Transcript Paul*s Letter to the Romans

Paul’s Letter to the Romans
Episcopal Church of the Resurrection
May 19-June 23, 2011
Sections in this Class
• May 19
– Introduction
• June 2
– 1:1-4:25
• June 9
– 5:1-8:11
• June 16
– 8:12-11:36
• June 23
– 12:1-16:27
NT Chronology
• Jesus: 4BC?-30AD?
• Paul: First decade AD-60sAD?
• Paul’s Letters: 50-58
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– 50: 1-2 Thessalonians
– 53: Ephesians?
– 53: Galatians
– 54: 1 Corinthians
– 55: Philippians & Philemon
– 55-56: 2 Corinthians
– 57: Romans
– 58 Colossians
Roman/Jewish War: 66-70
GOSPEL OF MARK: 68-73
Rome destroys Jerusalem temple: 70
Gospel of Matthew: 80-90
Luke/Acts: 80-90
Gospel of John: 80-110
Revelation: 92-96
Other Epistles: 70-130
Didache: 100-150
Justin Martyr: Mid 2nd Century
Gospel of Thomas: Mid 3rd Century
Possible Pauline Chronology
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33 – Paul’s conversion
35 – First journey to Jerusalem
47-48 – Mission from Antioch to Asia
48 – Second journey to Jerusalem
49 – Macedonian mission
49-52 – Corinthian Mission
50 – 1-2 Thessalonoians written
53-56 – Ephesian mission
53 – Galatians written
54 – 1 Corinthians written
55 – Phillipians and Philemon written
55-56 – 2 Corinthians written
56 – Painful return to Corinth
57- Third visit to Corinth
57 – Romans written
57 – Third journey to Jerusalem
57-59 – Imprisonment and trial in Caesarea
58 – Colossians written
60-62 – Arrival and imprisonment in Rome
What did Paul write?
• Original to Paul (Circa 50s)
– Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, I Thessalonians,
Galatians, Philippians, Philemon
– Radical Paul
– Challenges many social conventions of ancient world
• Disputed (Circa 70-90)
– Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians
– Conservative Paul
– Challenges some social conventions of ancient world
• Non-Pauline (Circa 100-120)
– I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus
– Reactionary Paul
– Reinforces many social conventions of ancient world
Who was Paul?
• Chronology of Paul’s life in Acts differs
considerably from chronology in epistles
• Born first decade AD(?), died 60sAD(?)
• Paul grew up in Tarsus, Southern Turkey. He lived
in the Diaspora, not in Israel. Diaspora Judaism
was more insecure
• Tarsus was urban, cosmopolitan and well-educated
(versus Galilee)
• Roman citizen?
• A tent-maker
• Pharisee
Who was Paul?
• Paul did not know the historical Jesus. Often he
feels need to assert apostolic credentials
– Seldom cites Jesus’ sayings
– Focuses more on Jesus’ death/resurrection than life
– Focuses more on relationship with Jesus than Jesus
stories
– Paul doesn’t seem familiar with most Gospel stories,
except for Last Supper and some apocalyptic material
• Jewish Christ mystic?
• Epileptic? Malarial?
• Paul did not intend to start a new religion. He
thought Christianity was fulfillment of Judaism
Was Paul a Mystic?
• Mystic: Someone who experiences union with
God. Moved from believing to knowing God
• Was Paul a mystic? Did he have a mystical
experience on the road to Damascus?
Paul is Important
• Augustine converted to Christianity after reading
Romans 13:13-14
• Luther founded his definition of grace on Paul
• Paul is central to John Calvin’s theology
• John Wesley, who went on to found the
Methodists, was converted by Luther’s
commentary on Romans
• Borg jokes that for Lutherans, Paul is more
important than Jesus
Contrasting Perspectives on Paul
• Protestant versus Catholic
• Christian versus Jewish
• Jewish covenantal tradition versus Roman
imperial theology
Context is Important
• Paul wrote letters, not stories, like the Gospel,
so they often leave out or assume knowledge
of the Gospel, but don’t make it explicit
• Paul wrote letters to specific communities to
address specific issues. If we don’t know much
about the community or issue, it’s hard to
understand the letter
• Concentric contexts: Individual
communities/Jesus
movement/Judaism/Roman empire
• For Paul to say, “Jesus is Lord”, was treason
What Goes Into an Epistle?
• Greeting
– Identifies sender(s), recipient(s)
– “Grace and peace”
– Claim of apostolic authority
• Sense of formality. Functions like a business card
• Thanksgiving for blessings and for recipients
• Body
– Addresses difficulties that prompted the letter
– Usually Paul defends or clarifies his mission
– Romans is fashioned as a diatribe or debate between teacher and
student
– Appeals to scripture and Greco-Roman philosophy
• Benediction
– Personal news, exhortation, advice, recap, signature, doxology
Major Pauline Themes
• Relationship of Jews and Gentiles before
Christ
• Justifying oneself before the law/covenant
• Creating a community that treats all people
equally
Problems in Paul
• Paul seems to endorse slavery, subordinate
women and condemn homosexuality.
