Rectification ('Justification')

Richard K. Moore

Rectification ('Justification')

in Paul, in Historical Perspective, and in the English Bible:

God's Gift of Right Relationship.

Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity, 50

(Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen, 2002-2003).

This work is in 3 volumes (163 mm x 236 mm) and can be ordered from Amazon.com.

The doctrine of 'Justification' lay at the very heart of the Reformation. Drawing on the ethos and skills provided by the Renaissance, the Reformers sought to implement the ideal of sola scriptura by returning to the fount of Christianity, the New Testament. They promoted their stance by making available vernacular translations of the Scriptures for the ordinary person of their day, represented by the 'ploughboy'. But in returning to the sources, in particular the apostle Paul, inevitably they read him through the long tradition with which 'Justification' had become encrusted. It affected both their understanding and their vernacular translations. This three volume work investigates the doctrine of 'Justification' from three perspectives: (1) What Paul wrote, especially in Galatians and Romans; (2) How his doctrine has been understood through almost 2000 years of Christian scholarship; (3) How it has been presented in English translations. In our quest for the recovery of Paul's meaning, these three aspects act like partners in a three-way conversation.

PART ONE:

Paul's doctrine of rectification

Part One challenges two widespread views: (1) the Roman Catholic "realist' model (God makes us right in a moral sense) and (2) the Protestant forensic model (God declares us right in his role as Judge). Each is shown to be flawed on exegetical grounds. While many commentators and other writers, across a wide spectrum of belief, have embraced a third view, that the New Testament doctrine of Rectification is concerned primarily with how God establishes a right relationship with the ungodly, this view is merely assumed, and is often held in conjunction with one or other of the more traditional views. Part One sets out to demonstrate, particularly from the evidence in Galatians and Romans, that the relational model is indeed the model from which the apostle works. It shows that the key Greek family at the heart of Paul's doctrine has to do with God rectifying what is wrong. God does so by granting the gift of a right relationship to the sinner who responds in faith to the proclamation of the Good News. This is possible because the Good News proclaims how God sent his Son into the world, how his Son died to deal with human sin, and how God raised him from among the dead.

Volume One is richly supplied with supporting appendices.

(21* + 336 pages; Bibliography; Indexes: 1. The Scriptures; 2. Greek words and phrases; 3. Persons; 4. Subjects.)

ISBN-10: 0-7734-4219-3

ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-7219-8

PART TWO:

Paul's doctrine of rectification in its historical development

Part Two examines the various ways in which Paul's doctrine of Rectification has been understood from the very beginning to the present. Unlike other treatments of the history of the doctrine of 'Justification', it does not merely document the various views, but evaluates them in the light of the Pauline evidence. It draws attention to the fact that many understandings of the doctrine of 'Justification' result from their advocates bringing their own agenda to Paul rather than listening to the apostle and embracing his agenda. Yet in essence Paul's primary concern was with the most fundamental issue in all religion and all human life: How does one establish good relations with the Divine? It remains relevant as long as God and human beings exist!

(15* + 427 pages; Bibliography; Indexes: 1. The Scripture; 2. Greek words and phrases; 3. Latin words and phrases; 4. Persons; 5. Subjects.)

ISBN-10: 0-7734-7070-0

ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-7070-5

PART THREE:

Paul's doctrine of rectification

in English versions of the New Testament

Part Three is the first detailed examination of how Paul's doctrine of 'Justification' has been represented in English versions of the New Testament. It traces how Paul's key family of words has been translated into English from the fourteenth century to the present. It documents how the use of two English word-families for Paul's single Greek word-family has dominated English translation of the key Pauline texts, but also draws attention to those versions which have been successful in utilizing a single English word-family. Finally, it argues that it is essential for such an approach to be adopted for mainstream translations of the future if they are to succeed in conveying Paul's meaning.

(23* + 550 pages; Bibliography; General Index.)

ISBN-10: 0-7734-7072-7

ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-7072-9