laws) nor that of "god-fearers" (because they made an exclusive commitment to the God of Israel and abandoned their native gods, unlike many god-fearers who might have retained polytheistic practices). Caroline Johnson Hodge, while sometimes aligning them with god-fearers due to their "in-between" status, emphasizes Paul's unprecedented move of considering them part of Abraham's "seed" (sperma). The author largely agrees on the anomaly but disputes Fredriksen's strict definition of god-fearers, citing evidence for non-Jewish sympathizers who did give exclusive devotion to Israel's God without fully converting, suggesting this combination was not entirely unprecedented.
Topic 9: The True Anomaly: Uncircumcised Ethnē as Abraham's "Seed" (sperma) The author identifies what they consider to be the truly anomalous aspect of Paul's identity construction for non-Jewish Christ-believers: his insistence that uncircumcised ethnē-in-Christ are simultaneously full members of Abraham's "seed" (sperma). This claim forms a climactic point in Paul's arguments in Galatians and Romans. The Genesis narrative, especially chapter 17, categorically links Abraham's "seed" with the covenant of circumcision, explicitly stating that any uncircumcised male is "cut off from his people" and has "broken my covenant." Historically, terms like sperma consistently denoted Israel as a distinct covenant people, often in direct contrast to the ethnē. The author points out that Paul, despite citing Genesis 17, chose a difficult exegetical path. He could have opted for a simpler, more readily available argument: that Christ was the means by which the promise of Abraham becoming "the father of many nations" (Genesis 17:4-5) or that "by [Abraham's] seed all the nations... shall gain blessing" (Genesis 22:18) was being fulfilled. This simpler path would have aligned more easily with eschatological pilgrimage patterns. Instead, Paul makes an exegetical move that appears "untenable" within traditional Jewish thought, attributing the identity of Abraham's "seed" to uncircumcised Gentiles, thereby fundamentally blurring a distinction that was central to Jewish identity. This move is deemed to have no real precedent or analogy within Judaism.
Topic 10: The Multi-Dimensional Complexity of Defining "Paul within Judaism" The author concludes by emphasizing the inherent complexity of the question "Paul within Judaism." To address this question comprehensively, several interconnected variables need to be considered, conceptualized along three distinct "axes." The first axis is the Domain, asking whether "Judaism" as a domain for location is primarily (1.1) conceptual (referring to symbolic universes, ethnic maps, or eschatological scenarios) or (1.2) social (referring to the lived experiences within a real Jewish social world). The second axis is the Entity, questioning what exactly is being located: (2.1) Paul himself, or (2.2) his communities of ethnē-in-Christ, or both. It's possible for Paul to remain deeply embedded in a Jewish world while his communities might exist largely apart from Jewish communities. The third axis is the Perceiver, requiring identification of whose viewpoint is being used for the determination of location: (3.1) Paul's own perspective, (3.2) the ethnē-in-Christ themselves, (3.3) Jewish Christ-believers, (3.4) other Jews, (3.5) other ethnē, or (3.6) modern scholarly observers. The author stresses that perceptions are likely to vary considerably across these different viewpoints, and all combinations are legitimate avenues for exploration. Furthermore, a fourth, implicit axis, Time, is suggested, acknowledging that both Paul's mission and "Judaism" were dynamic over time. This implies the need to consider how the relationship between Paul's communities and the Jewish world evolved after Paul's death, the destruction of Jerusalem, or the composition of later texts like the Pastoral Epistles, ultimately tracing the fate of Paul's project during the historical transition from "apostolic Judaism" to "Christianity."