Christian Liberty: A New Testament Perspective

by James D.G. Dunn

Taking the New Testament as the charter of Christian liberty, distinguished biblical scholar James D. G. Dunn approaches the complex subject of freedom from the perspective of Scripture in order to demonstrate what is distinctively Christian liberty. / After opening with an overview of the historical development of the concept of liberty, Dunn goes on to examine three scriptural “test cases” that help to elucidate the (often tense) relationship (1) between freedom and authority, as revealed in the responses of Jesus to the dominant conventions of his day, (2) between liberty and the self, derived from Paul*#39;s teaching about sin, death, and the law, and (3) between liberty and society, illustrated by a masterly exposition of Romans 14–15. / In a day when the forces of fundamentalism are gathering strength once again on all sides, the theme of liberty, not least Christian liberty, is one that demands attention. This study shows that the “freedom of Jesus” is something no Christian need fear, that liberty is not a threat to faith but one of its prime expressions.

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

James D. G. ("Jimmy") Dunn (born 1939) was for many years the Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology at the University of Durham. Since his retirement he has been made Emeritus Lightfoot Professor. He is a leading British New Testament scholar, broadly in the Protestant tradition. Dunn is especially associated with the New Perspective on Paul, along with N. T. (Tom) Wright and E. P. Sanders. He is credited with coining this phrase during his 1982 Manson Memorial Lecture.

Dunn has an MA and BD from the University of Glasgow and a PhD and DD from the University of Cambridge. For 2002, Dunn was the President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, the leading international body for New Testament study. Only three other British scholars had been made President in the preceding 25 years.

In 2005 a festschrift was published dedicated to Dunn, comprising articles by 27 New Testament scholars, examining early Christian communities and their beliefs about the Holy Spirit. (edited by Graham N. Stanton, Bruce W. Longenecker & Stephen Barton (2004). The Holy Spirit and Christian origins: essays in honor of James D. G. Dunn. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2822-1.)

Dunn has taken up E. P. Sanders' project of redefining Palestinian Judaism in order to correct the Christian view of Judaism as a religion of works-righteousness. One of the most important differences to Sanders is that Dunn perceives a fundamental coherence and consistency to Paul's thought. He furthermore criticizes Sanders' understanding of the term "justification", arguing that Sanders' understanding suffers from an "individualizing exegesis".

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overly academic series of lectures on Christian Liberty that ends in a good place, but would only be useful for academia.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything by James D.G. Dunn will be thought provoking and thoroughly researched. This book is no disappointment. The chapters in this book are from a series of lecture Dunn gave in the early nineties. As such, the book itself is not very long and the exegesis of key passages are not as detailed. Nonetheless, this volume on Christian liberty is dense with helpful illumination on liberty as an idea, Jesus and authority, liberty as relating to the individual Christian, and liberty in relation to the Christian community. Perhaps the brightest (and most helpful) spots in the book are the chapters on Jesus' approach the various layers of authority in his cultural circumstances and the one on liberty in community (which contains an extended, clarifying explanation of Romans 14). For a quick but informed introduction to this immensely important subject, this book is a must-read.