N.T. Wright response to Piper

In a recent interview, N.T. Wright talks about his new book Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision, which is largely a response to John Piper’s The Future of Justification.

Wright seems to be frustrated by some of the same things I have been facing when interacting with traditional Reformed folks who seem to be unable to pull themselves out of a 17th century context:
I think there’s a danger in ‘old perspective’ supporters still trying to run an implicit ‘conservative versus liberal’ debate on this one, trying to accuse NP folk of some of the failings of an older liberalism. Better to see the historical and theological quest to understand Paul going wide open to encourage everyone to get back to reading the texts in their proper contexts. If that means going beyond this ‘perspectives’ language, so be it. But it is sometimes helpful to put down some markers as a shorthand way of signposting key moves.

One of the truly worrying things about Piper is his insistence that we should be wary of reading Paul in his Jewish context . . . which basically means that we end up reading him as though he was really a 17th-century theologian born out of due time . . .
This is nothing new in my opinion, and it appears to be the outcome of the east/west dichotomy we have been observing taking place in the Church since well before the Reformation.

The struggle and dichotomy of knowledge/experience among Christians is creating huge problems. The Emergent church is another outlet for this frustration, and the revolt against "knowledge alone" is shaping up to explode in the next few generations.

As I've said before, the Western faith has become purely knowledge-driven, completely abandoning the experiential approach of the East, shaping Christianity into a sort of academic exercise which ends up hiding our Creator from those seeking him...in a very real sense we cannot see the forest because of the trees; what becomes important is how well we know theology and doctrine rather than how well we know and experience God.

Read the entire interview with Wright here.


23 Feb, 2009 | Virgil
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Comments


by Jer - 23 Feb, 2009 - 11:04:38
Better to see the historical and theological quest to understand Paul going wide open to encourage everyone to get back to reading the texts in their proper contexts.


For example, grace/favor in a patron-client context :)


...what becomes important is how well we know theology and doctrine rather than how well we know and experience God.


Yep. Knowledge without experience is rather unfulfilling, imo.

by Virgil - 23 Feb, 2009 - 14:02:29
"Yep. Knowledge without experience is rather unfulfilling, imo."

Didn't Solomon say something like that somewhere?

by Mick - 23 Feb, 2009 - 17:21:32
A quick search of the "wisdom/poetry" literature in the ESV reveals these interesting passages( there were many others:

Job 15:2 (ESV)2“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
(is this a reference to flatulence?)
Proverbs 12:1 (ESV)1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Proverbs 17:27 (ESV)27Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Proverbs 19:25 (ESV)25Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

Proverbs 21:11 (ESV)11When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

Proverbs 29:7 (ESV)7A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.
Proverbs 30:3 (ESV)3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
Ecclesiastes 1:16 (ESV)16I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”
Mickey

by Virgil - 24 Feb, 2009 - 09:50:40
Someone needs to do a word study on the difference between "knowledge" and "wisdom" here because I really doubt that knowledge is used in the empirical, 21st century sense that we think of.

by Middleknowledge - 24 Feb, 2009 - 10:10:37
Virgil,

"Knowledge" in the wisdom literature of Scripture is holistic. It is, more accurately, "skill at living" rather than bare intellectual propositions as we think of it today.

Tim Martin

by Doug Shuffield - 26 Feb, 2009 - 08:08:37
Doug Wilson has been reviewing and discussing N.T. Wright's book for a couple fo weeks now. Good insights and good discussion. The discussion started on 2/8/2009.

http://www.dougwils.com/ind...

- Doug

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