Pauline Interpretation of Christianity: ROMANS

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Pauline Interpretation of ChristianityROMANS

• February 1, 2011

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Todays Schedule

• 400-520 Roles of Scripture and Homosexuality
• in reading 126-27 from Forensic/Theological
  Pastoral/Covenantal and Apocalyptic/Messianic
  perspectives.
• 530-615 Rom 116-21 Roundtable Its teaching
  about
• a) The righteousness/justice of God and Gospel as
  power of God for salvation
• c) Homosexuality
• 615-630 Discussing your Interpretations

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Next Week

• Please sign up
• Also look at Webhttp//www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/reli
  gious_studies/212-S10/212.htm

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NRSV Romans 126-27 For this reason God gave them
up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged
natural intercourse for unnatural, 27 and in the
same way also the men, giving up natural
intercourse with women, were consumed with
passion for one another. Men committed shameless
acts with men and received in their own persons
the due penalty for their error. NIV Romans
126 Because of this, God gave them over to
shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged
natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the
same way the men also abandoned natural relations
with women and were inflamed with lust for one
another. Men committed indecent acts with other
men, and received in themselves the due penalty
for their perversion.
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Group 2 Struggled with 126-27How do you read
these verses?

• It depends on a fundamental theological choice of
  a Role of Scripture
• 1. A) Lamp To My Feet B) Canon/Rule of the
  Community C) Good News
• 2. D) Family Album Book of the Covenant
• 3. E) Corrective Glasses F) Empowering Word
• 4. G) Holy Bible

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Teaching for Believers of ROM 126-27 Lamp to my
feet (Forensic)

• You shall not commit homoerotic acts.
• The Bible teaches believers to discern what they
  should do, step by step, and what they should not
  do.
• Contextual Problem it addresses Lack of
  direction for life
• Homosexual people do not know what to do or not
  to do
• Analytical Frame Romans 1 26-27 by itself
  treated as a paraenetic (ethical, moral) saying
  a law for individual
• Essential to know specifically who or what is
  condemned Most probable/legitimate conclusion
  any homoerotic act by lesbians and gays
• (e.g., Richard Hays, as well as Brooten, Bahsen,
  Becker, Strecker, Van de Spijker, etc.),
• rather than homosexual acts by heterosexuals
  (Boswell on the basis of John Chrysostom,
  Miller), pederasty (Scroggs, Abraham Smith) or
  cultic homosexuality (Ridderbos, Wengst).

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Teaching of ROM 126-27 CANON Rule of the
Community (Forensic)

• Consider homoerotic people as sinners (as the
  people performing the vices in 128-32) Shun
  and/or ostracize them do not treat them as full
  and legitimate members of the community.
  Ultimately, exclude them from the community.
• Contextual Problem The community/church cannot
  fulfill its mission if believers do not have a
  proper moral life as implementation of Gods
  Willthat we do not know except for the Bible
• Analytical Frame Rom 1 26-27 together with
  128-32. treated as a law of the community
• Essential to know specifically who or what is
  condemned (as for Lamp to my feet).

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Teaching for Believers of ROM 126-27 Lamp to my
feet/ Canon Good News (Forensic)

• The Good News is in
• NIV 117 For in the gospel a righteousness from
  God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith
  from first to last, just as it is written "The
  righteous will live by faith.
• a righteousness from God (right relationship with
  God is given by God to sinner forensic God the
  judge declare sinners, including homosexuals,
  not guilty) is revealed,
• a righteousness that is by faith from first to
  last, a righteousness not earned received
  though faith in Christ
• "The righteous will live by faith. then
  living a faithful life former homosexuals can
  avoid to sin again

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Is this not what the text says?

• Condemnation of/ description of sins
• That Christians should not commit
• If they want to be part of the Christian
  community
• Reading Pauls text, each verse as a law
• Or elsewhere as independent nuggets of doctrinal
  teachings that needs to be held together as an
  overall doctrinal teaching
• Would not have Paul found this a strange of his
  letter? in view of what he says about the
  law?
• Roles of scripture in Judaism of Pauls time

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COVENANT Jewish Hermeneutical-Theological Frame

• DPs Early Jewish Hermeneutics, 1975.
• Sadducees
• Pharisees (Rabbinic Judaism in formation)
• Apocalyptic groups (Zealots, Qumran)
• Shared Basic Conviction We are the Chosen
  People of God . . .
• Shared Basic questions/concerns How to remain
  the Chosen People? How to be the Chosen People?
  Why?

