The Relationship of Jewish and Gentile Believers to the Law Between A.D. 30 and 70 in the Scripture

CHAPTER THREE THE BOOK OF GALATIANS: GENTILES ARE NOT UNDER THE MOSAIC LAW Since the Reformation, Paul's view of the law has been a popular theme among theologians. Luther's personal struggle with a guilty conscience, exacerbated by the merit oriented system of indulgence and penance of medieval Roman Catholicism, found relief through the doctrine of "justification by faith" in Paul. His understanding became the established interpretive paradigm for generations of scholars after him. Recently , however , several scholars have pointed out the error of equating Paul's struggle with Luther's, and the reformation"pattern of interpretation has found many challengers resulting in different approaches to the book. The movement has been away from the paradigm which (1) empha– sized the justification of the individual as the center of Pauline theology and (2) identified hi opponents as merit-oriented Judaizers . 1 Replacing the orientation of the individual who agonized over his relationship with God has been a new appreciation for the hi torical and corporate question concerning the relation hip of two people , Gentile and J w . 2 nd th 1 Dougla Moo , ' Paul and the aw in the at en ar ," otti h Journal of Theology 40 (1987) : 287. 2 " Paul ' do trine of ju tification b faith hould n t b und r t e po it ion f th indi idual ' r I ti n t od, but prim ril in th nt re tling 1th the que ti n f how J nd ntil t nd in r lati n t o nntpurpoeof dn reachdit hrit ," Jm D. Per p t1 n P ul ," Bulletm of th mv r uy Library 6 1