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corpus-paul - Re: The theme of Rom 5 - 8

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  • From: Loren Rosson <rossoiii AT yahoo.com>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: The theme of Rom 5 - 8
  • Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 04:27:56 -0700 (PDT)


Moon:

>...the theme of no distinction between Jew and
>Gentile seems to form an unbroken thread throughout
>the letter.

To an extent I agree. In fact, if I had to give a
single sentence summary of Romans I would say that,
"The letter addresses critical issues relating to Jews
and Gentiles in the church/synagogue". It's a question
of how that theme of "no distinction" is spelled out
in the various sections -- chs 2-4, 5-8, 9-11, etc.

You and I (for the most part) agree on how the theme
of "no distinction" is laid out in Rom 2-4. We
disagree on how the theme is presented in Rom 5-8. I
would say these chapters show "no distinction" by
virtue of the fact that all people -- Jews and
Gentiles -- are under the power of the old epoch, and
will not escape that epoch until their mortal bodies
are completely liberated (resurrected). These chapters
do NOT show "no distinction" on account of the fact
that Jewish badges of covenant membership are optional
for Gentiles; that is the argument of Rom 2-4 and
parts of Rom 9-11 (esp 9:30-10:4). This is why I
disagree with the restricted (and strained)
interpretations of Rom 7 offered by Dunn, Segal, and
Nanos.

>I often am surprised by verses
>Rom 10.11 - 12:

>PAS hO PISTEUWN EP' AUTWi OU KATAISCUNQHSETAI.
>OU GAR ESTIN DIASTOLH IOUDAIOU TE KAI hELLHNOS,
>hO GAR AUTOS KURIOS TANTWN, TLOUTWN EIS
>PANTAS TOUS EPIKALOUMENOUS AUTON.

>"Everyone who believes in him will not
>put to shame" BECAUSE there is no distinction
>between Jew and Greek;
>because he is the Lord of all,....

>If we read verse 11 in isolation, we would
>not think that it has to do with the issue
>of distinction between Jew and
>Greek. But Paul takes the verse so that it
>has to do with Jew-Gentile issues.

I'm not surprised by Rom 10:11-12 at all. The theme of
Rom 9-11 is the relationship between Jews and Gentiles
in the scheme of salvation history. Nor, for that
matter, am I surprised by Rom 10:4, which states that
"Christ is the end of the Torah so that there may be
righteousness for EVERYONE who believes".

>(1) The implied audience of Romans is
>primarily Gentiles, though many
>Jewish issues are addressed in the letter
>because the main theme has to do with
>Jew-Gentile issues. See for the Mystery of
>Romans for the audience of Romans.

I believe the implied audience depends on the passage
in question: the Christian Gentile majority in the
Roman church/synagogue (Rom 11:13-32; Rom 14:1-15:13);
the Jewish minority in the Roman church/synagogue
(non-Christian, predominantly); the Christian Jewish
apostles in Jerusalem, whom Paul would shortly visit
(Rom 9:1-11:12). I've argued that Rom 7:7-13 has an
implied audience of both Jews and Gentiles, whereas
Rom 7:14-25 has an implied audience of primarily
Gentiles (Jews only rhetorically). We need to be
careful about assuming a singular implied audience for
the entire letter. Note that Paul says in Rom 11:13,
"Now I am speaking to you Gentiles..." -- which
clearly implies, to me, that much of what came before
was NOT primarily aimed at the Gentiles in Rome.

>(2)Romans 5 has many allusions to this
>Gentile "orientation" of the letter...
>5:6 "While we were still weak, at the right
>time Christ died for the UNGODLY" This
>"we" the UNGODLY are none other than
>the Gentiles.

Good point. And I agree that Rom 5-6,8 targets the
Gentile majority in Rome (as Mark argues). Only
rhetorically does it speak to the Jewish minority. Rom
7 is a bit different (where Paul speaks to those who
"know the law" (7:1)) -- but I've said more than
enough on the subject and audience of Rom 7:7-13 and
7:14-25.

>(3) Chapter 6 also has several allusions
>to the Gentile "orientation" of the letter.
>"you who were ONCE SLAVES OF SIN have become
>OBEDIENT from the heart to the standard of
>teaching to which you were committed."
>... "Just as you once yielded your members
>to IMPURITY (AKAQARSIA)
>and LAWLESSNESS (ANOMIA) unto LAWLESSNESS, so .."
>Impurity and lawlessness reminds me of
>typical Gentile sins.

Again, good point. Impurity and lawlessness do,
indeed, point to the sins of the godless nations. But
--

>So, chapter 6 does not talk about the sin
>of an abstract Adam, but concrete Gentile
>experience.

It does both. Or rather, it relates one directly to
the other. In so doing, it reminds Gentiles that their
bodies remain tied to the old epoch (despite having
undergone baptism into Christ's death) and will not
fully escape the powers of that epoch until the end of
all things. This is why they must be on guard against
sin, fulfill the law, and become "slaves of
obedience", etc. This is a very different argument
from why they need to fulfill the law in Rom 2-4.
There they must uphold the law because they are part
of the monotheistic covenant community and must thus
abide by minimal Torah standards. Here they must
uphold the law because they are still subject to the
powers of the old epoch -- sin, temptation, and death.

Of course, Paul runs into trouble when he stirs "the
law" into this mixture of sin and death -- which is
why I believe Rom 7:7-25 shows a troubled man
extrapolating the law out of that odious mix.

>(4)we can understand chapter 7 not to address
>the universal plight of Adam's race,

But that is precisely what is being addressed.
Consider Rom 7:9-10: "I was once alive apart from the
law, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I
died. The commandment which promised my life proved my
death, because sin, seizing opportunity in the
commandment, deceived me, and through it, killed me."
What do you do, Moon, with the transparent allusions
to Gen 2:7-9, 2:16-17, 3:1-5, 3:13, and 3:19,22-23?

Moon, you are diligent and thorough as always. Thanks
for the engagement.

Loren Rosson III
Nashua NH
rossoiii AT yahoo.com

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