Pistis Christou Contest Winner (see what he said!)

The winner of the Pistis Christou book giveaway contest is: James Gregory.  I will get the book out to you in the next few days, James!  Congrats!

While many of the entries were helpful and interesting, I could only pick one winner.  Nevertheless, I have been told that, if you want a good price on the book, check out Eisenbrauns who is offering it for a mere $13.37 – the best price I have found on the web (better than Amazon!).

Here is what James Gregory  had to say about the debate:

For reasons concerning the roles of the humanity of Jesus and human faith, the pistis Christou debate is rather important. Is our faith in Christ what effects salvation? Was it Christ’s faithfulness to God’s will that brings about salvation? This issue is more involved and interesting than merely a syntactical one. Rather, it is one marked with important theological implications. Would Paul and the New Testament writers even have thought about an individual’s faith in Christ, or would they have considered the corporate faith of the children of God? It is precisely because a theology of justification both at the individual and ecumenical levels is directly informed and influenced by pistis Christou that the issue matters at all, that not a few scholars have addressed the issue, and that it needs to be dealt with accordingly for understanding faith for the human Christ or the human believer. Ultimately, we are faced with a decision whenever we see the construction, pistis Christou, whether it is describing Christ’s faithfulness or our faith in Christ. If it is the latter, which many take it this way, it emphasizes the human believer’s role in justification. But if it is the former, it highlights Christ’s role of obedience and faithfulness unto death on our behalf. Because the discussion revolves around this distinction between the human Christ and the human believer, this debate is important for Pauline studies, for it is part of the foundation for justification by faith. The question becomes, “Is it Christ’s faith or is it our faith that brings about justification?” The distinction concerns whether or not humans have any role or responsibility in justification. The former view argues that humans do not, while the latter view argues that they do. The works of Paul function as the bedrock for a theology of justification. Since these works are important for this subject, it follows that the pistis Christou debate is essential for discussing and shaping the foundation for justification theology in Pauline studies.