{"id":228,"date":"2009-02-18T06:43:14","date_gmt":"2009-02-18T06:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/tonyjones\/2009\/02\/comment-of-the-day-32.html"},"modified":"2009-02-18T06:43:14","modified_gmt":"2009-02-18T06:43:14","slug":"comment-of-the-day-32","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/02\/comment-of-the-day-32.html","title":{"rendered":"Comment of the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under Original Sin: Paul, Romans 5, and the Heart of the Issue<\/a>, Brian provides with a helpful primer to the various views of interpreting Romans:<\/p>\n

\n

Romans is important to the conversation about the doctrine of
\n“Original Sin<\/a>” for several reasons. First, many other people have
\nbrought it up in their comments. Second, Augustine (the person who
\ndeveloped “original sin”) was converted to Christianity after reading
\nRomans. So, perhaps a wider conversation about Romans might be helpful
\nto add to the focus text highlighted by Tony Jones. So this comment is
\ngoing to highlight one way to overview Romans. Romans tends to have
\nthree main types of interpretations. <\/p>\n

First, forensic interpretations explore the theological argument
\nwhereby Paul describes the logic of how both Jews and Gentiles are
\nsinners and can only receive the God’s grace through God’s own
\njustification\/acquittal in Christ<\/b>. All are equally sinners. All are
\nequally guilty. All are acquitted through Christ. The problem is that
\nthis interpretation doesn’t focus on sanctification\/change. Someone who
\nis a rapist or racist is acquitted through Christ, but they are not
\nnecessarily overtly challenged to change their behavior and make
\nrestitution for the pain they have already caused. A sense of quick and
\neasy forgiveness can enable people to remain stuck in unhealthy and
\nanti-social behaviors. This is called cheap grace. Bonhoeffer wrote a
\ngreat book<\/a> about this problem. This is where the other interpretations
\nare important. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Second, new covenant interpretations explore the rhetoric whereby
\nPaul calls on people to change their behavior by imitating the
\nself-giving love of Christ.<\/b> Both Jews and Gentiles were supposed to be
\nhumble. Both were supposed to guide and encourage each other in love.
\nPeople with different levels of power were supposed to adapt so they
\ncould work together as a community of equals. Powerful nations such as
\nthe USA need this message so that they remember that other nations must
\nalso have a voice in our shared world. This idea is emphasized in a
\ngreat hymn, “My country’ s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight
\nbeams on clover leaf and pine; but other lands have sunlight too and
\nclover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.” All must be seen as
\nco-equal, the strong and the weak together.
<\/b><\/p>\n

Third, apocalyptic interpretations explore the discourse whereby Paul
\nattempts to empower people in their daily life by discussing God’s
\nongoing, saving power in Christ.<\/b> Sin and evil are still present in the
\nworld, even in Christian communities (3:23, 7:18-20). Paul always seems
\nto suggest that people are between saint and sinner; and between
\nalready reconciled yet still needing saving. So living the Christian
\nlife is an ongoing process. This ongoing process is carried out by
\nsharing God’s saving revelation and gifts “from faith to faith” (1:17)
\nas the “body of Christ” (12:5), with each member having a “measure of
\nfaith (12:3). The contributions of each member is needed for the
\nbetterment of the whole community (12:3-8). Therefore, when having
\nconversations on blogs, we all need to remember that each of us has
\nimportant gifts, thoughts, and theologies to share. Each of us is
\nimportant for the good of the whole. Since we all are limited and “see
\nthrough a glass dimly” and “know only in part” (I Cor. 13:9-12), the
\nbest way to see more clearly and fully is to work together mutually as
\nthe body of Christ. <\/p>\n

Paul seems kind of postmodern here with his idea of mutual ministry
\nand communal knowlege. Maybe he was an Emergent Church leader. Oh wait,
\nhe was! The Church was literally emerging while Paul was writing. And
\nthe Church continues to emerge today. The question we face is whether
\nwe’re going to idolize only a few doctrines or whether we’re going to
\ncontinue to emerge through a “renewing of our minds” (12:2). <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Under Original Sin: Paul, Romans 5, and the Heart of the Issue, Brian provides with a helpful primer to the various views of interpreting Romans: Romans is important to the conversation about the doctrine of “Original Sin” for several reasons. First, many other people have brought it up in their comments. Second, Augustine (the person…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,12,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-comment-of-the-day","category-emergent-church"],"yoast_head":"\nComment of the Day - The New Christians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/02\/comment-of-the-day-32.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Comment of the Day - The New Christians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Under Original Sin: Paul, Romans 5, and the Heart of the Issue, Brian provides with a helpful primer to the various views of interpreting Romans: Romans is important to the conversation about the doctrine of “Original Sin” for several reasons. 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