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Sadducees (Priests) view of the Covenant

• 1. Laws Torah Law
• 2. Obey the Laws (purity, so as to be in the
  Temple, etc.) faithfulness righteousness
• 3. Reward You are blessed by God as the
  People of God
• Christian Forensic interpretation adds
• But it is impossible to fulfill the law so no
  reward, only condemnation
• Except for the good news that Christ died was
  punished instead of us righteousness through
  faith

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Early Rabbinic/Pharisaic (Paul as Pharisee) View
Of Scripture

• IN SYNAGOGUE and IN SCHOOL
• In Synagogue Torah Instruction
• Cycle of readings Torah (seder) prophets
  (haftarah) (verbal tallying)
• Translation Targum (becomes homilies)
• Homilies stringing texts together (pearls) a
  text, interpreting another text, interpreting
  another text. Back to the first text.
  (eventually written down Midrash)

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Pharisees Explicit Views Of Scripture

• to recite or read Torah being in the Presence
  Shekinah GD where two or three are gathered
  and exchange words of Torah the Shekinah is with
  them.
• thus Torah surrogate of the Temple
• taking the yoke of Torah taking the yoke of
  Heaven GD
• Torah GIFT from God water (gratis, priceless,
  brings life)
• Torah Rejoice the heart like wine warm fire
  a spouse

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Early Rabbinic/Pharisees Synagogue Haggadic
interpretations

• Some Hermeneutical principles
• 1) Everything is meaningful in Scripture
• 2) Scripture is to be explained by Scripture
• 3) Synthetic view of scripture and of sacred
  history/ telescoping There is no before and
  after in scripture (one of 32 middoth rules)
  ex nights of creation, of Abraham (covenant,
  Gen 15), of Aqedah (sacrifice of Isaac), of
  Passover, eschatological night of Messiah
• sacred history is closed God acted/revealed in
  the past, the sacred past of sacred history will
  act/reveal in the future in between there is no
  new revelation Everything is revealed on Mt Sinai

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Early Rabbinic/Pharisees Synagogue Liturgical
Haggadah Story

• All liturgy scripture participating in
  liturgy (prayers, songs, readings,
  translations/targums, homilies) entering
  Scripture
• Entering Torah being constituted as the people
  of God
• example of Passover Seder we went out of
  Egypt
• We are the people of Israel described in
  Scripture

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Early Rabbinic/Pharisees Covenant

• COVENANT
• 1) Gods intervention, redemption from slavery
  election haggadah (past)
• b) Vocation people of priest for the nations
  haggadah sanctification of the Name
• C) Law how to walk halakah

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Early Rabbinic/Pharisees School Halakah
Sanctification of the Name

• Law how to walk halakah
• Oral Torah living tradition harmonize Torah
  and life
• Beyond the written Biblical Text (as Torah was
  with God, before the creation)
• Gezeroth teaching independent from Scripture
• Takkanoth teaching radically changing the
  teaching of Torah Prosbul of Hillel
• Goal (vocation) Sanctification of the Name
  (Hallowed be Thy Name) Bringing other people to
  glorify God

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Early Rabbinic/Pharisees School Halakah
Sanctification of the Name

• Making a fence around (the laws of) Torah
• Always changing and growing tradition Mishnah,
  Talmud reinterpreted in terms of the new
  situations in life
• Here Revelation, Scripture open on going
  discerning what is Gods will how to sanctify
  the name today
• Being faithful adapting, changing

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COVENANT (Exodus 19 20) as Hermeneutical/Theolog
ical Frame

• For Pharisees and Rabbis (and Paul as a Pharisee)
• 1) Election (as the Chosen People of God) Gods
  freeing the People from bondage saved from
  bondage done closed revelation
• 2) Vocation (to be a people of priests
  Sanctification of the Name) closed revelation
• 3) Law Way to walk How to fulfill this
  vocation (to sanctify the Name) open always new
  ways for new contexts (inculturation)

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Scripture Family Album

• How does this text help believers recognize that
  they have been Chosen, Elected, as people of God?
  Gospel good news of this election of both Jews
  and Gentiles. How is this text expressing the
  STORY of the people of God, and invite people to
  participate in the body of Christ? Rom 1-11
• How does this text/STORY help believers recognize
  their Vocation (to be a people of priests
  Sanctification of the Name)? Rom 1-11
• Then (and only then) How is this text telling us
  the Law Way to walk How to fulfill this
  vocation (to sanctify the Name) open always new
  ways for new contexts (inculturation) Rom 12-16
  

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Teaching for Believers of ROM 126-27 Family
Album (Pastoral)

• Read as part of the story of Pauls
  interactions with his readers in Rome
• Rhetoric
• Read not by the verses themselves, but as part of
  a discourse So read at least 116-21
• Rhetorical sting against those who condemned
  those listed earlier
• Romans 21-3 21 Therefore you have no excuse,
  whoever you are, when you judge others for in
  passing judgment on another you condemn yourself,
  because you, the judge, are doing the very same
  things. 2 You say, "We know that God's judgment
  on those who do such things is in accordance with
  truth." 3 Do you imagine, whoever you are, that
  when you judge those who do such things and yet
  do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of
  God?

