Читать книгу Paul Among the Gentiles: A "Radical" Reading of Romans - Jacob P. B. Mortensen - Страница 28

Paul’s letter to the Romans is a real letter.2 Even though Paul incorporates and combines various rhetorical styles or types (diatribe, protreptic), literary features (epistolary opening and closing), literary devices and formulas (quotes and hymns), Romans still appears to be a genuine letter with a sender (Paul, 1:1) and a recipient (‘all God’s beloved in Rome’ (πᾶσιν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ῥώμῃ ἀγαπητοῖς θεοῦ), 1:7). Romans fits a fairly regular and consistent macrostructural epistolary pattern, and there are plenty of conventional epistolary elements to define it as a ‘real’ letter.3 There is an opening (1:1–7), a body (1:8–15:33), and a closing (16:1–24). But Romans also demonstrates close resemblances to stylistic features of ‘literary’ letters (e.g. Seneca and Epictetus). Paul’s letters display – as does Romans – familiarity with private letters, official letters, and philosophical (literary) letters.

The paraenetic part of the letter (chapters 12–15) bears witness to the specific situation of the letter, in which Paul intends to intervene. In particular, chapters 14 to 15 concerning ‘the weak’ and ‘the strong’ support the identification of the letter as a real letter.4 The letter addresses a specific situation in Rome, and should be considered neither a ‘theological compendium’ (Melanchthon)5 nor Paul’s ‘last will and testament’ (Bornkamm).6 In order for the letter to be read as a real letter, the ‘theological’ part of the letter (1–11) must be perceived as laying the foundation upon which the specific exhortations may be effectively made, just as in Galatians. But for that strategy to be effective, the letter as a whole must present itself as a continuously developing argument. Consequently, there must be some unifying features throughout that hold the letter together as a continuous and developing argument. I will turn to this specific element in the following chapter. However, it is precisely this combination of the paraenetic part and the theological part – and the coherence and development from one part to the other – which has presented the greatest problems for scholars. Scholars have wondered how the description of the ungodly in 1:18ff. may be said to lead naturally into the apostrophe in chapter 2, which continues with the proclamation of justification by faith in chapter 3, which leads to the discussion of Abraham and Adam in chapters 4 and 5; and what about the confessions of the ‘I’ in chapter 7, and the question of Israel and the remnant in chapters 9 to 11, and the ‘strong’ and the ‘weak’ in chapters 14 to 15, and all the names in chapter 16? Unless we identify the correct point of departure, we will inevitably become lost in the fascinating world of Romans, and lose sight of the specific historical occasion and purpose of the letter.

Before moving forward, I must explicitly state that I do not begin this chapter from the position of the radical perspective, which identifies Paul’s addressees as Gentiles. My logic is reverse: I first analyse the literary, intertextual, and historical situation of Romans, without any prejudice or bias. My aim is primarily historical and philological. Through my analysis of the introductory questions, I conclude that Paul addressed his letter exclusively to Gentiles. With this conclusion firmly stated, I find inspiration and further support in the work of the radical perspective concerning interpretations of specific passages of the letter. But my point of departure is purely historical and philological.