Readers of Paul today are more than ever aware of the importance of interpreting Paul’s letters in their Jewish context. In Reading Romans in Context a team of Pauline scholars go beyond a general introduction that surveys historical events and theological themes and explore Paul’s letter to the Romans in light of Second Temple Jewish literature. In this non-technical collection of short essays, beginning and intermediate students are given a chance to see firsthand what makes Paul a distinctive thinker in relation to his Jewish contemporaries. Following the narrative progression of Romans, each chapter pairs a major unit of the letter with one or more thematically related Jewish text, introduces and explores the theological nuances of the comparative text, and shows how these ideas illuminate our understanding of the book of Romans.
Paul's letter to the Romans, says Nanos, is an example of Jewish correspondence, addressing believers in Jesus who are steeped in Jewish ways-whether of Jewish or gentile origin. Arguing against those who think Paul was an apostate from Judaism, Nanos maintains Paul's continuity with his Jewish heritage. Several key arguments here are: Those addressed in Paul's letter were still an integral part of the Roman synagogue communities. The "weak" are non- Christian Jews, while the "strong" included both Jewish and gentile converts to belief in Jesus. Paul as a practicing devout Jew insists on the rules of behavior for "the righteous gentiles." Christian subordination to authorities (Romans 13:1-7) is intended to enforce submission to leaders of the synagogues, not Roman government officials. Paul behaves in a way to confirm the very Jewish portrait of him in Acts: going first to the synagogues.
Description: Using crucial chapters from Paul's magnum opus as points of theological departure, Delano Palmer provides in-depth discussion on important themes like the role of first-century women in pastoral work and the nature and duration of spiritual endowments. Romans in Context is divided into three parts. Part one reviews the career and legacy of the apostle Paul against the backdrop of his cultural milieu and history. Part two takes up the knotty problem of what exactly does the apostle mean by justification by faith in its exploration of the declarative/demonstrative proposal of modern theologians. The section also explores what Paul has to say concerning the status of the justified in Romans 5-8. It is the final section that wrestles with matters of spiritual gifts, the role of female pastors, as well as the apostle's best-documented thoughts on Christian mission. Endorsements: ""Prof. Palmer is not an armchair theologian; he is an engaging theologian immersed in the lives of the people, the culture of the community, and the struggle for the souls of Jamaica . . . Palmer is the right man to write this kind of theological book; it is scholarly, cultural, and authentic. As a professor of theology at the Jamaica Theological Seminary, Palmer has demonstrated excellence and effectiveness which inform his life and work."" --Joseph Wint Founder and President Global Education Services Corporation, New York ""Romans in Context offers an interesting approach to the Epistle of Romans. Dr. Palmer is able to cast a new die for the study of this Pauline work. He does a good job of summarizing and analyzing the relevant literature and offers alternate conclusions for some of the syntactical and textual problems within the book. He is able to masterfully intertwine the functions of spiritual gifts and the role of the church. The designation 'Archbishop of Pricilla' exemplifies his willingness to discuss pertinent issues. He shows his gracious heart with the inclusion of essays from other writers. I recommend this book to all persons, especially students of Romans."" --Carlton Dennis Pastor of Bethel Gospel Assembly About the Contributor(s): Delano Vincent Palmer serves as Senior Lecturer at the Jamaica Theological Seminary, and is a bible teacher (Swallowfield Chapel in Kingston, Jamaica). He is the author of Spiritual Gifts: An Appraisal of Positions among Christian Brethren in Jamaica (1989), and Messianic ""I"" and Rastafari in NT Dialogue (2010).
In this addition to the successful Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS) series, Scott Hahn, a bestselling author and a leading Catholic interpreter of Scripture, examines Romans from within the living tradition of the Church for pastoral ministers, lay readers, and students alike. The CCSS relates Scripture to Christian life today, is faithfully Catholic, and is supplemented by features designed to help readers understand the Bible more deeply and use it more effectively in teaching, preaching, evangelization, and other forms of ministry. Supported by leading Catholic scholars as well as popular Bible teachers, the series offers a unique level of commentary for Catholic students of the Bible. Its attractive packaging and accessible writing style make it a series to own--and to read! Drawn from the best of contemporary scholarship, series volumes are keyed to the liturgical year and include an index of pastoral subjects.
