Panoramic Lutheranism and apocalyptic ambivalence: An appreciative critique of N. T. Wright's Paul and the Faithfulness of God

The basic agenda and resulting architecture of N. T. Wright's reconstruction of Paul's theology in Paul and the Faithfulness of God are a dramatic and brilliant break with most previous analyses and an important step forward. But closer analysis suggests that his project also contains some serious problems. First, it is not well executed: there are basic problems of method and exegesis with Wright's manner of reading Paul's texts. Second, Lutheranism and various modern dichotomies have not been purged sufficiently thoroughly from Wright's reconstruction of Paul's thought, resulting in tensions of truly tectonic proportions. One is left with the impression of a magnificent venture foundering in its haste - haste perhaps extending back to the venture's original design, when certain contradictory tendencies needed to be confronted and solved, but were not.

Duke Scholars

Author Douglas Campbell Divinity School