The Gospel of God: Romans as Paul's Aeneid

by David R. Wallace

Overview

When Paul pens his letter to the Roman believers, he writes as a missionary to strengthen a church at the center of imperial power, choosing language that is familiar to his recipients. Paul responds not only to the influence of Judaism but also to the wider culture by contrasting prominent Roman values. David Wallace argues that Paul's gospel in Romans rejects and countervails the significant themes of Virgil's Aeneid, the most well-known prophetic source that both proclaimed Roman ideology and assured Roman salvation. After demonstrating that a close but nonauthoritarian relationship existed between Augustus and Virgil, Wallace examines relevant literary aspects, symbolism, and key imagery of Virgil's epic. A discussion of Paul's contraliterary approach follows, drawing out possible parallels and echoes in Romans against the universal message of the Aeneid.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630879242
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	09/01/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	244
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

David R. Wallace teaches Greek and New Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
David R. Wallace teaches Greek, and New Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations viii Preface xi Introduction xiii Part 1 The Gospel of Augustus in the Aeneid
1 The Gospel of Caesar Augustus 3
2 The Aeneid as Epic History 38
3 The Salvific Message of the Aeneid 71 Part 2 The Gospel of God in Romans
4 Paul's Gospel of Salvation to Rome 121
5 God's Faithfulness to Save His People 164 Conclusion 193 Bibliography 199