Ancient Letters and the Purpose of Romans: The Law of the Membrane

by Aaron Ricker

Overview

Aaron Ricker locates the purpose of Romans in its function as a tool of community identity definition. Ricker employs a comparative analysis of the ways in which community identity definition is performed in first-century association culture, including several ancient network letters comparable to Romans.

Ricker's examination of the community advice found in Rom 12-15 reveals in this new context an ancient example of the ways in which an inscribed addressee community can be invited in a letter to see and comport itself as a “proper” association network community. The ideal community addressed in the letter to the Romans is defined as properly unified and orderly, as well accommodating to – and clearly distinct from – cultures “outside.” Finally, it is defined as linked to a proper network with recognised leadership (i.e., the inscribed Paul of the letter and his network). Paul's letter to the Romans is in many ways a baffling and extraordinary document. In terms of its community-defining functions and strategies, however, Ricker shows its purpose to be perfectly clear and understandable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780567694010
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	09/17/2020
Series:	The Library of New Testament Studies , #630
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Aaron Ricker is a lecturer in Religious Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Aaron Ricker is a lecturer in Religious Studies at McGill University, Canada.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. Community Identity Definition in Association Network Letters
3. Community Identity Definition in Ancient Jewish Letters
4. Romans 12-15, Ancient Association-Epistolary Culture, and the Purpose of Romans
5. Conclusion
Index