Douglas A. Campbell, The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009). [Amazon]
I just got my hands on the library copy of Douglas Campbell’s new book on Paul (The Deliverance of God). DOG—as its being called—is a massive tome of over 1,200 pages and for that reason I won’t be able to give it a thorough reading until the semester is over. Nevertheless, just browsing the table of contents, which you can do at Amazon, shows how wide-reaching this volume is. Whether one ultimately agrees with Campbell’s rereading of Romans (particularly 1.18-3.20), Campbell’s work offers a very valuable history of scholarship, at least in the sections I’ve read. Loren Rosson has, as usual, written a superb and detailed review of DOG. So buy the book and read Rosson’s review. Hopefully Eerdmans will have them on massive discount at SBL, since it retails at $60. My one complaint so far is: why the end notes, Eerdmans?
NB: Is “Deliverance of God” a subjective or objective genitive? ;-)
Objective genitive, clearly – Campbell has delivered God by finally elucidating what he was getting at when he inspired Paul to write Rom 1.18-3.20 ;-)
Exactly the question, Jorwed! I take it you like Campbell’s reading?
I got my hands on it, too. Amen about the end notes. It’s somewhat tolerable in smaller books, but for this book, it’s redonkulous.
I wonder does it contribute in anyway to the Wright/Piper debate…
As a former student of Campbell’s, I am pleased to see this volume out. He is passionate about the quest for a ‘center’ to Paul and about the reading of Rom 1-4 explicitly. His PPME model, while a bit eclectic (ok, quite eclectic) succeeds at least in the same way I see bi-polar and recognition of multiple theologies in the OT succeeding: recognizing that there is diversity, and to ascribe a single center to such things is ill-conceived.