Paul for the Perplexed 3

I’ll say it a stronger way, as if the two options are polar opposites and we have to choose one or the other, but I’ll do this for rhetorical purposes:

Christians (are to) indwell a Story more than believe in a theological system.

Nuance: that Story contains a theology and that theology deserves careful articulation, but the issue here is how best to frame what we believe. Do we do it as a narrative or a set of topics? Do we declare our system and then read the Story of the Bible, or do we know the Story and let theology grow out of that Story?

Frankly, while I don’t see these as polar opposites, they remain two significantly different starting points or approaches.

Tim Gombis’s new book, Paul: A Guide for the Perplexed (Guides for the Perplexed), gives to us the “structure of Paul’s thought” by sketching the “narrative Paul inhabits.” Exactly. And I find that many today misuse (and abuse) Paul because they want him to fit a system instead of letting Paul’s own way of doing things — inhabiting Israel’s Story — shape what he says. I won’t re-sketch Gombis’ sketch but suggest you read it when you get a chance, but here are the elements:
Creation as image of God; designed for shalom; enemy in the serpent and deception; humans surrender their image-bearing duty; election of Abraham/Israel and exodus; design to be a blessing to the nations as kingdom of priests; light to the nations; failure and exile and return; longing for Messiah; awaiting a robust understanding of salvation; Jesus is the true Israelite but he is defeated at the hands of humanity but God overcomes this defeat through resurrection and exaltation and Spirit. Here’s Paul’s “theology.” (Yes, if you want to see things this way, this is a wonderful New Perspective-ish approach to Paul, and one that is nuanced and careful and eminently readable, and one that avoids all those debates that prevent the big picture from being seen.

Our next post? I’ll dip into the separable themes Tim Gombis develops within the narrative Paul inhabits.