The Spirit and the Letter: A Tradition and a Reversal

“For those intrigued by Paul’s evocative phrase, this work’s attention to the theological nuance of its implications will prove richly rewarding.” –Taylor Worley, Union University, US, Theological Book Review

“This is a work of serious and detailed scholarship, with each chapter offering a nuanced and complex interaction with the topic.” –Simon Woodman, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, UK, Regent’s Reviews

“The “letters” of this interdisciplinary volume on 2 Corinthians 3.6 (“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”) do not “kill” the reader, nor is there a spiritual reading that ignores these Pauline words. Instead, the vexing oppositional “but” is turned into an even more complex “and” that expresses the mutual dependency of death and life in the tension between spirit and letter. Leading theologians from Germany and the UK explore the life and after-life of this Pauline provocation, from exegesis and history to postmodern and remodern interpretations, to entangle the reader in an extraordinarily creative process whereby the letter becomes the embodied inspiration and the spirit flows not unwritten.” –Markus Vinzent, King’s College London

“The extraordinarily rich theme of this book leads us through centuries of interpretation and debate. Its thorough, multi-faceted engagement with one biblical verse by a dedicated group from England and Germany, who met together over several years, inspires the reader to think and rethink core issues, from the nature of matter, language and texts to the human spirit, the Holy Spirit, power and salvation. It is itself, to use its own happy phrase, a “text open to spirit”.” –David Ford, University of Cambridge, UK