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 ...
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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.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 236 p. Contains: Illustrations, black & white. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
You can read my fuller review at Spoiled Milks (8/16/19).
Paul wrote to "a set of house churches in Rome in the first century when Nero was emperor and Paul was planning his future mission to Spain" (x). Paul wants these Christians to be conformed to Christ ("Christoformity"). McKnight has "imagined how the Strong and Weak heard this letter" (ix).
The issue in the church in Rome is the same we have today: the issue is the inability of the Privileged and the Powerful [the Strong] to embody the gospel's inclusive demand and include the Disprivileged and the Disempowered [the Weak] (xiii). Romans 1-11 offer the rationale to the "lived theology" Paul gives his readers in Romans 12-16. They should seek the good of one another because God has made them one in Christ. They both have the same salvation, the same Spirit, they serve the same King, and have the same Father.
A few things that were a tad annoying:
McKnight reminds us who the Weak and the Strong are almost every time he brings them up. It makes sense to add on to the definitions of the Weak and Strong at the beginning of each chapter (even if that is repetitive), but to give small reminders throughout the chapter was a bit overkill.
Phoebe is a fantastic woman, but she seems to be thrown into the conversation to make sure I didn't forget about her, often distracting me from the argument's flow.
Finally, random nouns are capitalized (like in German). Placing the words in bold would have had a better effect.
This book was great. McKnight doesn't claim that this way is the way to read Romans, but he does this to help give us a proper perspective on whom Paul was writing to and why he did so. I think readers will come away with a helpful sense of reading Romans. I plan to read Romans next time with these ideas in mind to see how well I agree with it.
