{"product_id":"reading-romans-backwards-a-gospel-of-peace-in-the-midst-of-empire-9781481308779","title":"Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo read Romans from beginning to end  from letter opening to final doxology  is to retrace the steps of Paul. To read Romans front to back was what Paul certainly intended. But to read Romans forward may have kept the full message of Romans from being perceived. Reading forward has led readers to classify Romans as abstract and systematic theology  as a letter unstained by real pastoral concerns. But what if a different strategy were adopted? Could it be that the secret to understanding the relationship between theology and life  the key to unlocking Romans  is to begin at the letters end? Scot McKnight does exactly this in Reading Romans Backwards. McKnight begins with Romans 1216  foregrounding the problems that beleaguered the house churches in Rome. Beginning with the end places readers right in the middle of a community deeply divided between the strong and the weak  each side dug in on their position. The strong assert social power and privilege  while the weak claim an elected advantage in Israels history. Continuing to work in reverse  McKnight unpacks the big themes of Romans 911Gods unfailing  but always surprising  purposes and the future of Israelto reveal Pauls specific and pastoral message for both the weak and the strong in Rome. Finally  McKnight shows how the widely regarded \"universal\" sinfulness of Romans 14  which is so often read as simply an abstract soteriological scheme  applies to a particular rhetorical characters sinfulness and has a polemical challenge. Romans 58 equally levels the ground with the assertion that both groups  once trapped in a world controlled by sin  flesh  and systemic evil  can now live a life in the Spirit. In Pauls letter  no one gets off the hook but everyone is offered Gods grace. Reading Romans Backwards places lived theology in the front room of every Roman house church. It focuses all of RomansPauls apostleship  Gods faithfulness  and Christs transformation of humanityon achieving grace and peace among all people  both strong and weak. McKnight shows that Pauls letter to the Romans offers a sustained lesson on peace  teaching applicable to all divided churches  ancient or modern.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648270721077,"sku":"ByrdShop_1481308777","price":40.91,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781481308779.jpg?v=1781714960","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/reading-romans-backwards-a-gospel-of-peace-in-the-midst-of-empire-9781481308779","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}