God and Human Wholeness

Book excerpt: The language of perfection crops up regularly in the Bible, from Noah ("a just man and perfect in his generations," KJV) to Jesus ("be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect," NRSV). Is flawless behavior what God expects, the only standard of righteousness that can satisfy him? Jewish tradition has long questioned this Christian assumption. Since Sanders and the New Perspective on Paul, it has come under increasing challenge from many directions. In Reclaiming Human Wholeness, Kent Yinger provides an in-depth examination of what the Bible intends with this perfection-wholeness language and of its impact on theology and spiritual life. Rather than calling to an unreachable perfection, the God of the Bible desires our flourishing and wholeness.