Читать книгу Paul Among the Gentiles: A "Radical" Reading of Romans - Jacob P. B. Mortensen - Страница 31

Paul probably wrote this letter from Cenchreae (the port of Corinth), since he commends Phoebe, a deacon of that city (16:1–2), to the recipients of Romans. He also sends greetings from Gaius, who is the host of the church from which Paul writes, and we know from Rom 16:23 and 1 Cor 1:14 that there was a prominent Gaius at Corinth. In chapter 15, Paul reveals his plan to bring a collection to Jerusalem (15:26–33). Thus, scholars widely agree that Paul spend the winter of 57/58 (or 55/56) in Corinth, and afterwards returned through Macedonia, Asia, and Caesarea to Jerusalem, where he was arrested.

If Romans is a real letter, given the diatribal or other literary and rhetorical features, there must be a real audience. This audience is crucial for determining the purpose (and argument) of Romans, so we must ask, what we can know about this audience?