The Triumph of God: The Essence of Paul's Thought

by J. Christiaan Beker

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 1990

Overview

This book posits two pillars as the foundations of Paul’s thought: one, the interaction between coherence and contingency in Paul’s interpretation of the gospel, and two, the apocalyptic character of his Gospel. The author ventures to demonstrate how Paul’s interpretation of the Gospel as coherent is integral with Paul’s communication of the Gospel as situationally contingent. These ostensibly opposing perspectives actually combine to form a fluid Pauline hermeneutic. The centrality of Christological apocalyptic in Paul’s interpretation is posited and involves a radical shift in traditional conceptions of Paul’s theology. The author is “recasting Paul’s theology as a theocentric theology of hope rather than as a Christocentric salvation-history (O. Cullmann) or as an existentialist theology of the cross (R. Bultmann). A theology of hope views the present as the dawn of the future and the future as the full actualization of the present.” Examining the implications of this approach—the ultimacy of God’s sovereignty and triumph beside the Christ-event, the formation of a “biblical-theology,” a rethinking of traditional concepts of salvation and ethics—the author intends to reveal a fresh and most enlightening view of Paul’s theology.

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Praise for the Print Edition

The Triumph of God is a book for which we have long been waiting. In it Beker, one of today’s leading interpreters of Paul, makes available to a wide readership the central tenets of his bold and much-discussed approach to Paul. Beker’s thesis is that, for Paul, the Christ-event is proleptic of the coming, cosmic triumph of God. Categorically, Beker takes issue with any construal of Paul that downplays the theocentric, cosmic, or future aspects of the apostle’s apocalyptic gospel. Challenging and controversial, this slim volume is ideal for classroom use. Pastors, teachers, and students will read it with interest and be nudged to see Paul’s ancient writings in new perspective.

—Jack Dean Kingsbury, emeritus professor, Union Theological Seminary, VA

Product Details

• Title: The Triumph of God: The Essence of Paul’s Thought
• Author: J. Christiaan Beker
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Print Publication Date: 1990
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 168
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Paul, the Apostle, Saint; Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul › Theology
• Resource ID: LLS:TRMPHGDSSNCPLST
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T06:24:14Z

About J. Christiaan Beker

J. Christiaan Beker was, for 30 years, the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary; he died in 1999. Among his books are the critically acclaimed Paul the Apostle, The Triumph of God, and The New Testament: A Thematic Introduction.