This was the inaugural volume of the new Commentaries for Christian Formation (CCF) series. I’m sure they were pleased to snag N. T. Wright since he is such a major scholar. To be sure, he is controversial because he is one of the proponents of the New Perspective on Paul. Because I especially liked the new volume on Hebrews in this series, I backed up to check out this one. Since I’m not a NPP guy and because Wright isn’t in any of the main series I’ve consistently reviewed, this was my first foray into Wright’s writing.

By the end of the Introduction here, I felt I understood Wright and could see what all the hoopla was about. He is an engaging, even provocative writer. Rather than an academic work, I felt I was reading a captivating essay. The more I read, the more I wondered if it would help a lot of works to adopt that style. It is much more gripping and makes for more of what we might call a real reading experience. I must give Wright all the props for his writing.

Still, I wasn’t fully persuaded by his arguments. They had enough going for them that I could find places for caution in running mindlessly to our usual conclusions, but not enough to just overthrow them. (You can decide if I was too biased a reader). For example, he is convinced that the Reformation oriented New Testament studies away from what they were in the First Century (that will never do in some circles! ). Again, I think he gives us enough to consider more carefully earlier concerns, but no where near enough to think the Reformation recreated Christianity in its own image. From there his comments had value mostly in regard to when he was not trying to advance his scheme because, as I said before, the man unquestionably possesses advanced writing skills.

His work still has value in the commentary section. I see him as a guy standing at a different vantage point. Sometimes it’s too far away to see through all the bushes, but where he has a clear line of sight, it’s something else.

He’s probably geared quite nicely for Christian formation, probably more so than for theological precision for sure too. Based on what I’ve said, you’ll know how many stars to give this work.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Galatians gets its turn in the outstanding EEC series. The series is one of my favorites in the major exegetical commentary category. In that vein, many releases are coincidentally coming out on Galatians (probably not the timing publishers really wanted), but this is easily one of the best.

The Introduction is well done and pretty conservative. It’s engagingly written and touches all the needed places. He takes the South Galatia View and lays out his case well. I wish he would have more directly addressed structure beyond his simple outline.

Even better than the Introduction is the Commentary proper. Exegesis fills his wheel house from wall to wall. In each passage, he gives some very detailed textual notes followed by his own translation. From there, he offers his most helpful work in the commentary section. It’s detailed, copiously footnoted, and hits the sweet spot on depth. After that, he gives theological comments of varying lengths. Pastors will appreciate the application and devotional implications section. Most sections have an additional exegetical comments, though I couldn’t quite gauge what determined if it went here or the earlier section. Each passage had its own selected bibliography.

If you’re building a theological library, you could start here. I’m pleased with this offering in this series I admire.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.