Apocalyptic Paul: Cosmos and Anthropos in Romans 5-8

by Beverly Roberts Gaventa (Editor)

Overview

Romans 5-8 revolve around God's dramatic cosmic activity and its implications for humanity and all of creation. Apocalyptic Paul measures the power of Paul's rhetoric about the relationship of cosmic power to the Law, interpretations of righteousness and the self, and the link between grace and obedience. A revealing study of Paul's understanding of humanity in light of God's apocalyptic action through Jesus Christ, Apocalyptic Paul illuminates Romans 5-8 and shows how critical this neglected part of Romans was to Paul's literary project.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481301022
Publisher:	Baylor University Press
Publication date:	10/01/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	207
File size:	686 KB

About the Author

Beverly Roberts Gaventa is Distinguished Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Baylor University. She has authored many books, including From Darkness to Light: Aspects of Conversion in the New Testament and Our Mother Saint Paul.

Table of Contents

Preface (Beverly Roberts Gaventa)

1. Paul's Mythologizing Program in Romans 5–8 (Martinus C. de Boer)

2. Righteousness, Cosmic and Microcosmic (Stephen Westerholm)

3. A Tale of Two Gardens: Augustine's Narrative Interpretation of Romans 5 (Benjamin Myers)

4. Under Grace: The Christ-Gift and the Construction of a Christian Habitus (John M. G. Barclay)

5. The Shape of the "I": The Psalter, the Gospel, and the Speaker in Romans 7 (Beverly Roberts Gaventa)

6. Double Participation and the Responsible Self in Romans 5–8 (Susan Eastman)

7. The Love of God Is a Sovereign Thing: The Witness of Romans 8:31-39 and the Royal Office of Jesus Christ (Philip G. Ziegler)

8. Creation, Cosmos, and Conflict in Romans 8–9 (Neil Elliott)

Afterword: The Human Moral Drama (J. Louis Martyn)

Bibliography

List of Contributors

Index

What People are Saying About This

We are indebted to Beverly Gaventa for this fine collection. This is an unusually strong series of studies by respected Paul scholars that should be of interest to anyone preaching and teaching from Romans, especially Romans 5-8.

Alexandra Brown

This volume brings us into the company of seasoned Pauline scholars focused on the center of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. The conversation among these experts all sympathetic (though not all in the same way) to the designation of Paul as an 'apocalyptic' figure, reveals richly informed engagement with the text and honest wrestling with the large questions of cosmology and anthropology raised by Romans 5-8. Altogether the essays in this volume stand as a profoundly stimulating, challenging, crucial, and timely contribution to the conversation about Paul's interpretation of the gospel in what remains for the time being contested territory.

Douglas A. Campbell

Romans 5-8 are explored, pressed, and at times—as they should be—simply celebrated. Every reader interested in Paul will benefit from this interplay of theology, exegesis, and subtle intertextuality, threaded through with church tradition. Perhaps most importantly, many of the apostle's most powerful and challenging thoughts are on display here at the hands of some of his most significant and gifted current interpreters.

A. Katherine Grieb

We are indebted to Beverly Gaventa for this fine collection. This is an unusually strong series of studies by respected Paul scholars that should be of interest to anyone preaching and teaching from Romans, especially Romans 5-8.

Editorial Reviews

On the whole, Apocalyptic Paul provides insightful reflection on the cosmological and anthropological implications of Paul’s argument in Romans 5-8, while providing plenty of avenues for further contemplation of the letter more generally. Anyone who engages with these essays will enter into a conversation of lasting importance for Pauline studies.

Scottish Journal of Theology - Eric Lewellen

This book is a fantastic addition to Pauline and New Testament studies...All scholars, pastors, and students will find this book to be both intellectually stimulating and a helpful aid.

Wheaton Blog - Jared Brown

...this handsomely presented volume is surely welcome as an excellent sampling of the rich interpretive possibilities of apocalyptic for coming to grips with the cosmic dimensions of Paul’s thought, not only in Rom 5-8 but in his letters in general. It will serve well as an introduction to apocalyptic for advanced students of Paul and as a scholarly contribution to the theological interpretation of Romans.

Review of Biblical Literature - Timothy Gombis

Treat yourself to the complexity of this volume, but do so with your favorite translation of Romans 5-8 close in hand, never far from the artistry of Paul’s narrative and the complexity of his own voice…[Gaventa’s collection] is a rich feast for those who hunger to learn — and be challenged — in our ongoing conversation with the Apostle Paul.

The Presbyterian Outlook - Sean Miller

In Disability and Spirituality William Gaventa develops a holistic anthropology that expands the typical understanding of disability to embrace the spiritual, and that reimagines spirituality informed by the experience of disability.

Journal for the Study of Spirituality - Shane Clifton

Disability and Spirituality will certainly be of great interest for readers practically and theoretically engaged with the intersection of disability with spirituality, faith, and religion, but its significance lies above all in its potential to open new possibilities for dialogue and collaboration between 'researchers, educators, and practitioners' in the arenas of disability and spirituality (4).

Journal of Disability & Religion - Daniel G. W. Smith

A fine introduction to the apocalyptic Paul.

Interpretation - Michael J. Gorman

"Romans 5-8 are explored, pressed, and at times--as they should be--simply celebrated. Every reader interested in Paul will benefit from this interplay of theology, exegesis, and subtle intertextuality, threaded through with church tradition. Perhaps most importantly, many of the apostle's most powerful and challenging thoughts are on display here at the hands of some of his most significant and gifted current interpreters."
--Douglas A. Campbell, Associate Professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School

"This volume brings us into the company of seasoned Pauline scholars focused on the center of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. The conversation among these experts, all sympathetic (though not all in the same way) to the designation of Paul as an 'apocalyptic' figure, reveals richly informed engagement with the text and honest wrestling with the large questions of cosmology and anthropology raised by Romans 5-8. Altogether the essays in this volume stand as a profoundly stimulating, challenging, crucial, and timely contribution to the conversation about Paul's interpretation of the gospel in what remains for the time being contested territory."
--Alexandra Brown, Jessie Ball duPont Professor of Religion, Washington and Lee University

"We are indebted to Beverly Gaventa for this fine collection. This is an unusually strong series of studies by respected Paul scholars that should be of interest to anyone preaching and teaching from Romans, especially Romans 5-8."
--A. Katherine Grieb, Professor of New Testament, Virginia Theological Seminary

From the Publisher