Reading Romans through the Centuries: From the Early Church to Karl Barth
Overview
In the 16 searing chapters of his Letter to the Romans, Paul gets to the heart of the Law and the Gospel—of how human beings can be saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and attain eternal life. In the process, he touches upon such perennially important topics as predestination, the role of the Jewish people in salvation history, and the responsibility of Christians to those in authority.
Not surprisingly, Romans has been used as cannon fodder in many of the theological disputes that have divided Christendom. Martin Luther, whose views lit the firestorm of the Reformation, claimed Romans had shown him that God declared sinners righteous and good works played no part in salvation. Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin both saw in Romans God’s predestination of the elect, although they differed over whether humans were given the freedom to reject the offer of salvation.
Reading Romans through the Centuries brings noted historians and theologians together to discuss how Luther, Aquinas, Calvin, and nine other leading lights of church history understood Romans. Many see Romans as the first truly theological work in the history of the church, and this book shows why it has had such a profound effect on the history of the church.
The Logos Bible Software edition of this volume is designed to encourage and stimulate your study and understanding of Scripture. Biblical passages link directly to your English translations and original-language texts, and important theological concepts link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. In addition, you can perform powerful searches by topic and find what other authors, scholars, and theologians have to say about the Word of God.
- Collects thoughts from contributors on historic theological thought regarding the book of Romans
- Explores various viewpoints on the book of Romans and how interpretation can differ
- Introduction
- Ambrosiaster
- John Chrysostom
- Augustine
- Thomas Aquinas
- Martin Luther
- William Tyndale
- John Calvin
- John Wesley
- Charles Hodge
- John William Colenso
- Karl Barth
Top Highlights
“Luther did not invent the curvitas image: it was a well-worn motif in the Augustinian tradition, signifying pride, self-seeking, and rebellion against God. But, as Anders Nygren noted, there is a significant difference in the way Augustine and Luther employ this image. While Augustine speaks of sinners as bent or crooked, curved and bowed down to the earth, Luther makes the self, not just earthly goods, the supreme object of this distorted curvature.25 In other words, Luther deepens and radicalizes the Augustinian notion of sin as amor sui.” (Page 115)
“Augustine and William Tyndale, who engaged Romans vigorously but never wrote a formal commentary. The operative principle has been to focus on thinkers whose engagement with Romans has been substantial and whose work illuminates wider movements in the church’s theological development.” (Page 15)
“Ambrosiaster is in no doubt that the ungodly person is fully able to comprehend the structure of the world, and that that structure reveals enough about God for him to feel suitably convicted of his sin. ‘They were so far from being ignorant,’ he says, ‘that they confessed that there was a single principle from which all things in heaven, and on earth and under the earth derive their origin’ (Rom. 1:21).” (Page 26)
“This Epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest Gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. We can never read it or ponder over it too much; for the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.” (Page 102)
- Gerald Bray
- Christopher A. Hall
- Pamela Bright
- Steven Boguslawski
- Timothy George
- Jeffrey P. Greenman
- David Demson
- Victor Shepherd
- Mark Noll
- Timothy Larsen
- John Webster
This helpful book attempts to trace how Paul’s most famous writing has been understood by several of its more influential readers. . . . Each of the chapters provides well-written summaries of seminal issues, though the contributions vary significantly in style and specificity. . . . The obvious strength of such variety is that the contributors are free to discuss what they find to be the most salient issues at hand. . . . This volume will find appreciative readers from a variety of disciplines (e.g. biblical studies, history, theology) who seek to understand better the role Romans has played in shaping Christian thought.
—Reviews in Religion and Theology
This collection of essays makes a welcome contribution to the growing interest in the Bible’s history of interpretation. . . . This reviewer feels that study of the Bible’s history of interpretation needs to adopt a more synthetic perspective lest it become an exercise merely in collecting various curiosities of interpretation. This book provides the raw material for just such a discussion.
—Journal for the Study of the New Testament
The history of biblical interpretation has become a strong focus of scholarship today, and this lucid volume makes a fine contribution to this body of writings.
—Bible Today
One of the more valuable features of this collection is that nearly half of the authors had to go hunting beyond commentaries and into sermons, devotional literature, theological treatises, and essays in order to discuss the views of the theologians presented. . . . If the question is raised about impact on the whole theological enterprise, most of the interpreters chosen for discussion in this volume have been at the forefront.
—Lutheran Quarterly
The volume successfully lays out how Romans has been read through the centuries and urges contemporary readers of Paul’s letter to consider past attempts to understand Romans instead of simply assuming that recent commentators have a monopoly on exegetical truth.
—Themelios
The volume is rich and substantial. . . . One is left sated by this volume’s weight of content.
—Review of Biblical Literature
These studies introduce fresh insights into the central place of Romans in Christian thought through the centuries. They reveal key issues in theology, soteriology, and Christology with which scholars have wrestled for the past two thousand years. Consequently, they provide tools for evaluating both the utility and limitations of present critical methods.
—Toronto Journal of Theology
- Title: Reading Romans through the Centuries: From the Early Church to Karl Barth
- Editors: Jeffrey P. Greenman and Timothy Larsen
- Publisher: Brazos Press
- Publication Date: 2005
- Pages: 224
Jeffrey P. Greenman is a professor of Christian ethics and the associate dean of biblical and theological studies at Wheaton College. He is the author of Ancient Faith for the Church’s Future.
Timothy Larsen is the Carolyn and Fred McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the editor of Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals and a coeditor of Women, Ministry, and the Gospel.