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Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire

Product ID : 40594658


Galleon Product ID 40594658
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About Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel Of Peace In The

Product Description 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. Review McKnight’s style is on a popular but still profound level as he lays out Paul’s pastoral theology for the Christian community in Rome with an emphasis on reconciliation and peacemaking. This is a very helpful and refreshing perspective on Paul’s magnificent letter. (Donald Senior The Bible Today) A superbly presented work of New Testament scholarship, Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to church, seminary, community, college, and university library New Testament Studies collections. ( Midwest Book Review) Review Anyone who begins reading Romans at chapter 1 verse 1 may be forgiven for allowing their attention to slip by the time they have reached chapter 16. In this important reading of Romans, Scott McKnight offers a different way of looking at the letter―starting at the end, with the lived experience of those to whom Paul writes, and working backwards. It is a fascinating exploration of this most important letter and brings it to life in new ways. Highly recommended! (Paula Gooder, Canon Chancellor, St Paul’s Cathedral, London) Christians typically read Romans forwards but too often stop at chapter 8 or 11, thinking they have the good stuff―the abstract theology that informs our traditional debates. In Reading Romans Backwards, McKnight reminds us that Paul’s final chapters are the crescendo of his letter, not an afterthought. He calls us to reckon with Romans as lived theology, pastoral counsel for cultivating unified communities of God’s peace. (Timothy Gombis, Professor of New Testament, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary) Two things stand out from this fresh, creative reading of Paul’s greatest letter. Scot McKnight is a historian who grounds his exposition in