To read Romans from beginning to end, from letter opening to final doxology, is to retrace the steps of Paul. To read Romans front to back was what Paul certainly intended. But to read Romans forward may have kept the full message of Romans from being perceived. Reading forward has led readers to classify Romans as abstract and systematic theology, as a letter unstained by real pastoral concerns. But what if a different strategy were adopted? Could it be that the secret to understanding the relationship between theology and life, the key to unlocking Romans, is to begin at the letter's end? Scot McKnight does exactly this in Reading Romans Backwards. McKnight begins with Romans 12-16, foregrounding the problems that beleaguered the house churches in Rome. Beginning with the end places readers right in the middle of a community deeply divided between the strong and the weak, each side dug in on their position. The strong assert social power and privilege, while the weak claim an elected advantage in Israel's history. Continuing to work in reverse, McKnight unpacks the big themes of Romans 9-11--God's unfailing, but always surprising, purposes and the future of Israel--to reveal Paul's specific and pastoral message for both the weak and the strong in Rome. Finally, McKnight shows how the widely regarded universal sinfulness of Romans 1-4, which is so often read as simply an abstract soteriological scheme, applies to a particular rhetorical character's sinfulness and has a polemical challenge. Romans 5-8 equally levels the ground with the assertion that both groups, once trapped in a world controlled by sin, flesh, and systemic evil, can now live a life in the Spirit. In Paul's letter, no one gets off the hook but everyone is offered God's grace. Reading Romans Backwards places lived theology in the front room of every Roman house church. It focuses all of Romans--Paul's apostleship, God's faithfulness, and Christ's transformation of humanity--on achieving grace and peace among all people, both strong and weak. McKnight shows that Paul's letter to the Romans offers a sustained lesson on peace, teaching applicable to all divided churches, ancient or modern.
Globalization. Homelessness. Ecological and economic crisis. Conflicts over sexuality. Violence. These crisis-level issues may seem unique to our times, but Paul's Letter to the Romans has something to say to all of them. Following their successful Colossians Remixed, Sylvia Keesmaat and Brian Walsh unpack the meaning of Romans for its original context and for today. The authors demonstrate how Romans disarms the political, economic, and cultural power of the Roman Empire and how this ancient letter offers hope in today's crisis-laden world. Romans Disarmed helps readers enter the world of ancient Rome and see how Paul's most radical letter transforms the lives of the marginalized then and now. Intentionally avoiding abstract debates about Paul's theology, Keesmaat and Walsh move back and forth between the present and the past as they explore themes of home, economic justice, creation care, the violence of the state, sexuality, and Indigenous reconciliation. They show how Romans engages with the lived reality of those who suffer from injustice, both in the first century and in the midst of our own imperial realities.
According to Brad Vaughn, some traditional East Asian cultural values are closer to those of the first-century biblical world than common Western cultural values. In this work Vaughn demonstrates how paying attention to East Asian culture provides a helpful lens for interpreting Paul's most complex letter, and we see how honor and shame shape so much of Paul's message and mission.
Our culture does not encourage thoughtful reflection on truth. Yet living the gospel in a postmodern culture demands that Christians understand and internalize the truth about God and his plan for the world. Paul's letter to the Romans remains one of the most important expressions of Christian truth ever written. Its message forces us to evaluate who we are, who God is, and what our place in this world ought to be. Going beyond the usual commentary, this volume brings the meaning of Paul's great letter into the twenty-first century. Douglas Moo comments on the text and then explores issues in Paul's culture and in ours that help us understand the ultimate meaning of each paragraph. A final section suggests ways in which the eternal theology of Romans can be understood and lived out in our modern culture.
Invites Readers of Romans to Expand Their View of God and the Gospel When reading the book of Romans, we often focus on the quotable passages, making brief stopovers and not staying long enough to grasp some of the big ideas it contains. Instead of raiding Paul's most famous letter for a passage here or a theme there, leading New Testament scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa invites us to linger in Romans. She asks that we stay with the letter long enough to see how Romans reframes our tidy categories and dramatically enlarges our sense of the gospel. Containing profound insights written in accessible prose and illuminating references to contemporary culture, this engaging book explores the cosmic dimensions of the gospel that we read about in Paul's letter. Gaventa focuses on four key issues in Romans--salvation, identity, ethics, and community--that are crucial both for the first century and for our own. As she helps us navigate the book of Romans, she shows that the gospel is far larger, wilder, and more unsettling than we generally imagine it to be.
