Reading Romans as a Diatribe

Reading Romans as a Diatribe PDF

Author: Changwon Song

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 9780820468174

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This book illustrates how the macro-structure of the «body» of Romans essentially follows that of the diatribes in Epictetus's Discourses. As in Discourses, the diatribe in Romans begins with the thesis (1.16-17), then follows an indictment (1.18-32) and dialogues with a fictitious second-person singular in chapter two. Arguments with the mē genoito formula dominate the middle part of the diatribe. In the middle of chapter eleven, the phase changes back to dialogues with the second-person singular. The ending of the diatribe Romans also, like Discourses, includes cynic and hyperbolic statements (14.21 and 14.23). Thus, the «body» of Romans should not be read as a real letter, but as a diatribe that was distributed in Paul's schoolroom and later appropriated as a letter. This teaching was not directed to a specific group of people, viz., the Christians in Rome, but rather intrinsically universalized. Therefore, its message is intrinsically more powerful for us.

Paul's Letter to the Romans

Paul's Letter to the Romans PDF

Author: Ben Witherington III

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2004-03-02

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 9780802845047

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Witherington gleans fresh insights from reading the text of Paul's epistle in light of early Jewish theology, the historical situation of Rome in the middle of first century A.D., and Paul's own rhetorical concerns.

Reading Romans

Reading Romans PDF

Author: Luke Timothy Johnson

Publisher: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9781573122764

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Paul wrote this letter to the Roman Christians to win their financial support for a new stage in his mission. How could an Apostle--unknown by sight to the Roman believers--recommend himself, except by sharing his understanding of how God was at work through the Good News that Paul proclaimed to Jews and Gentiles? Romans starts with a practical goal and becomes a theological masterpiece of great historical importance and of enduring significance to all believers in the One God. The fresh reading of Romans by a Catholic scholar pays close attention to Paul's theological argument as it unfolds. The commentary includes several distinctive features. Johnson shows how Paul understands "righteousness by faith" as the faith of the human person Jesus, how "salvation" means inclusion in God's people, and how the work of the Holy Spirit transforms human conciousness so that believers can share with each other the faith and the love shown them by Jesus--from back cover.

The Structure of Romans

The Structure of Romans PDF

Author: Paul B. Fowler

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2016-07-01

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1506416195

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We increasingly recognize that Paul did not write his letter to the Romans primarily out of doctrinal concerns. Paul B. Fowler presses that insight home in this attentive, yet eminently readable, study of the letter’s structure. The principles of Fowler’s reading are that rhetorical questions in Romans 3‒11 structure the argument, not as responses to criticism but as Paul’s careful guiding of the reader, and that these chapters, like the paraenesis in Romans 12‒15, address specific circumstances in Rome. Careful attention to the rhetorical structure of the letter points to tensions between Jew and Gentile that aggravate the already precarious situation of the Roman congregation. In the course of his argument, Fowler explodes the common conceptions that Paul employs diatribal technique to answer objections and that he is primarily engaged in a debate with Jews. In short, Fowler demonstrates that the apostle is not writing defensively, but responding with sensitivity to the volatile atmosphere caused by Claudius’s expulsion of some Jews from Rome. The book includes an appendix on rhetorical devices and another on epistolary formulas in Paul’s letters.

Speech-in-Character, Diatribe, and Romans 3:1-9

Speech-in-Character, Diatribe, and Romans 3:1-9 PDF

Author: Justin King

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-06-26

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 9004373292

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In Speech-in-Character, Diatribe, and Romans 3:1-9, Justin King focuses on the rhetorical skill of speech-in-character to identify which voice speaks which lines in Paul’s diatribal dialogue in Romans 3:1-9. He then considers this passage’s function in its larger epistolary context.

Paul's Letter to the Romans

Paul's Letter to the Romans PDF

Author: Ben Witherington

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2004-03-02

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 1467429600

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While Paul’s letter to the Romans is the most studied and commented-on document from the biblical period, the major exegetical books on Romans from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have been overwhelmingly shaped by the Reformed tradition. Through a careful survey of work on Romans by both ancient Church Fathers and modern exegetical scholars, Ben Witherington III here argues that the interpretation of Romans since the Reformation has been far too indebted to — and at key points led astray by — Augustinian readings of the text as filtered through Luther, Calvin, and others. In this first full-scale socio-rhetorical commentary on Romans, Witherington gleans fresh insights from reading the text of Paul’s epistle in light of early Jewish theology, the historical situation of Rome in the middle of the first century A.D., and Paul’s own rhetorical concerns. Giving serious consideration to the social and rhetorical background of Romans allows readers to hear Paul on his own terms, not just through the various voices of his later interpreters. Witherington’s groundbreaking work also features a new, clear translation of the Greek text, and each section of the commentary ends with a brief discussion titled “Bridging the Horizons,” which suggests how the ancient text of Romans may speak to us today.

The Deliverance of God

The Deliverance of God PDF

Author: Douglas A. Campbell

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2009-08-07

Total Pages: 1250

ISBN-13: 0802831265

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This book breaks a significant impasse in much Pauline interpretation, pushing beyond both " Lutheran" and "New" perspectives on Paul to a non-contractual , "apocalyptic" reading of many of the apostle's most famous, and most troublesome, texts. His strongly antithetical vision identifies "participation in Christ" as the sole core of Pauline theology and produces the most radical rereading of Romans 1-4 for more than a generation. Even those who disagree will be forced to clarify their views as never before.

Romans

Romans PDF

Author: Michael J. Gorman

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2022-03-03

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1467464007

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“Above all, Romans is a letter about Spirit-enabled participation and transformation in Christ and his story, and thus in the mission of God in the world.” This commentary engages the letter to the Romans as Christian scripture and highlights the Pauline themes for which Michael Gorman is best known—participation and transformation, cruciformity and new life, peace and justice, community and mission. With extensive introductions both to the apostle Paul and to the letter itself, Gorman offers background information on Paul’s first-century context before proceeding into the rich theological landscape of the biblical text. In line with Paul’s focus on Christian living, Gorman interprets Romans at a consistently practical level, highlighting the letter’s significance for Christian theology, daily life, and pastoral ministry. Questions for reflection and sidebars on important concepts make this especially useful for those preparing to preach or teach from Romans—the “epistle of life,” as Gorman calls it, for its extraordinary promise that, through faith, we might walk in newness of life with Christ.

The So-Called Jew in Paul's Letter to the Romans

The So-Called Jew in Paul's Letter to the Romans PDF

Author: Rafael Rodriguez

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2016-08-01

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1506401996

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Decades ago, Werner G. Kummel described the historical problem of Romans as its “double character”: concerned with issues of Torah and the destiny of Israel, the letter is explicitly addressed not to Jews but to Gentiles. At stake in the numerous answers given to that question is nothing less than the purpose of Paul’s most important letter. In The So-Called Jew in Romans, nine Pauline scholars focus their attention on the rhetoric of diatribe and characterization in the opening argumentation that figure appears or is implied. Each component of Paul’s argument is closely examined with particular attention to the theological problems that arise in each. In addition to the editors, chapters of the letter, asking what Paul means by the “so-called Jew” in Romans 2 and where else in the letter’s contributors are Runar M. Thorsteinsson, Magnus Zetterholm, Joshua D. Garroway, Matthew V. Novenson, and Michele Murraywith a response by Joshua W. Jipp.