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Review of Biblical Literature Blog

The Crux of Election: Paul's Critique of the Jewish Confidence in the Election of Israel
Grindheim, Sigurd

Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005 pp. xi + 282. €49.00

Series Information
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2/202

Description: This book contributes to the discussion of the relationship between Paul and contemporary Judaism by investigating Paul's understanding of Israel's election. In two passages Paul rejects election-based privileges as basis for confidence before God: 2 Cor 11:16-12:10 and Phil 3:1-11. Sigurd Grindheim argues that, for Paul, the elect identity can only be rightly conceived of as entailing conformity to Christ and his cross. Jewish election-based confidence is critiqued because it does not conform to this pattern, and it must therefore be rejected as incompatible with the mind-set that is modeled after Christ. As a control of these results, this book also contains an exegesis of Rom 9-11, where Paul approaches the question of Israel's election from a more positive angle. In light of the results reached, the study concludes with a critique of the new perspective on Paul.

Subjects: Bible, New Testament, Pauline Epistles, Literature, Methods, Theological Approaches, Biblical Theology, New Testament Theology