Sensing the lack of something between commentaries and books designed for daily or group Bible study, Dr Robinson has provided a guide to the Epistle to the Romans which will set the historical context, draw attention to the points of interest and importance, and help the would-be reader to wrestle with its often difficult message.

A point-counterpoint discussion of Paul's words about sin in Romans 7 and whether they describe his pre-Christian or post-conversion self, or the broader idea of "the human being confronted with the Law."

Concise, student-friendly introduction to Romans This third volume in the Discovering Biblical Texts series offers readers a compact, up-to-date, and student-friendly introduction to Paul's letter to the Romans, focusing on its structure, content, theological concerns, key interpretive debates, and historical reception. Anthony C. Thiselton alerts readers to key issues and questions raised by the text, encouraging in-depth study and a sincere grappling with the theological and historical questions raised by this often-controversial epistle. He pays special attention to the book's reception and its influence on Christian history and culture, exploring and explaining the approaches and conclusions of a wide range of ancient and modern interpreters.

Then the man said, You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed. (Gen 32:28) The Bible is full of persons who wrestle with God. As they stumble in their lives, they love and adore their Lord. They also scheme, lie, cheat, steal, quarrel, and fornicate. Abraham, the faith model for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, tells Sarah to lie; Sarah scolds God for ignoring her; Amnon rapes his sister; Judas recognizes Jesus ' unconditional love for him; Mary thinks that by distancing himself from her, Jesus hammered a spike into her breast; Peter's wife crawls into their bed and snuggles up; Jesus ' relatives think he is crazy. In a word, as seekers of God the biblical characters mirror our lives. Like Jacob we limp away from the wrestling match. Kilian McDonnell, OSB, is a monk/theologian of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. He is the author of three other books of poetry: Swift, Lord, You Are Not, Yahweh's Other Shoe, and God Drops and Loses Things (Saint John's University Press).

Robert E. Picirilli, in Grace, Faith, Free Will, renews the discussion of issues that have divided Calvinism and Arminianism since the Reformation, Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch theologian of the 16th century, contested the dominant theological ideas advanced by the well-known Protestant reformer John Calvin and his disciples. Historically, Arminius has been frequently misunderstood and often interpreted by friend and foe alike. Even today, one who calls himself "Arminian" does so with considerable risk, as the name means different things to different people and comes in various flavors. Many automatically think of Arminians as liberal, differing little from Universalists, at least holding to salvation by works , and possibly espousing heretical views of the Trinity or the goodness of man. In truth, some "Arminians" have held and even now hold such beliefs. No so of Arminius himself, his original followers, or able contemporary theologians such as Picirilli. Though he presents both classics Calvinism and Arminianism in order to help readers intelligently decide for themselves, Dr. Picirilli unashamedly advocates a very specific form of Arminianism as the best resolution of the tensions between the two doctrinal positions.

Sze-kar Wan examines the social and political ramifications of Paul's last and longest letter. By taking seriously Paul's faithfulness to his ancestral tradition, Wan argues that Paul is engaged in ethnic construction by incorporating non-Jews into Ideal Israel. With its claim of universality and the cosmic Son of God installed as king, Ideal Israel stands in pointed opposition to the Roman Empire. Wan presents the Letter to the Romans as Paul's extended argument to his Gentile audience in defence of Ideal Israel and their place in it, without ignoring such prominent themes as good news, faith and belief, eschatology, and the collection for the poor. By also including a reading of Romans 13 as resistance against absolute authority, at variance with historical interpretations that defended American slavery and German Nazism, Wan gives readers a new perspective on a defiant message that can be marshalled to resist oppressive regimes.

What kind of book is the Bible? Is it a rulebook or a guidebook for moral living? Is it a history book or a book filled with fascinating (and sometimes fantastic) stories? Did humans write the Bible or did God somehow speak a perfect message that the authors transcribed? Many people have asked these questions about the nature of this beautiful, odd, comforting, disturbing book the church calls its “Holy Scripture.” Charlotte Vaughan Coyle shares her own journey to make sense of the Bible in this read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year project. She discovered that the crucial work of asking hard questions and even arguing with the Bible revealed the Scriptures to be a symphony of polyphonic voices, a work of art that paints an alternative vision of reality, a complex novel-like story unavoidably embedded in its own culture and time, and yet able to give witness to the God beyond history who has acted (and continues to act) within history. With the heart of a pastor and the passion of a preacher, Rev. Coyle invites seekers and students (both churched and un-churched) to strap on their scuba gear and join her for a deeper dive beneath the surface of this immense, colorful, mysterious world of the Bible.

"If the God of Israel has acted to save his people through Christ, but Israel is not participating in that salvation, how then can this God be considered righteous? Unlocking Romans is directed in large extent toward answering this question in order to illuminate the righteousness of God as revealed in the book of Romans." "The answer here, J. R. Daniel Kirk claims, comes mainly in terms of resurrection. Even if only the most obvious references in Romans are considered - and Kirk certainly delves more deeply than that - the theme of resurrection appears not only in every section of the letter but also at climactic moments of Paul's argument. The network of connections among Jesus' resurrection, Israel's Scriptures, and redefining the people of God serves to affirm God's fidelity to Israel. This, in turn, demonstrates Paul's gospel message to be a witness to the revelation of the righteousness of God."--BOOK JACKET.

Why didn't the ancient Greeks or Romans wear pants? How did they shave? How likely were they to drink fine wine, use birth control, or survive surgery? In a series of short and humorous essays, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants explores some of the questions about the Greeks and Romans that ancient historian Garrett Ryan has answered in the classroom and online. Unlike most books on the classical world, the focus is not on famous figures or events, but on the fascinating details of daily life. Learn the answers to: How tall were the ancient Greeks and Romans? How long did they live? What kind of pets did they have? How dangerous were their cities? Did they believe their myths? Did they believe in ghosts, monsters, and/or aliens? Did they jog or lift weights? How did they capture animals for the Colosseum? Were there secret police, spies, or assassins? What happened to the city of Rome after the Empire collapsed? Can any families trace their ancestry back to the Greeks or Romans?

Theologian Douglas Harink invites readers to rediscover Romans as a treatise on justice, tracing Paul's thinking on this theme through a sequential reading of the book and finding in each passage facets of the gospel's primary claim—that God accomplishes justice in the death and resurrection of Jesus Messiah.