A reintegrated view of sin (N T Wright)

Tom Wright has the following to say about "sin" (in Romans 5:12-2) in The New Interpreter's Bible Volume X.

"Part of the problem, of course, is that traditional Christianity has frequently operated with a truncated view of sin, limiting it to personal, and particularly sexual, immorality. These things matter enormously, of course, but there are other dimensions, of which the last century has seen so many examples, which are often untouched by traditional preaching. Equally, those preachers who have focused attention on structural evil within our world, on systematic and politically enshrined injustice, have often left the home base of Pauline theology in order to do so, not realising that there were resources there from which to launch not only critique but also promise and hope. This passage [Romans 5:12-21] invites us to explore a reintegrated view of sin and death, rebellion and consequent dehumanization, as the major problem of humankind, and thereby to offer diagnoses of our world's ills that go to the roots of the problem and prepare the way for the cure." (page 532)

Practise Love and Follow Christ (Transformation journal)

My latest article has just been published in the Transformation journal (at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies), which can be accessed in SAGE Journals. It is a peer-reviewed article, and has an academic feel. The title of the article is:

"Practise Love and Follow Christ: The Profound Relevance of Romans to Holistic Mission"

Here is the Abstract:

"Recent research in biblical studies has provided us with a good understanding on the socioeconomic condition of Christians in ancient Rome. The comparable economic and social situations between the earliest church in Rome and the poor in the Global South today suggest that Paul’s letter to the Romans can be very relevant to holistic mission. Based on some key findings of the recent research, this paper looks at two passages in Romans, and proposes that practising love and following Christ are the outworking of the holistic gospel. The implication is that Romans can be a useful resource for holistic mission."

(Click here for the full article. You do need to subscribe to the Journal though, and it is not cheap, unfortunately.)

Apocalyptic and Salvation-History in Romans (Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner)

Sorry that this post is going to be a little bit too technical for some. But if you are working on Paul's letters, one thing that you need to constantly reflect on how his theology should be understood from salvation-historical and apocalyptic perspectives. In his recent blog post Michael Bird cited something from Ciampa and Rosner's commentary on 1 Corinthians (though it is about Romans). Something for us to think through...

"The salvation-historical and apocalyptic perspectives are not, for Paul, two irreconcilable outlooks standing in unresolved tension. Instead, the two perspectives converge in Paul’s thought such that he regards the history of the particular nation of Israel as finding its fulfillment, through Jesus Christ, in salvation for the entire world. The convergence of salvation-historical and apocalyptic motifs is nowhere more apparent than in the two ‘bookends’ to Romans 1:1-5 and 16:25-27. The gospel of Jesus Christ, descended from David according to the flesh yet declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, has cosmic significance. This ‘mystery’ was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings (i.e., the historical Scriptures of Israel) has been made know to all the nations, and must be proclaimed to the world and its authorities. It is the eschatological ‘power of God for salvation’ (Rom. 1:16). Paul the  regards himself as a herald who has been commissioned by Jesus to perform this task. Paul has been sent, through a special revelation of God’s Son, to preach to the Gentiles (Gal. 1:11, 16). He is one of two ‘point men’ in God’s eschatological mission, having been entrusted with the gospel to the Gentiles just as Peter was entrusted with the gospel to the Jews (Gal.2:7)."

Click here for Michael Bird's blog post.

Some good quotes from Karl Barth's commentary on Romans (via Tim Gombis)

Tim Gombis just posted some good stuff from Barth's commentary on Romans.

"A paradox of the cruciform God: “God gives life only through death” (p. 105).

A paradox of the cross: “The cross is the bridge which creates a chasm and the promise which sounds a warning” (p. 112)."

I often think that it is our reluctance to accept that there are paradoxes and tensions in Paul's letters that we end up twisting the apostle's words to suit our theology. But in accepting those tensions we find profound truths that are life giving. The paradox of the cruciform God above is a good example.

Click here for Gombis' post.

Paul wrote to the poor people in Rome (Tom Wright on Romans)

In N T (Tom) Wright's Paul for Everyone - Romans Part 1, he aptly describes the type of people his audience would consist of. I think this provides useful information for us to understand Paul's letter to the Romans, and what the gospel (literally means "good news") means for Paul's audience.

"In ancient Rome as today, of course, the rich people lived up in the hills, the famous seven hills on which the city stands. The original imperial palace, where the Emperor Augustus lived at the time when Jesus was born, occupies most of one of them. Nero was emperor when Paul was writing this letter; his spectacular palace is on another hill, the other side of the Forum. But then as now the poorer people lived in the areas around the river; not least, in the area just across the river from the main city centre. And that is where most of the first Roman Christians lived. The chances are that the first time this great letter was read aloud it was in a crowded room in someone's house in the low-lying poorer district, just across the river from the seat of power." (page 6; emphasis added)

How one may participate in Christ's glory

Just found these great words in Ernst Kasemann's commentary on Romans.

"For Paul too the Spirit is the miraculous power of the heavenly world which breaks into the earthly sphere to fashion a new creature... Then he confronts them them with the theology of the cross and reminds them that the Spirit who makes Christ present on earth is the very one who imposes on them a pilgrim theology... Only he who participates on earth in the passion of the Kyrios [the Lord] will participate in his glory." (page 229; Kasemann is commenting on Romans 8:17; emphasis added)

Lament as true prayer (Dr Diane Jacobson)

I find this an excellent way of describing lament and prayer in the Old Testament. The following quotes are taken from an article written by Dr Diane Jacobson in The Lutheran, July 2005.

We speak honestly of what we know. God meets us there.

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words" (Romans 8:26).

I often think the sighs of the Spirit are heard most clearly in the laments of the Psalms. Praying the laments is difficult. But so often they are our deepest and truest prayers...

Some say God, in utter grace, allows us to express such lamentation until the time we can return to faithfulness. But I contend that the importance and truth of our laments goes much deeper: To lament is to be faithful.

The lament, more than any other form of prayer, speaks directly to God of the reality of suffering. And God knows when our prayers are true. (emphasis added)

Consider the book of Job. Job's speech is rife with lamentation. He rails against the Almighty, throwing the issue of suffering into God's face, begging for a relationship that speaks to the truth of his loss and pain. Job's friends are appalled by his words, which they deem unfaithful. The friends reason that humans should never question God's motives but, in all humility, should accept suffering as the righteous judgment of a just God...

But in contrast to his friends, Job refused to overlook the depth of his suffering. He refused to protect God from his despair. He refused to believe God wasn't active in the world. Perhaps most importantly, Job continued to speak directly to God, praying for justice, relief and comfort. True prayer, true speech to and about God, never uses theological platitudes to deny the reality of the world.

The power of the lament is this: We come to God boldly, directly, defenses stripped away, with nothing standing between us and the Almighty. Standing thus, we can do nothing but speak the truth from our depth. This isn't to say that we suddenly have right understanding, only that we speak honestly of what we know. God meets us there.

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. ... I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word !hope" (Psalm 130:1, 5).

True prayer, true speech to and about God, never uses theological platitudes to deny the reality of the world.

Click here for the full article.