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Teaching for Believers of ROM 126-27 Family
Album (Pastoral)

• Homoeroticism is a sin among other sins.
  Homosexual sinners who struggle to overcome with
  their sin (as other people struggle with their
  own sins) should view themselves, and be
  accepted, as full fledged members of the people
  of God like everybody else, recovering sinners,
  they need forgiveness. Love the sinners
  (homosexuals), but hate the sin.
• Richard Hays, Balz, Ridderbos, Strecker, Van de
  Spijker
• Contextual Problem Lack of FAITH/VISION of ones
  identity as members of Gods family when
  homosexual.
• Analytical Frame Rom 1 26-27 as part of a
  rhetorical sting (see 21-2). read together with
  116--331 (all are sinners) (Greco-Roman
  Diatribe Prosopopeia speech in character
  dialogue with a presupposed personage.
• Essential to note how 126-27 is set in the
  rhetoric of the letter.

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Teaching for Believers of ROM 126-27 Good News
(Pastoral)

• Good news for homosexuals they are, without
  pre-conditions, fully accepted and loved by God,
• Good news for other believers welcome
  homosexuals without conditions--with the
  conviction that Gods love transforms all people
  in rebellion against God into a new creation by
  contrast with society which ostracizes
  homosexuals. (George Edwards)
• Contextual Problem Lack of knowledge of Gods
  love for homosexuals (or lack of Will to welcome
  others)
• Analytical Frame Rom 1 26-27 read together
  with 116--521 (58, 10).
• Essential to recognize that 126-27 is part of
  the good news as the power of God for salvation
  of transformation to everyone who believes

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Apocalyptic people e.g. Qumran(DPs Early
Jewish Hermeneutics, 1975)

• Apocalyptic New Covenant (people still in
  bondage)
• 1) Election God is electing, choosing a
  remnant/a new faithful people new interventions
  of God
• Typology Prophecy are fulfilled
• Haggadah story Open sacred history, ongoing
  activity of God , establishing and reestablishing
  the covenant through choosing/calling a new
  people, through interventions of power
• 2) Vocation bringing glory to God
  Sanctification of the Name
• 3) Law Halakah Very strict AS BY PRIESTS IN
  THE TEMPLE because God is always present in Daily
  Life

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Scripture Promise, Prophecy,

• Pointing to fulfillment of the promises in the
  past
• As new promises of fulfillment in the future
• CORRECTIVE GLASSES
• Empowering word (needed since we still are in
  bondage)

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Teaching of ROM 126-27 Corrective Glasses a
detour (Messianic)

• 114 I am a debtor I am obligated to Greeks
  and Barbarians, wise and foolish
• Forensic Paul's obligation what Paul MUST do
  because of his indebtedness to Christ
  obedience of faith
• Pastoral/New Perspective same but now
  inclusive obligation toward all people, as
  Christ died for all toward those without honor
  shameful as Christs death was shameful, as
  well as to people with honor
• .Messianic/Apocalyptic Indebtedness to the
  Greeks and Barbarians, etc SENSE OF GRATITUDE
  for gifts received from Greeks and barbarians,
  wise and foolish Indebted because he
  recognized he has received something from all of
  them???? Yet literal reading (Liddell-Scott
  Lexicon) . More later

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Teaching of ROM 126-27 Corrective Glasses
Prophetic word (Messianic)

• Homosexual sinners have a prophetic Word of God
  for those of us who are not homosexuals.
• As barbarians and foolish had gifts that Paul
  received
• 126-27 Homosexual sinners like heterosexual
  sinners (adultery is mentioned 5 times,
  beginning in 222), robbers, racists, or
  self-righteous i.e. people with destructive
  behaviors (self-destructive or destroying
  relationship with others and in community)--are
  all IDOLATERS.
• Here the description in 126-27 is read as a
  destructive behavior e.g., pederasty (Scroggs,
  Abraham Smith) which could be replaced by
  abusive heterosexual behaviors
• Idolaters turn a true revelation that one has
  (119-22) into an absolute (123) thus despite
  their idolatry they have a true revelation from
  God which we need to receive from them. The
  very revelation that became destructive by being
  absolutized (transformed into an idol) is word
  of God for us. This is why Paul is indebted to
  barbarians!

