Description: The renewed interest in the reading of Romans 9-11 over recent decades is indicative of the attempt to settle the controversy concerning the doctrine of double predestination. In reference to Luther's directive that the theology of the cross be the lens through which all other doctrines be examined, and based on the "New Perspective" on Paul's writings and his Jewish background, this study reassesses the Reformed doctrine of predestination through Paul's convictions concerning the cross and his theological reading of the Old Testament. Accordingly, this study establishes that the primary principle, which Paul underscores within the context of Romans 9, is that the cross is the supreme expression of God's purpose of election. The cross of Christ not only is a statement about God's determination in election, but it also has an existential purpose in its ways and works. Furthermore, the readers of Romans 9 will recognize that when Paul discusses election, he engages a specifically Trinitarian articulation of God, who works out his election of grace in a definite yet surprising manner. Since the correlation between election and the cross is held together in Christ through his crucifixion, Wang puts "cruciform election" foremost in the understanding of predestination.
Brief description: Paul C. Wang has been engaged in theological education and pastoral ministry in North America and around the world for over fifty years. He had served as Vice Principal of the Canadian Chinese School of Theology at Tyndale Seminary in Canada, and was the Chair for the English track of the seventh Chinese Congress on World Evangelization (CCOWE). He is the lead translator and editor-in-chief of the Chinese edition of Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics: The Doctrine of the Word.
Review Quotes: "Nowadays terms like 'election' and 'predestination' are likely to be heard as bad news. They suggest an arbitrary God of power, doling out salvation or damnation according to some inscrutable divine whim. Paul Wang begs to differ. He follows another Paul, the apostle, in sketching a vision of election grounded in God's self-giving love in the cross of Christ. Wang writes with considerable clarity, grace, and wisdom. Read this book."
--Joseph Mangina, Professor of Systematic Theology, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto