Justification: How God Rectifies the Ungodly – Part Three

The doctrine of Justification, or, more accurately, of Rectification, is the doctrine that lay at the heart of the sixteenth-century Reformation in Europe. The Reformers developed an understanding of the doctrine that differed markedly from the views of their Roman Catholic contemporaries. Basing their understanding on the Greek in which the original New Testament documents were composed, they popularized their views by making translations from the Greek into various European languages.

The translations produced in the English language drew on two word-families (righteousness and cognates/justify and cognates) to represent the single word-family at the heart of Paul’s doctrine (δικαιοσύνη and cognates). With important exceptions, this practice has continued to the present day. 

This volume, being Part Three of Justification: How God Rectifies the Ungodly, examines the issues this raises for understanding and conveying Paul’s doctrine in English translations through the analysis and evaluation of sixty English versions from their beginning in the fourteenth century to 2021. It demonstrates that it is not only possible, but also desirable, to utilise a single English word-family (the ‘right’ family).

About the author

Richard K. Moore (BA, MA, DipEd, BD, PhD) lectured in Biblical Studies in Queensland (1974–1978) before returning to his home State to become Head of the New Testament Department at the Baptist Theological College of Western Australia (1979–2002), now the Vose Campus of Morling College in New South Wales. He was also a Lecturer at Murdoch University (1986–2002). 

Richard and Kathleen Mack married in 1965. They have two sons and a daughter, five grandsons and one granddaughter. 

In retirement Richard continues as a Research Associate of the Vose Campus of Morling College, publishing in the field of New Testament.

ISBN 9780645492682