From NT Wright -- some comments that might help to put Paul and his thnking into a broader context. jd
And the minute you think youve got him taped, Here are his central ideas, bang, bang, bang, youve made him boring, and Paul is never, ever boring. Now of course Jewish interlocutors - and Ive had many, many conversations with Jewish friends and Jewish scholars that Ive known, about Paul - Jewish scholars find Paul fascinating and frustrating, because he is deeply Jewish. He isnt in that sense moving away from Judaism in the sense of inventing a non-Jewish religion. Paul is absolutely soaked in Judaism. But he is soaked in a Judaism seen through the filter of a crucified and risen Messiah, and that means that he says Judaism has to change. Well actually he says God is transforming what it means to be a genuine Jew and thats the really, really, scary thing because he now says anyone can join. A non-Jew can be just as welcome in the family of God as a Jew. But this for Paul, is paradoxically a very deeply Jewish thing to say. Because youll notice that one of the most striking traditions that authentic Judaism has is cr
itique from within, whether its new rabbinic movements or different teachers or Shabbatai Zvi or whoever it is, critique from within is part of the maturity and wisdom of genuine Judaism. And Jesus believed I think, that he was offering a critique from within. John the Baptist certainly did, and I think thats exactly where Paul is too. So I would say to Jews who are worried by Paul, Well you do well to be worried because he is an explosive thinker. He isnt a tame thinker, you cant just invite him into the house and expect him not to rattle the teacups a bit. But when you stick with him, you will see that he really does believe that this is the true fulfillment of what the promises to Abraham and so on, and the Law of Moses, were really all about. And to Catholics I would say Lets grow up together in our reading of the New Testament. Paul is just as much a Catholic thinker as he is a Protestant thinker. I taught a course on St Paul in the Gregori
an University in Rome four years ago, and I found nothing but excitement for understanding more of what this great man is all about. We Protestants belittle Paul, the Catholics have marginalised him, the Jews are afraid of him, lets just get together and read the man again, and well find that hell lead us all forward.
