"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1). When Paul wrote these words he seemed confident he had made himself clear.
But for centuries the Pauline doctrine of justification has been a classic point of interpretation and debate in Christian exegesis and theology. And while in recent decades there have been moments of hopeful convergence among the various traditions of the Western church, the fine print often reveals more facets and distinctions than ever before.
This Spectrum Multiview volume focuses on five views of justification and calls on representative proponents to set forth their case and then respond to each other. The five views are:
- Traditional Reformed (Michael S. Horton)
- Progressive Reformed (Michael F. Bird)
- New Perspective (James D. G. Dunn)
- Deification, or Theosis (Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen)
- Roman Catholic (Gerald O?Collins and Oliver Rafferty)
In addition, editors James Beilby, Paul R. Eddy and Steven E. Enderlein provide an extensive introduction to the issues informing this important debate. This distinguished forum of biblical interpreters and theologians offers a lively and informative engagement with the biblical, historical and contemporary understandings of justification. Justification: Five Views is not only a fascinating probe into Paul's meaning, it is also a case book in theological method.
Spectrum Multiview Books offer a range of viewpoints on contested topics within Christianity, giving contributors the opportunity to present their position and also respond to others in this dynamic publishing format.
James K. Beilby is professor of systematic and philosophical theology and Paul Rhodes Eddy is professor of theology, both at Bethel University. Together they have also edited Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views, The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views and the award-winning The Historical Jesus: Five Views.
Paul R. Eddy (Ph.D., Marquette University) is Professor of Theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. His books include John Hick's Pluralist Philosophy of World Religions (Ashgate), Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology (with G. A. Boyd, Baker) and Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views (with James Beilby IVP).
Steven E. Enderlein is associate professor of biblical studies at Bethel University.
Horton (Ph.D., Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and the University of Coventry) is associate professor of historical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. He has also studied at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg and was a research fellow at Yale University. In addition, he is a past president of Christians United for Reformation, current president of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast and editor of Modern Reformation Magazine. Horton's other works include Made in America: The Shaping of Modern Evangelicalism (1991), Beyond Culture Wars: Is America a Mission Field or a Battlefield? (1994), Where in the World Is the Church? A Christian View of Culture and Your Role in It (1995), We Believe: Recovering the Essentials of the Apostles' Creed (1998), A Better Way (Baker, 2002) and Covenant and Eschatology (Westminster/John Knox, 2002).
Michael F. Bird is lecturer in theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. Previously he served at Crossway College in Australia and Highland Theological College in Scotland. He is the author of several books, including Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission and The Saving Righteousness of God: Studies on Paul, Justification and the New Perspective, as well as numerous essays, articles and reviews.
