New Perspective on Paul

Definition and Meaning

The New Perspective on Paul is an approach to interpreting Paul that has emerged in Anglo-American New Testament scholarship since the late 1970s. It does not regard what Paul called "the works of the law" (Galatians 2:16) as an attempt to earn salvation by accumulating good deeds. Instead, it reads them as identity markers that distinguished Jews from Gentiles, namely circumcision, the Sabbath, and the food laws. Accordingly, it treats justification (God's declaring a person righteous) not merely as a matter of individual salvation but also in connection with the question of how Jews and Gentiles become one people. Rather than designating a single school, the term serves as a collective name for the differing arguments of a number of scholars.

Biblical and Historical Background

Since the Reformation, Protestantism, and especially the tradition of Martin Luther, has understood the conflict between Paul and the Judaism of his day as a contrast between "legalism that seeks to be righteous by works" and "grace." In 1977, E. P. Sanders argued in Paul and Palestinian Judaism that the Judaism of that period was a form of "covenantal nomism." By this he meant that God's election and covenant were received by grace, while the law was kept as the way of remaining within that covenant. Building on this research, James D. G. Dunn coined the name "New Perspective" in a 1982 lecture. N. T. Wright subsequently popularized the view through numerous writings. These scholars point to the circumcision controversy in the Galatian churches and the Council of Jerusalem as important evidence.

Critics appeal to passages that set works and grace against each other, such as Romans 3:28 and Romans 4:4-5. They argue that Paul was not dealing only with the question of accepting Gentiles but was rejecting human merit itself. One of the best-known exchanges in the debate is John Piper's 2007 book criticizing Wright's doctrine of justification and Wright's 2009 book in reply.

Reception in the Korean Church

In Korea, the New Perspective was introduced mainly through seminary lectures and translated books. As several of Wright's books were translated, they came to be widely read among pastors and theological students. The Korean New Testament scholar Seyoon Kim published a book in English in 2002 criticizing the main claims of the New Perspective.

• Presbyterian: Critical discussion predominates among Reformed-leaning seminaries and scholars. They are concerned that the New Perspective may weaken the doctrine of imputed righteousness taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Imputed righteousness is the teaching that the righteousness of Christ is credited to the believer and reckoned as the believer's own.
• Wesleyan tradition (Methodist, Holiness, and others): Because this tradition emphasizes sanctification following justification and the fruit of the Christian life, some of its scholars have explored points of contact with the New Perspective. However, this has not been formulated as the official position of any denomination.

In church life, the subject is addressed mainly through graduate seminary courses, academic societies, and publications. Some sermons and Bible studies also draw on New Perspective interpretations when expounding Galatians or Romans.