Reading Romans with Roman Eyes : Studies on the Social Perspective of Paul EPUB

Paul's letter to the Romans has a long history in Christian dogmatic battles.

But how might the letter have been heard by an audience in Neronian Rome?

James R. Harrison answers that question through a reader-response approach grounded in deep investigations of the material and ideological culture of the city, from Augustus to Nero.

Inscriptional, archaeological, monumental, and numismatic evidence, in addition to a breadth of literary material, allows him to describe the ideological ';value system' of the Julio-Claudian world, which would have shaped the perceptions and expectations of Paul's readers.

Throughout, Harrison sets prominent Pauline themes--his obligation to Greeks and barbarians, newness of life and of creation against the power of death, the body of Christ, ';boasting' in ';glory' and God's purpose in and for Israel--in startling juxtaposition with Roman ideological themes.

The result is a richer and more complex understanding of the letter's argument and its possible significance for contemporary readers.