ABSTRACT
Throughout The New Testament and the People of God, N. T. Wright argues that, when interpreting the New Testament writings, it is important to consider the extent to which the early Christians shared the common beliefs of first-century Jews. Although Wright is one of the better known scholars to examine primary literature from the Second Temple period, he is certainly not the only one who has embarked on this task. Many of the themes taken up by Wright were previously explored in E. P. Sanders's landmark book Paul and Palestinian Judaism. Wright took up many of the same themes as Sanders, but has often reached different conclusions about Paul's understanding of the Mosaic Law and the doctrine of justification. Wright's work has received an enormous amount of scholarly attention.
