Paul against the Nations: Soundings in Romans

by Neil Elliott

Overview

In these essays, some of them never published before, Neil Elliott presents an understanding of Romans at odds with the traditional Protestant understanding (a treatise on justification by faith) or the "New Perspective" (Paul's argument with Jewish "ethnocentrism"). The letter that emerges here is an urgent response to a historical situation: Paul engages what would quickly become the supersessionist norm in gentile Christianity, shaped by the Roman construal of subject peoples. Gathered here for the first time, these studies rely on rhetorical criticism, broad attention to Roman imperial ideology, and postcolonial criticism to argue for a strikingly new perspective on Romans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666783575
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	11/10/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	354
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Neil Elliott is an Episcopal priest and a New Testament scholar (PhD Princeton Theological Seminary) with particular interests in the political interpretation of scripture. He has taught biblical studies, early Christian history, and American civil religion at the College of St. Catherine and Metropolitan State University, and served as priest at the University Episcopal Center and St. Paul’s on the Hill in the Twin Cities. His publications include The Rhetoric of Romans (1990), Liberating Paul (1994), The Arrogance of Nations (2008), and, with Mark Reasoner, Documents and Images for the Study of Paul (2010).
Neil Elliott is an Episcopal priest and a New Testament scholar (PhD Princeton Theological Seminary) ) who has taught biblical studies, early Christian history, world religions, and American civil religion at the College of St. Catherine and Metropolitan State University. He is the author of The Rhetoric of Romans (1990), Liberating Paul (1994), The Arrogance of Nations (2008), and, with Mark Reasoner, Documents and Images for the Study of Paul (2010).

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“In this sterling collection of essays, Neil Elliott presents critical analyses of the most significant themes of the letter, exegetically grounded, historically informed by the most recent research, and superbly illustrated, highlighting the significance of Roman imperial domination and ideology for understanding Paul’s argumentation. He invites us to uncover the challenges of Romans afresh and to think with the apostle when facing our own responsibilities in today’s differing contexts.”

—William S. Campbell, research fellow, Faculty of Theology, University of Basel



“With his insightful and meticulously argued political approach to the letter to the Romans, Elliot adds an important aspect to the ‘Paul within Judaism’ perspective. Challenging traditional Christian readings of Romans, Elliot persuasively argues that Paul in Romans aims to refute triumphalist supersessionist claims made by non-Jews within the early Jesus movement.”

—Karin Hedner Zetterholm, associate professor of Jewish studies, Lund University



“Neil Elliott’s collection of essays summons readers to a ‘day of judgment’ upon a history of interpretation which grounds the doctrine of supersessionism in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Elliott offers a sustained political reading of Paul’s letter, informed by broad knowledge of Roman imperial propaganda and keen insight into Paul’s argumentative strategy. Elliott challenges us to take responsibility for injurious readings and lights the spark of hope for a liberating hermeneutic.”

—L. L. Welborn, professor of New Testament and early Christian literature, Fordham University



“Here, collected for the first time, are Neil Elliott’s powerfully innovative interventions into the usual business of reading Paul and his letter to the Romans. These essays show what can be possible if interpreters dare to imagine and read beyond trenchant Pauline-studies binaries such as politics vs. theology, ancient vs. contemporary, Jewish vs. non-Jewish, and accommodation vs. resistance. This volume is an invaluable resource wherein the liberative potential of rhetorical criticism is on full display.”

—Davina C. Lopez, professor of religious studies, Eckerd College



“Nobody reads Romans with quite the discerning eye of Neil Elliott; now, through these essays, everybody can re-examine the sources with his carefully reasoned exegetical arguments and morally challenging hermeneutics—and everybody should.”

—Mark D. Nanos, author of Reading Romans within Judaism

Editorial Reviews

In this sterling collection of essays, Neil Elliott presents critical analyses of the most significant themes of the letter, exegetically grounded, historically informed by the most recent research, and superbly illustrated, highlighting the significance of Roman imperial domination and ideology for understanding Paul’s argumentation. He invites us to uncover the challenges of Romans afresh and to think with the apostle when facing our own responsibilities in today’s differing contexts.”

—William S. Campbell, research fellow, Faculty of Theology, University of Basel



“With his insightful and meticulously argued political approach to the letter to the Romans, Elliot adds an important aspect to the ‘Paul within Judaism’ perspective. Challenging traditional Christian readings of Romans, Elliot persuasively argues that Paul in Romans aims to refute triumphalist supersessionist claims made by non-Jews within the early Jesus movement.”

—Karin Hedner Zetterholm, associate professor of Jewish studies, Lund University



“Neil Elliott’s collection of essays summons readers to a ‘day of judgment’ upon a history of interpretation which grounds the doctrine of supersessionism in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Elliott offers a sustained political reading of Paul’s letter, informed by broad knowledge of Roman imperial propaganda and keen insight into Paul’s argumentative strategy. Elliott challenges us to take responsibility for injurious readings and lights the spark of hope for a liberating hermeneutic.”

—L. L. Welborn, professor of New Testament and early Christian literature, Fordham University



“Here, collected for the first time, are Neil Elliott’s powerfully innovative interventions into the usual business of reading Paul and his letter to the Romans. These essays show what can be possible if interpreters dare to imagine and read beyond trenchant Pauline-studies binaries such as politics vs. theology, ancient vs. contemporary, Jewish vs. non-Jewish, and accommodation vs. resistance. This volume is an invaluable resource wherein the liberative potential of rhetorical criticism is on full display.”

—Davina C. Lopez, professor of religious studies, Eckerd College



“Nobody reads Romans with quite the discerning eye of Neil Elliott; now, through these essays, everybody can re-examine the sources with his carefully reasoned exegetical arguments and morally challenging hermeneutics—and everybody should.”

—Mark D. Nanos, author of Reading Romans within Judaism

From the Publisher