Unit information: The Letter to the Romans (Trinity & Baptist College) in 2013/14

Unit name	The Letter to the Romans (Trinity & Baptist College)
Unit code	THRS20119
Credit points	10
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Dr. Finamore
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	Getting into the New Testament THRS11038
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Religion and Theology
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

For this Unit, Romans is divided into thematic sections. Some issues raised by this thematic survey of Romans are:

1. Paul's understanding of the unity of Jews and Gentiles within the people of God;
2. the place of Israel in salvation history;
3. the various meanings of 'Law' in the letter;
4. the transference of believers from the realm of Sin, Law and Death to that of Christ;
5. various metaphors for salvation;
6. the relationship between grace and election;
7. Paul's attitude to the state;
8. the primacy of love in Pauline ethics;
9. Pauline use of priestly-cultic language.

Certain passages are given special exegetical analysis. The debate generated by E.P. Sanders' studies of Paul and Palestinian Judaism provides a base to develop interpretations of Romans. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the text of Romans and is hoped that students will feel liberated to interpret Romans anew for their own generation.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The unit aims to

1. to fire students’ interest in Paul’s letter to the Romans, both as a fascinating piece of literature and as part of the sacred scriptures of the Christian church;
2. to sensitize students to the historical coordinates of the author and addressees as indicated by the text;
3. to make students aware of the letter genre and some of the rhetorical techniques employed in Romans, so as to enhance their capacity to interpret the epistle

On completion of the unit students should:

1. be able to read Romans with increased enthusiasm and sensitivity to its historical particularities and contours, its genres, its rhetorical devices and its theological themes;
2. be able to understand recent developments in Romans scholarship since Sanders’ reordering of the debate about Paul and Judaism;
3. be able to exegete in an informed and reasoned way any passage from Romans;
4. be able to offer an application of any extended passage of Romans to the current world in a way that does justice to the text in its own historical particularity.

Teaching Information

There are 8 lectures, each of which is accompanied by a handout which broadly covers the thematic sections of Romans to be handled in that class session. Questions are encouraged in class but not to the extent that they act to the detriment of conducting the review of the whole of Romans. There are 2 seminars, each of which treats an important passage of the letter. Students are assigned in groups different major commentators to consult. However, they are not expected to be limited by these scholars’ work but should feel able also to develop their own ideas about their reading during the discussion.

The unit will consist of 10 contact hours, equating to 2 contact hours per week for 5 weeks.

Assessment Information

Formative assessment will be through preparation for classes and participation in class discussions and seminars.

Summative assessment will be through an essay of 2,500 words which consists of an exegesis of one of the thematic sections of Romans examined during the course. The student elects which of the sections to study in agreement with the Tutor.

Reading and References

1. Barth, K., Romans (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956)
2. Donfried, K.P., ed., The Romans Debate, Rev. (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1991)
3. Dunn, J.D.G., Romans, 2 vols (Dallas Texas: Word, 1988)
4. Fitzmeyer, J.A., Romans (New York: Anchor Books/ Doubleday, 1993)
5. Murphy O'Connor, J. Paul, a Critical Life (Oxford: Clarendon, 1996)
6. Stowers, S. A, Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews and Gentiles (Yale: Yale University Press, 1994)