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Teaching of ROM 126-27 Corrective Glasses
Prophetic word (Messianic)

• Contextual Problem Lack of vision to see their
  lives/experiences with the eyes of faith,
  discerning in the midst of evil what is good and
  acceptable and perfect (Rom. 122) and what God
  is doing. Being blind, being futile in
  thinking, having senseless darkened minds
  (121).
• Not recognizing evil/sin when it is present
  seeing evil/sin where it is not present not
  recognizing Gods servants not recognizing
  manifestations of the divine.
• Analytical Frame Rom 1 26-27 read in the
  context of 118-32 and together with 71-25
  Essential to recognize that 126-27 is part of a
  text about idolatry and its consequences.
• it uses culture-specific categories, very
  different from present Western and scientific
  categories. (Corley and Torjesen, Countryman,
  Furnish, Hart, Kähler, Lance, Martin, Stegemann).

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Teaching for Believers of ROM 126-27 Holy Bible
(Messianic)

• The Teaching of this Text for Christian
  Believers. (Step 1) For me, this passage teaches
  Christian believers both to denounce destructive
  passion-filled homosexuality as idolatrous and to
  discern and affirm what is good and acceptable
  and perfect in homosexual relations.
• My formulation of this teaching paraphrases Rom
  122, Do not be conformed to this world, but be
  transformed by the renewing of your minds, so
  that you may discern what is the will of God
  what is good and acceptable and perfect.

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Teaching for Believers of ROM 126-27 Holy Bible
(Messianic)

• A mystery (it will not make sense!) Teaching
  for heterosexuals The goose bumps experience
  of discovering that we, heterosexual believers,
  should expect to find Christ among homosexuals
  and other people we are ready to ostracize or
  crucify (21).
• As we will see for the Messianic interpretation,
  Christ-like persons for us are persons we want to
  crucify, ostracize, despise, reject, because we
  see them as sinful
• Christ was crucified because he was viewed as
  sinful (as cursed by God, Gal 313 as low and
  despised, 1 Cor 127-28 as appearing sinful, 2
  Cor 521 Rom 83) Consider homosexuals as Christ
  for us, as better than ourselves (Phil 23)

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Teaching for Believers of ROM 126-27 Holy Bible
(Messianic)

• A mystery for heterosexuals The goose bumps
  question is Since, without any foundation, we
  readily ostracize (crucify!) homosexuals as
  sinners, could it be that they (some of them) are
  Christ for us? (Hornsby, Patte, Siker)
• A mystery for homosexuals
• Contextual Problem Lack of FAITH/VISION
  failing to recognize Christ among us
• Analytical Frame Rom 1 26-27 Essential to
  recognize that 126-27 is part of a discourse
  through which Paul seeks to share his experience
  of the resurrected Christ

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Questions?
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(No Transcript)
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The righteousness/justice of God and the
gospel as the power of God for salvation to
everyone who has faith

• Leader __Murielle Wyman Vs Moo)
• Leader 2 Julianne Snape Vs Jewett)
• Iris Ankrom
• Julie Carli
• Jonathan Baynham
• Derek Axelson
• Jason Jones

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Homosexuality

• Leader Amy Lentz (vs Moo)
• Leader 2 Karney Carney (vs Byrne)
• Jeremy Snow
• Madeleine St Marie
• Ross Stackhouse
• Steve Staggs
• Arden Henderson

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The righteousness/justice of God

• Forensic. A) Characteristic of God as a
  righteous just judge, who condemns the
  unrighteous or justifies B) the righteous moral
  life and right relationship to God we should
  have given to believers through faith
• of God Objective genitive. Righteousness/Justice
  holiness which characterizes God (Cranfield
  Schlier)
• Pastoral/New Perspective. A) just, holy, loving
  act of God (Gods justice is manifested in
  history of Israel and of Jesus through the
  covenant and new covenant that he freely offered)
  that humans should emulate in their lives with
  others (manifesting the just, holy, loving rule
  of God)
• Of God Subjective genitive the justice which
  God performs as subject (includes Dunn, 166
  Jewett, etc. since Schlatter)

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The righteousness/justice of God

• Forensic. A) Characteristic of God as a
  righteous just judge, who condemns the
  unrighteous or justifies of God Objective
  genitive.
• Pastoral/New Perspective. A just, holy, loving
  act of God (Gods justice manifested in history
  of Israel and of Jesus through the covenant and
  new covenant that he freely offered) Of God
  Subjective genitive the justice which God
  performs
• Messianic/Apocalyptic Justice as the kind of
  right/just relationship that God wants to and
  does establish among people believers, including
  oppressed powerless people, can experience it
  now they are empowered by the gospel and can see
  through faith manifestations of Gods justice and
  kingdom.
• Of God Subjective genitive the justice which
  God performs

