Paul and Jewish Sacrifices: Perspectives and Arguments.

According to the traditional perspective, the early Christians refused to continue with the temple sacrifice. Christ on the cross had already atoned for all sins. Recently, other scholars, especially those belonging to the Radical New Perspective on Paul (or "Paul within Judaism" research), have argued instead that Paul carried on with temple worship, considered it efficacious, and expected Christ-following Jews to continue with the sacrifice. In this research we will investigate the positions of the different perspectives on Paul's attitude toward Jewish sacrifices and evaluate the arguments at stake. Our research leads us to the conclusion that Paul did not consider the temple sacrifices a problem, but neither did he give them any salvific relevance for the recipients of his letters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]