Jesus Have I Loved,

but Paul?

A NARRATIVE APPROACH TO THE

PROBLEM OF PAULINE CHRISTIANITY

J. R. DANIEL KIRK

Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 2011 by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakeracademic.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kirk, J. R. Daniel.

Jesus have I loved, but Paul? : a narrative approach to the problem of Pauline

Christianity / J. R. Daniel Kirk.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

ISBN 978-0-8010-3910-2 (pbk.)

1. Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul—Theology. 2. Jesus Christ—Teachings. 3. Narrative theology. I. Title.

BS2653.K57 2012

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture citations are the author’s own translations.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Lyrics from “Love Love Love” are copyright © 2005 by John Darnielle and are used by permission.

For Opa

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Jesus Stories in the Gospels and Paul

2. New Creation and the Kingdom of God

3. Christianity as Community

4. Living Out the Jesus Narrative

5. Judgment and Inclusion

6. Women in the Story of God

7. Liberty and Justice for All?

8. Sex in the Plot of God’s Stories

9. Homosexuality under the Reign of Christ

10. Living Interpretations

Scripture Index

Subject Index

Acknowledgments

There are many people to thank, without whom this book either would not have come to fruition or else would be greatly impoverished.

I was aided and abetted by a veritable legion of readers. David Vinson faithfully read through the entire book, chapter by chapter, as it was being written, and thereby greatly improved both the content and the writing. Readers will never know how much in his debt they are. Other friends and colleagues have also provided invaluable feedback: Love Sechrest, Susie Flood, Pete Enns, Evan Curry, Alex Kirk, Brian White, Karyn Traphagen, and Mark Traphagen. Thank you all.

I want to thank John Franke, Scot McKnight, and Pete Enns for seeing the value in this project and connecting me with the folks at Baker Academic. And I wish to thank Bob Hosack for his encouragement on the project from day one. Special thanks go out to John Darnielle for permission to use the lyrics from “Love Love Love” that serve as the epigraph to chapter 9. Fuller Theological Seminary is my academic home, and I am thankful for its granting me a sabbatical ...