A New Book on the New Perspective

UPDATE:
For a fuller treatment of this book’s details, see here.

One of the best classes I took while at Denver Seminary was a philosophy of science course under Dr. Alan Myatt, in which he assigned Thomas Kuhn’s now classic The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn’s book opened my eyes to the importance of having my eyes opened; that viewing the same data from a different perspective is sometimes necessary before science can advance. Tracing the history of science, Kuhn chronicles the long and arduous task of getting the wider scientific community to see things differently before paradigm shifts take place.

Enter Kent Yinger.

Wipf and Stock has a forthcoming title called The New Perspective on Paul: An Introduction by Kent L. Yinger. Although scheduled to be released January 1, 2011, it’s available now through the publisher at a discount. I’ve had the opportunity to read it and can say unequivocally this is the best introduction on the New Perspective on Paul (NPP) to date. If you’re trying to navigate the deep waters of the NPP, this book will objectively set the sails and chart the waters for you with unmistakable clarity. If you don’t understand the basics on the NPP after reading Yinger’s book, I’ll buy you a round at the nearest Starbucks!

Here’s Michael Bird’s acclaim:

“Kent Yinger has made a complex and often emotive debate about Paul and Justification accessible to a wider audience. This book isn’t beating any drum, it’s not an apology for the ‘New Perspective’ thing, nor is it a declaration of war on any party. Rather, this is a map of the key terrain, a list of who is who in the zoo of debate, and a flashlight on several dark alleys of contested interpretations. At the same time, Yinger gives us some good and sensible commentary along the way. If you’re lost in the maelstrom of theological polemics and Pauline interpretation, this book is one of the ways to help you get your bearings.”
—Michael F. Bird
Lecturer in Theology and Bible
Crossway College, Brisbane, Australia

There are 8 short chapters and a section titled “The Conversation Continues” with contributions by Donald A. Hagner and Don Garlington.

1 What You Might or Might Not Hear about the “New Perspective on Paul”
2 Where Did This All Begin? E. P. Sanders and a “New Perspective on Judaism”
3 Kicking Off the New Perspective on Paul: James D. G. Dunn
4 The NPP Spreads and Mutates: Varied Forms of the NPP
5 The Fur Starts Flying: Concerns over Sanders’s Judaism
6 Exegetical Concerns
7 Theological Concerns
8 Let’s Hear It for the NPP: Positive Effects

Yinger’s new book clears the fog in the debate on the NPP and gives us a clear framework for understanding the complex issues surrounding this heated discussion. I suspect there are many reviews forthcoming. If leaders and lay in churches have heard only negative reports about the the NPP and want their eyes opened, Yinger’s book is the place to start.

Tolle lege (“take up and read”) The New Perspective on Paul: An Introduction.