When in Romans (Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic) , livre ebook

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96 pages

English

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Invites Readers of Romans to Expand Their View of God and the GospelWhen 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.

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	15 novembre 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493405787
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0480€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2016 by Beverly Roberts Gaventa
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2016
Ebook corrections 06.06.2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-0578-7
Unless indicated otherwise, all translations of Scripture are those of the author.
Scripture quotations labeled NET are from the NET BIBLE®, copyright © 1996–2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.
Dedication
For Matthew, Sarah, and Charlie
Contents
Cover i
Title Page iii
Copyright Page iv
Dedication v
Series Preface ix
Preface xiii
Abbreviations xvii
Introduction 1
1. When in Romans . . . Watch the Horizon 23
2. When in Romans . . . Consider Abraham 47
3. When in Romans . . . Give Glory to God 75
4. When in Romans . . . Welcome One Another 97
Conclusion 119
For Further Reading 129
Ancient Sources Index 131
Subject Index 135
Back Cover 141
Series Preface
L ong before it became popular to speak about a “generous orthodoxy,” John Wesley attempted to carry out his ministry and engage in theological conversations with what he called a “catholic spirit.” Although he tried to remain “united by the tenderest and closest ties to one particular congregation” 1 (i.e., Anglicanism) all his life, he also made it clear that he was committed to the orthodox Christianity of the ancient creeds, and his library included books from a variety of theological traditions within the church catholic. We at Nazarene Theological Seminary (NTS) remain committed to the theological tradition associated with Wesley but, like Wesley himself, are very conscious of the generous gifts we have received from a variety of theological traditions. One specific place this happens in the ongoing life of our community is in the public lectures funded by the generosity of various donors. It is from those lectures that the contributions to this series arise.
The books in this series are expanded forms of public lectures presented at NTS as installments in two ongoing, endowed lectureships: the Earle Lectures on Biblical Literature and the Grider-Winget Lectures in Theology. The Earle Lecture series is named in honor of the first professor of New Testament at NTS, Ralph Earle. Initiated in 1949 with W. F. Albright for the purpose of “stimulating further research in biblical literature,” this series has brought outstanding biblical scholars to NTS, including F. F. Bruce, I. Howard Marshall, Walter Brueggemann, Richard Hays, Terence Fretheim, and Joel Green. The Grider-Winget Lecture series is named in honor of J. Kenneth Grider, longtime professor of theology at NTS, and in memory of Dr. Wilfred L. Winget, a student of Dr. Grider and the son of Mabel Fransen Winget, who founded the series. The lectureship was initiated in 1991 with Thomas Langford for the purpose of “bringing outstanding guest theologians to NTS.” Presenters for this lectureship have included Theodore Runyon, Donald Bloesch, Jürgen Moltmann, Robert Jenson, and Amy Plantinga Pauw.
The title of this monograph series indicates how we understand its character and purpose. First, even though the lectureships are geared toward biblical literature and systematic theology, we believe that the language of “theological explorations” is as appropriate to an engagement with Scripture as it is to an engagement with contemporary systematic theology. Though it is legitimate to approach at least some biblical texts with nontheological questions, we do not believe that doing so is to approach them as Scripture . Old and New Testament texts are not inert containers from which to draw theological insights; they are already witnesses to a serious theological engagement with particular historical, social, and political situations. Hence, biblical texts should be approached on their own terms through asking theological questions. Our intent, then, is that this series will be characterized by theological explorations from the fields of biblical studies and systematic theology.
Second, the word “explorations” is appropriate since we ask the lecturers to explore the cutting edge of their current interests and thinking. With the obvious time limitations of three public lectures, even their expanded versions will generally result not in long, detailed monographs but rather in shorter, suggestive treatments of a given topic—that is, explorations.
Finally, with the language of “the church catholic,” we intend to convey our hope that these volumes should be pro ecclesia in the broadest sense—given by lecturers representing a variety of theological traditions for the benefit of the whole church of Jesus Christ. We at NTS have been generously gifted by those who fund these two lectureships. Our hope and prayer is that this series will become a generous gift to the church catholic, one means of equipping the people of God for participation in the missio Dei .
Andy Johnson Lectures Coordinator Nazarene Theological Seminary Kansas City, Missouri

1 . John Wesley, Sermon 39 , “Catholic Spirit,” §III.4, in Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley (Nashville: Abingdon, 1985), 2:79–95. We know, however, that his public ties with Anglicanism were at some points in his life anything but tender and close.
Preface
T his book on Romans is intended for people who would not normally read a book about Romans. Already there are books—many books—for people who do read books about Romans. Stacks of them arrive on a regular basis. Keeping up with them is nearly impossible, even for the most diligent specialist. As the books pile up, the conversation grows increasingly precise, technical, and challenging for the nonspecialist. And that’s a problem, because Romans is too important to be turned over to a handful of specialists, however learned and insightful they may be.
What I have tried to offer in this book is an invitation to Romans, focusing on aspects of the letter that I find crucial, both for the first century and for our own. In the introduction I take up a few general questions about the composition of the letter, but the book is not a survey of the letter. It is also not a commentary on the whole of the letter, although I am preparing one of those as well. I have tried to keep the text itself free of the jargon and the clutter of detailed argument that causes readers to slip away for their siestas. The notes should be helpful for those who want to read further on a particular point, but most readers can simply pass over them. The list of suggested readings at the end also provides an entry point for further study.
In the introduction I observe that no one writes alone. Certainly I have not written this book alone. It began with an invitation from Dean Roger Hahn to deliver the Earle Lectures on Biblical Literature at Nazarene Theological Seminary in the fall of 2013. I am grateful to my host and colleague Andy Johnson for the good conversations around those lectures as well as the hospitality extended to me on that occasion. And I appreciate the relationship between the Earle Lectures and Baker Academic, which prompted me to expand and revise those lectures into this book.
I also presented earlier versions of chapters 1–3 as the Currie Lectures at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in February 2015. I am grateful to President Theodore Wardlaw for that invitation, as well as for his friendship of many years. The week itself was a delightful combination of worship, lectures, conversation, and fellowship.
Former students at Princeton Theological Seminary, where I taught courses on Romans regularly for nearly two decades, may recognize anecdotes and analogies to which they were subjected in various pedagogical experiments. With their nods, amens, groans, and even occasional yawns, they helped me sort words that hit their communicative targets from words that needed to be targeted elsewhere. I am happy to acknowledge their assistance.
Friends in ministry Patrick James Willson and Leslie Murphy King read portions of the manuscript and made numerous suggestions for improvement, and I am grateful for their care and encouragement.
Rendering earlier oral presentations into written form became much easier with the help of my graduate assistants at Baylor University. Scott Ryan and Natalie Webb provided important research assistance at an early stage in the work. Natalie also read the manuscript during the copyediting stage, saving me some embarrassment and making numerous suggestions throughout. Justin King was invaluable in the final stages of manuscript preparation. In addition to tracking down bibliographical information, Justin read the entire manuscript, corrected numerous errors, and became an important conversation partner about Romans in general and this book in particular. I am also pleased to acknowledge the support of the Baylor University Department of Religion, especially our chair, William H. Bellinger Jr.
As much as I might wish otherwise, these fine people are not responsible for the missteps, the infelicities, and the errors that rema