Paul in 3D

Paul in 3D: Preaching Paul as Pastor, Story-teller and Sage by Ben Cooper

A hard-pressed pastor-teacher sits at his desk one rainy morning, surrounded by books, and staring at the text of Galatians 3:8-14. … Does anyone understand Paul’s argument in Galatians 3:8-14?

Debate has raged in the academy on what Paul really said and what he meant by such key terms as ‘justification’. The debate looks set to smoulder on. In the meantime, pastor-teachers still have to preach Paul to the people sitting in front of them on a Sunday morning in a way that does indeed pastor and teach them.

This study suggests that a helpful way to work around the disagreements on Paul may be to approach the preaching of Paul from three perspectives: a pastoral perspective (as ‘pastor’), a narrative perspective (as ‘story-teller’) and a systematic perspective (as ‘sage’). Using Galatians 3:8-14 as a test case, the study suggests that this approach may expose the centre of Paul’s anguish for the Galatians, unpick how he persuades them to reengage with the crucified Christ, and enrich our understanding of what it means to be redeemed.

Ben Cooper is a curate at St Helen's Bishopsgate in the City of London. Before training for ordained ministry, he was a post-doctoral research fellow in economic theory at Nuffield College, Oxford. He is married to Catherine and has three children, Lizzy, Samuel and Naomi.

First Published 2008: 68 pages

ISBN: 978 0 946307 62 3

Price: £2.99

Other booklets by the same author:

LS62 Must God Punish Sin?

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