• Paul says humans should be subject to their
rulers
• Paul also seems to say celibacy is better than
marriage
• Did Paul change the message of Jesus into
doctrines about Jesus?
Paul’s Letter to the Romans
“Romans is neither a systematic theology nor a
summary of Paul’s lifework, but it is by common
consent his masterpiece. It dwarfs most of his
other writings. …What nobody doubts is that we
are here dealing with a work of massive substance,
presenting a formidable intellectual challenge
while offering breathtaking theological and
spiritual vision.”
“…anyone who claims to understand Romans fully is,
almost by definition, mistaken.”
-N.T. Wright
• Romans can’t be read narratively like a gospel.
Themes come and go, circle one another,
contradict each other, build and ebb. Sections
blend together, end abruptly and pick up
suddenly
Who was reading this letter?
• Two groups:
– Christian Gentiles faced with non-Christian Jews
– Christian Gentiles in tension with Christian Jews
• In late 40s many of Rome’s Jews were expelled
from Rome in wake of riots over Christian
preaching within Jewish community. Jews allowed
back in 54
– Builds tension into relationship
• The two groups are trying to live together, though
they have very different cultural inheritances, food
customs, etc.
Who was reading this letter?
• Rome and Caesar considered themselves the
source of justice/righteousness in the world
• Paul said Jesus was. This puts Christians in
sharp tension with Rome
• Written from Corinth (or nearby) to Rome in
the mid-to-late 50s
God’s Righteousness
• According to N.T. Wright, this is the primary theme. See
1:16-17
• Righteousness = covenant loyalty and commitment to
putting the world to right
• Covenant
– Jews of Paul’s time believed God would still fulfill covenant
made with patriarchs. Liberation was coming
– Covenant functioned to bring humanity into communion with
God
• Law Court
– Temple had a court before which parties argued.
“Righteousness” was status of successful party. Judge also
considered righteous
– Relationships with Israel’s oppressors fell into this category of
righteousness
God’s Righteousness, cont.
• Often these themes were described in apocalyptic
language.
• This does not mean anticipation of imminent
destruction, rather, it is a literary genre that:
– “…uses highly charged and coded metaphors to invest
space-time reality with its cosmic or theological
significance.”
• Paul clearly expected Jesus to come back within his
lifetime, and voices frustration that it has not
happened
Apostle to the Gentiles
• Paul seems to have believed that Jesus’ death and
resurrection was the long-awaited event, so he
re-imagined the way of viewing the story of Israel
within the world
• Paul became “apostle to the Gentiles”. Thought
that since God had fulfilled his purpose to Israel,
and now it was time for Gentiles to come along
God, Jesus, Paul and Torah
1. Uncouple Mosaic law from Abrahamic Covenant
2. Regard Abrahamic covenant fulfilled “apart from
the law”
3. Torah applies to Jews only, is not relevant to
period when gentiles were joining God’s people
4. Torah intensifies problem of sin for those under
it, so they needed to be freed from it
5. Torah had been fulfilled in creation of new
people of God in Christ
Martin Luther’s Mistake
• Luther asked Romans how humans overcome
sin and gain salvation. He said humans were
justified by faith:
– Humans realize inability to be righteous and must
instead trust God’s action in Christ to free them
from obligations to a law
• Paul didn’t write about that. He seems to be
talking about God’s righteousness, not
humans’
Sections of the Epistle: Chapters 1-4
• Jesus has been true to Abrahamic Covenant
and brought saving order to the world
• World is in rebellion, chosen people have
failed
• But God has created a worldwide family of
Abraham
Sections of the Epistle: Chapters 5-8
• God has, therefore, done what the Covenant was
meant to do –solved problem of sin
• God has redeemed all people of enslavement to
sin
• People are led by the Spirit
• This is result of God’s “astonishing, unchanging,
self-giving covenant love expressed completely
and finally in death of Jesus.”
Sections of the Epistle: Chapters 9-11
• Failure of Israel to believe in Messiah
• But ironically, it is death of Messiah that
opens salvation to all
• Gentiles warned against anti-Jewish
arrogance
Sections of the Epistle: Chapters 12-16
• Community of Christians must live as the
renewed humanity.
• Must reflect God’s intention for Jew and Gentile
to worship together
• Disparate groups must come together in
common worship and mission
Sources
• Robert Wall, Introduction to Epistolary
Literature, from “The New Interpreters Bible”,
Volume X
• N.T. Wright, The Letter to the Romans, from
“The New Interpreters Bible”, Volume X
• Art Ross, Martha Stevenson, Romans, from
“Interpretation Bible Studies”
• Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, The First
Paul