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About The State of Pauline Studies
An interview with editor Nijay Gupta
EV: What led you to put this book together? What problem or issue(s) are you seeking to address?
NG: Scot and I co-edited a book called The State of New Testament Studies, which itself is a kind of new edition for the older The Face of New Testament Studies. In The State of NT Studies, we couldn’t cover much in Paul, so we felt that the study of Paul deserved its own book, and the publisher agreed.
EV: What’s the thesis of your book?
NG: The overall concept is that there are hundreds of books published in Pauline studies every year, on specific texts, themes, and journal articles, and it is impossible for scholars to keep up, let alone students and pastors. So we put this book together as a short book with expert contributors helping readers to understand trends and pressure points over the last 25 years or so.
EV: Who’s your target audience, and what are you most hoping they hear from it?
NG: I think about my seminary students who want to go deeper into Pauline scholarship, but don’t know what to read or what is worth their time and energy. This gives them footholds for trying to scale the mountain of scholarship! I think of seminary-trained pastors who want to preach and teach accurately on Paul. This book will help them understand what scholars are talking about.
EV: Did you have any “aha” moments while editing the book?
NG: Every essay is meant to be “aha” for readers! But for me, I think I am blown away by how much Pauline scholarship has changed in the last 30 years. The guild has become more diverse, more voices contributing, including Jewish scholars, more archaeologists, more global voices, and thinking more about the human experience with disability studies, deeper conversations about gender, ethnicity, wealth and poverty.
EV: What was the most challenging part of the book project?
NG: Wrangling busy scholars! The pandemic happened, which led to understandable delays and complex life circumstances for some contributors. But we got there in the end and it is a great book.
EV: If your book was made into a movie, what actor/actress would play the lead role?
NG: Who’s gonna play PAUL? I don’t know if I would get to decide, but I’m a sucker for a good Pedro Pascal flick (Mando!).
EV: What kind of seminary/church classes should assign your book?
NG: This would be great for a seminar on Paul, or a deep dive on Paul. But I see a lot of folks just using this as a reference resource, have it on your shelf and dip into it as you need to learn about a certain topic. It’s a beautiful book and looks great on the shelf! 🙂
About the Editors
Nijay Gupta (PhD, University of Durham) is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary.
Erin Heim (PhD, University of Otago) is Tutor in Biblical Studies at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University.
Scott McKnight (PhD, University of Nottingham) has been a distinguished Professor of New Testament at many schools, most recently Northern Seminary.