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I am not ashamed of the GospelTheological
Forensic Reading

• an emphatic I confess the gospel I affirm
  the truth of the gospel (I am mighty proud of
  the gospel) Michel, Barrett, Stuhlmacher (28)
  and others
• a negative formulation of I confess (like
  Mark 838 Those who are ashamed of me and of my
  words. . . of them the Son of Man will also be
  ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father
  with the holy angels").
• What Paul confesses the truth of the content of
  the Gospel revealed to him when he was set apart
  for it (11-4), he is not ashamed of preaching
  it.
• (Part of the defense of the truth of the gospel,
  that Romans is. His gospel and his person are
  slandered all the way to Rome (cf. 38) Paul
  will not give in to this criticism (PS, 28))

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I am not ashamed of the GospelPastoral Reading

• For Paul, the shameful issue of the letter is
  the gospel itself, which proclaimed Christ
  crucified and resurrected. Although the word
  cross is absent in Romans and the verb
  crucified appears only once (Rom 66), it is
  clear from 1 Cor 22 that Paul assumed the gospel
  was the message about Jesus Christ and him
  crucified. . . . , the gospel that Paul hopes to
  proclaim in Rome and thereafter in Spain was
  innately shameful as far as Mediterranean
  cultures were concerned.
• The message about a redeemer being crucified was
  a "stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
  Gentiles" (1 Cor 123). . . There were deeply
  engrained social reasons why Paul should have
  been ashamed to proclaim such a gospel
• his claim not to be ashamed signals that a social
  and ideological revolution has been inaugurated
  by the gospel.
• Jewett, Romans. Hermeneia Commentary
  (forthcoming), on Rom 116 DPs emphasis New
  Perspective/Pastoral Reading

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I am not ashamed of the GospelApocalyptic/Messian
ic Reading

• an emphatic I confess the gospel I testify
  to the manifestation of the gospel
• I confess the gospel as power of God precisely
  because it manifests the power of God, I do not
  fear to confess it it does not shame me I am
  mighty proud of it. (Byrne, 51).
• This is related to Käsemanns interpretation
  which insist that this phrase means that Paul
  confesses, testifies to Gods declaration of
  salvation to the world, which is outside human
  control, independent even of the church and its
  ministers, and which constantly becomes a reality
  itself in proclamation of the power of the
  Spirit Paul is not ashamed of the gospel,
  because it is the power of God (Käsemann,
  21-22). Messianic/Apocalyptic Reading

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Greeks and Barbarians Forensic

• Use of these terms shows that Paul accepts this
  stereotypical division of the world in the Roman
  Empire
• And use it here as an alternative to the
  description of his mission to Gentiles all
  Gentiles. (see Minear, on indebtedness) We
  must serve every one including the gentiles who
  ever they might be those viewed as not worthy
  (by the Jews)

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Greeks and Barbarians Pastoral

• Paul accepts this stereotypical division of the
  world in the Roman Empire
• Jewett is quoted a stereotypical formula in
  which "Greeks" are typically mentioned first and
  "Barbarians" second. In the bilingual context of
  Rome, "Greek" means "Greco-Roman" while
  "Barbarian" refers to alien tribes who cannot
  speak Greek or Latin and are uncultured, wild,
  crude, fierce, and, in a basic sense,
  uncivilized.
• Particularly relevant to Paul's letter that
  prepared the way for a mission to Spain is that
  the Spaniards were viewed as Barbarians par
  excellence because so large a proportion
  continued to resist Roman rule. .Paul conveys
  the sweeping inclusivity of the gospel of Christ
  crucified for all
• Paul here challenges the Honor/shame system a
  new sense of inclusive community, honor and
  shame have changed

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Greeks and Barbarians Messianic/Apocalyptic

• Greeks and Barbarians
• Use of these terms shows that Paul is
  challenging the Roman ideology (see Neil Elliot)
• (Jewetts comments/evidence are relevant though
  he concludes something else) Imperial The
  triumph of Rome over the Barbarians was
  celebrated in public art and monuments, in
  victory parades, in the gladiatorial games, and
  on coins that reveal that this antithesis was
  basic to the imperial worldview.Yves Albert Dauge
  shows that from the second century BCE to the
  fifth century CE, the Romans viewed Barbarians as
  inherently "inhuman, ferocious, arrogant, weak,
  warlike, discordant. . . unstable, etc.