Category Archives: Theology

The New Perspective: The End of the World as We Know It–The Second Coming

(Hab. 2:14) For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. With this passage, in The Simple Church, N. T. Wright lays out his theory for how the … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: The End of the World as We Know It–Introduction

I’ve never been particularly interested in eschatology (It’s a ridiculous word and I promise never to use it again. It’s the study of the end times.). I just kind of figure that however things end up, they’ll be much better … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: On Being “Called”

[This material has been relocated from the preceding post. It occurred to me that this material really didn’t add to the baptism discussion but remains important in its own right. So I moved it and fixed it up just a … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: Baptism, additional thoughts

 [The material on the meaning of being “called” has been moved to the following post.] As noted in the previous post, N. T. Wright considers baptism to be the event at which justification occurs and the “call” to be the … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: Baptism

This “new perspective” is, in many respects, very congruent with the traditional teachings of the Churches of Christ. We’ve already noticed  how Wright’s teaching on judgment in accordance with works resonates with historical Church of Christ teaching. Much closer to … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: Imputed Righteousness

One of Wright’s most controversial arguments is that there is no Biblical basis for the doctrine of “imputed righteousness.” This is the view that we are saved because Jesus’ merits are credited to Christians. Now, this should not be confused … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: Justification, Part 4 (objections)

The faithfulness of Christ Nothing is more helpful to my own study than readers who disagree or raise hard questions. Such questions allow me to consider points I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Alan Rouse argues, I think … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: Justification, Part 3 (we finally get to justification)

Justification is, of course, a major New Testament theme, especially in Romans and Galatians. Wright insists on redefining the term contrary to 500 years of Reformation history. He sees “justification” as coming from the terminology of the law court. When … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: Justification, Part 2 (the Atonement)

As previously noted, Wright’s understanding of justification is perhaps his most controversial teaching, as it runs ever so contrary to Reformation doctrine. Remarkably, Wright, an Anglican bishop, challenges 500 years of Protestant teaching (but then, Luther and Calvin challenged over … Continue reading

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The New Perspective: Justification, Part 1 (Substitutionary Atonement and Imputed Righteousness)

This is perhaps the part of Wright’s New Perspective that is most controversial (which is saying a lot!) Wright believes that Paul’s central concept of “justification” has been misunderstood in a subtle but profoundly important way. Even since Luther, the … Continue reading

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