Full Description
To read a passage repeatedly, to examine its ambiguities, to probe its place in a larger text, to reflect on its relationship to other texts by the same author and its place within the canon of Scripture—all of these are acts of committed relationship. As in all committed relationships, the desire to understand is rightly characterized as love. And that desire involves more than a few moments of bewilderment along with insight. When it comes to the Epistle to the Romans, John Chrysostom's plaintive question, "What are you saying, Paul?" is an apt expression of the hermeneutical task, itself a labor of love.
Readings in Romans brings together representative studies from Beverly Roberts Gaventa's years of committed relationship with Romans. From the programmatic to specifically exegetical, from those wrestling with the consequences of exegesis—questions of divine power, human freedom, and the identity of Israel vis-á-vis the church—to self-conscious engagement with theologians and writers in conversation with Romans such as Karl Barth and Simone Weil, these essays highlight the contours of Gaventa's extensive and thoughtful work on the apostle and especially his most influential letter. In this way they serve as an encapsulation of her scholarly contributions on Romans and, at the same time, a testimony of devotion to the radical understanding of God to which Paul himself witnesses.
An essential companion to Gaventa's definitive commentary on Romans, this volume will assist scholars and students of the New Testament and Christian theology by gathering into one place writings scattered across myriad publications, including journals, conference proceedings, and edited works. More than that, Readings in Romans invites all students of Paul to explore the deep coherence, rich texture, and enduring challenge of one of Christianity's most defining documents.
Contents
Part 1 Proclamation, Power, and Praise
1 "To Preach the Gospel": Romans 1:15 and the Purposes of Romans
2 The "Glory of God" in Paul's Letter to the Romans
3 Power and Kenosis in Paul's Letter to the Romans
4 From Toxic Speech to the Redemption of Doxology in Paul's Letter to the Romans
Part 2 The Human, the Cosmos, and the Powers
5 The Shape of the "I": The Psalter, the Gospel, and the Speaker in Romans 7
6 Neither Height nor Depth: Discerning the Cosmology of Romans
7 Interpreting the Death of Jesus Apocalyptically
Part 3 God, Israel, and the Gentiles
8 On the Calling-into-Being of Israel: Romans 9:6-29
9 Thinking from Christ to Israel: Romans 9-11 in Apocalyptic Context
10 Questions about Nomos, Answers about Christos: Romans 10:4 in Context
11 Who Is "Israel" in Romans 9:30-10:21?: A Neglected Question
Part 4 Romans in Conversation
12 Where Is the "God of Israel" in Paul's Reading of the Gospel?
13 Reading Romans on the Brink: The Continuing Challenge of Barth's Römerbrief
14 "That Grace Should Come into Its Own": Romans 12:1-8 in and with Karl Barth's Römerbrief
15 Which Humans? What Response?: A Reflection on Pauline Theology
16 Reading Romans 13 with Simone Weil: Toward a More Generous Hermeneutic
17 Reading for the Subject: The Paradox of Power in Romans 14:1-15:6
Part 5 Divine Power and Its Consequences
18 Freedom in Apocalyptic Perspective: A Reflection on Paul's Letter to the Romans
19 The Rhetoric of Violence and the God of Peace in Paul's Letter to the Romans
20 Places of Power in Paul's Letter to the Romans
