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An Invasive Story: Paul’s Theology between Messianic Event and Salvation-History

In the contemporary study of the Apostle Paul, some scholars have stressed that Paul was a very “apocalyptic” thinker, believing that God had invaded the world to bring an end to “religion” by dramatically revealing salvation in Jesus Christ.  Yet some have questioned whether this is really what “apocalyptic” means and whether Paul really posits such a rigorous discontinuity between Israel’s “religion” and his own account of Christian faith. Accordingly, other scholars have contended that Paul had a theology informed by a continuous story called “salvation-history” in which salvation is not the negation of the old order, but its very fulfillment in Christ. The Book of Galatians has been the primary battleground in this debate between “apocalyptic” and “salvation-history” and is currently one of the more contentious contemporary debates in Pauline studies. The purpose of this lecture is to introduce this topic to a wider audience, to briefly evaluate both the apocalyptic and salvation-history approaches, and to propose a somewhat mediating position between them.

Michael Bird is a Professor of Theology at Ridley College in Parkville, Australia.

For more information about Michael Bird, click here.