Francis Watson

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  Gospel Writing : A Canonical Perspective

  $54.99

  That there are four canonical versions of the one gospel story is often seen as a problem for Christian faith: for, where gospels multiply, so too do apparent tensions and contradictions that may seem to undermine their truth claims. In Gospel Writing, Francis Watson argues that differences and tensions between canonical gospels represent opportunities for theological reflection, not problems for apologetics. In exploring this claim, he proposes nothing less than a new paradigm for gospel studies — one that engages fully with the available noncanonical gospel material so as to illuminate the historical and theological significance of the canonical.

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  Paul Judaism And The Gentiles (Revised)

  $42.99

  In its first edition (1986), this book was the first monograph-length response to the groundbreaking work of E. P. Sanders. Francis Watson shared some of the concerns of what came to be called the “new perspective on Paul,” but took an independent line on several points. Now, in this new, completely rewritten edition, the discussion has been extended, updated, and clarified, in order to point the way beyond the polarization of “new” and “old” perspectives on Paul. The Paul who comes to light in these pages is both agent and thinker, apostle and theologian. He is a highly contextual figure, yet his account of Christian identity continues to shape the church’s life to this day. He is the founder of mainly Gentile, Christ-believing communities, separated from the synagogue; and yet he can see this distinctive existence as an authentic response to Jewish scripture and tradition, as fulfilled in Christ. He is a many-sided figure, transcending all our attempts to categorize him or to co-opt him for our own favored courses. Far longer than the original edition, Paul, Judaism, and the Gentiles also contains a new introduction and an extensive appendix.

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  Text And Truth A Print On Demand Title

  $33.99

  This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.

  The disciplines of biblical studies and systematic theology have in modern times been practised in relative isolation from one another. Francis Watson argues that the separate development of Old and New Testament studies and systematic theology impoverishes all three disciplines and distorts the object of their study.

  In the past, a ‘biblical theology’ that took seriously the theological responsibilities of the biblical interpreter was criticised by some scholars as detrimental to the practice of both the exegetical and the theological disciplines. Here Francis Watson argues for more theological involvement with exegesis and hermeneutics rather than less: biblical theology, he contends, must be practised in an interdisciplinary approach that can draw freely on the resources and perspectives of the two exegetical disciplines and of systematic theology.

  The first part of the book examines particular themes in theological hermeneutics. Contemporary hermeneutical debates – such as the relationship of history-writing and fiction, textual indeterminacy, and interpretative pluralism – are engaged from an explicitly theological point of view. The second part analyses Christian theological use of the Old Testament. It advocates an approach to Old Testament interpretation in which the retrospective Christian re-reading of Jewish scripture as preparing the way for the coming of Christ is once again taken seriously.

  This work builds on Francis Watson’s previous book Text, Church and World: Biblical Interpretation in Theological Perspective (Eerdmans, 1994) in advocating an approach in which biblical interpretation seeks to contribute directly to the work of Christian theological construction. It is only through this interdisciplinary approach, Watson contends, that the Bible will be interpreted in a manner consistent with its status as the holy scripture of the Christian community.

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