摒除尊卑之分——羅馬書這封宣教者信函的要旨

朱偉特教授(Prof. Robert Jewett)

  本院在4月17日特別邀請了著名新約學者朱偉特博士擔任早會講員,並邀請周兆真博士作回應講員。朱偉特博士的信息強調摒除尊卑之分是羅馬書的要旨,此要旨對二十一世紀這充滿衝突的世代尤其具有現實意義。今期《院訊》翻譯了朱偉特博士當日的講稿,與讀者一同分享信息。

經文:羅一1-17;十四1~十六16

引言

  由西方學者所主導的羅馬書研究有一個怪現象,就是忽略了書內兩個勸勉:十四章1節和十五章7節提到的彼此「接納」,以及在十六章重複了二十一次的「問某某安」。有關羅馬書的著述雖汗牛充棟,卻沒有一篇文章是以這些勸勉為題的。十六章16節提到的「聖潔的親嘴」雖較受注意,1 至今卻沒有一篇專文解釋它在教會的處境或羅馬書的論證中有何作用。那些闡釋羅馬書所論的榮辱尊卑的專文,並沒有提到「接納客人」這勸勉在當代社會的意涵。2

  這兩個勸勉構成了羅馬書的高潮,其重要性是不容置疑的。但解經家卻缺少了神學和社會學的觸覺,不明白這些經文所討論的是甚麼。自奧古斯丁(Augustine)以來,人們一直以罪和罪得赦免這兩個議題作為羅馬書的主要神學論點,這種先入為主的看法,使得我們的神學傳統忽略了這書信中那顯著的社會議題:排斥卑下(shameful exclusion)和接納尊貴(honorable welcome)。到底這些主題在羅馬書的論證中起著甚麼作用?在保羅想要針對的處境中,它們與社會及神學有甚麼關聯?這裡有沒有一個基礎,讓我們在二十一世紀發展一種彼此接納、彼此尊重的新倫理?以下讓我們先看看羅馬書第一章如何論述尊貴與卑下。

1. 摒除尊卑之分的討論

  朱奇(E. A. Judge)指出,在古代世界,人們每每把賺取尊榮看成人生唯一的目標,保羅則試圖在羅馬書裡把這個普遍的傳統扭轉過來。「人們認為對在公職上有建樹的人而言,贏得尊榮是最好的報酬。」3 這見解在蘭頓(J. E. Lendon)的書《榮耀的帝國》(Empire of Honour)得到印證,他這樣描述羅馬帝國那些上流社會的看法:

當一個地位顯赫的貴族俯視在他以下的社會,有一度門檻在那裡,在這門檻之下,照他的想法,尊榮是不存在的;許許多多的人都沒有尊榮,而且最好維持那狀況……奴隸正是這類人的典型,他們沒尊榮可言。4

羅馬書的受眾大部分對尊榮無所指望。在羅馬社會的階級裡,早期基督徒多是奴隸或作過奴隸的,生來就因為人的偏見被貶低。新約有關 shame 的用詞包括了可恥的行為,以及加諸別人身上的卑下地位,5 而在羅馬書最為突出的是後者。事實上,最具破壞力的恥辱就是這一種,即內化了這偏見:認定某些人或某些群體是毫無價值的,他們的生命無關重要。

  莫茲尼斯(Halvor Moxnes)在〈羅馬書的尊貴與義〉(“Honour and Righteousness in Romans”)一文中,從古代社會那種看重尊榮的文化背景來探討羅馬書的要旨。在這社會裡,「別人的認可和肯定」是很重要的,且意味著「群體比個人更重要」。6 這跟西方神學的主要關注和對羅馬書的詮釋有所不同,因為後者的關注和詮釋「是以罪和罪疚為主導,這罪和罪疚是犯錯後的反應」。7 莫茲尼斯發覺尊榮和恥辱 / 卑下的詞語組(word fields)在羅馬書中扮演著重要的角色,即尊重、羞辱、不知羞恥、羞愧的、使丟臉、光榮、榮耀、讚賞、誇口和誇耀等,在保羅的論證裡甚為重要。莫茲尼斯指出,尊貴和卑下這焦點與羅馬書的宗旨有關——「把信主的猶太人和非猶太人連成一體」。8 這意味應去除「排斥卑下」的做法,而那是不能靠罪得赦免就能達到的。這與罪和赦罪在羅馬書僅為次要議題有關。

  不過,莫茲尼斯卻忽略了書中其他具有歧視意味的表述和用語,例如:

  • 「希臘人、化外人、聰明人、愚拙人」(一14);
  • 出現了二十八次,隱含羞辱性的字眼:「外邦人」;
  • 「軟弱」和「強壯」(十四1~十五7);
  • 二十五次提到「接待」(welcome)和「問候」(greeting)這些表示敬重的社交行為(遍佈最後三章);
  • 七十次提到「義」(righteousness)、「使之成義」(make righteous)等,它們常被誤譯為「稱義」(justification)。

  若拿這些跟只在羅馬書三章25節出現過一次的「寬容人先時所犯的罪」作比較,就可清楚看到在羅馬書的詮釋傳統裡,人們是誤將一條主流當為支流。傳統的羅馬書神學集中在個人因無法按律法生活而有的罪疚,以及罪的赦免上,但我要提出,這封信的中心題旨卻是:要藉著遵從不同形式的法律,改變那些區分尊卑的謬誤制度,以糾正這個世界。

  這使得保羅這書信對二十一世紀有嶄新的現實意義。在過去多個世紀,強調赦罪是適切的,因為在西方大部分人都因自己未能按律法的標準生活而害怕地獄之火。但赦罪對於今天大多數社會來說,似不像從前般適切。歐洲和北美的人大多不再感到受律法約束,而非洲和亞洲的社會更沒有遵守聖經規條的傳統。在我們的時代,最主要的衝突源自恥辱——某些被歧視的群體感到受辱。處身這「聖戰時代」的回教徒感到受歧視,恨惡被別人支配;事實上,目前以美國為首的西方國家所推行的挑釁性政策,正是優越感的表現。曾受害於種種帝國主義的其他國家,也出於憤恨而起來反抗昔日的宗主國,以致和諧的國際關係難以維持。保羅的論證在當今處境下有重大的意義,因為羅馬書第一至三章說,沒有人比其他人優勝,所有民族都犯了罪,虧缺了神的榮耀。某些群體聲稱憑自己種種德行賺得神的祝福,但羅馬書三至六章、九至十一章卻說,所有人都只能靠恩典得救。我們要用合適的措詞,來重新建構宗教改革那「因信稱義」(justification by faith)的傳統教義。「因信成義」(Righteous through faith)的意思是接受這福音:基督代替那被羞辱的一群,在羞辱中受死,這意味我們所有人同被看重。保羅在第三章結束時說,神不獨是猶太人的神或外邦人的神,因為神的義是一視同仁的。我們若能明白這一點,就會願意停止所謂神聖之戰,轉而服從國際公法的同一標準,藉此尋求世界和平。

2. 向西班牙的化外人傳福音的挑戰

  這種研究羅馬書的新進路,關連於羅馬書主要的寫作目的:為西班牙的宣教事工尋求羅馬人的支援。再次令人感到意外的,在一章14節,保羅用了一些帶有歧視的語言,提到「希臘人、化外人、聰明人、愚拙人」。這些詞語以十分侮慢的方式,說出了希羅文化的社會分界。正如杜殊(Yves Albert Dauge)等人所指出,9 βάρβαρoς 是希羅文化中的「N-」字(即具負面意義),若這字跟與它對立的另一個字「希臘人」一起使用,就是指那個在羅馬帝國以外,也偶而在它以內,威脅到其和平與安全的殘暴、乖張、腐敗、未開化的領域。這或類似中國古時看北方外族為危險的蠻夷。同樣,σoφός(「聰明」)和άvοήτoς(「愚拙 / 沒受教育的」)二字,說出了羅馬帝國公民和不體面的平民之間的教育分界。叫讀者吃驚的,是保羅不僅用了這些區分尊卑的字眼,他更要搖動希羅世界的道德前提——因他宣稱,無論是卑下的一群或尊貴的一群,他都欠他們的債。

  在這個值得注意的句子之後是一個對比:「先是猶太人,後是希臘人……。」(一16-17)羅馬教會以外邦基督徒為主,他們以為自己的種族高人一等,但這裡卻要改變他們的看法。10 保羅提到「不以福音為恥」(一16),這也為羅馬書餘下的部分定調。正如我們可以從哥林多前書一章20至31節的平行經文看到的,對古代文化來說,福音本質上是叫人羞恥、叫人丟臉的。身為彌賽亞的救贖者竟被釘死在十架上,這信息「在猶太人為絆腳石,在外邦人為愚拙」。神在卑污的十字架上自我啟示,似乎是貶低了神的身分,又妄顧無論在猶太或希羅文化中,那已建立的宗教傳統的尊嚴和恰當性。這樣一個福音,並不吸引社會上尊貴高尚、有德有義的一群,它卻似乎專為吸引遭人藐視、無權無勢的一群而設計。讓我們再看看哥林多前書的話:「神卻揀選了世上愚拙的,叫有智慧的羞愧;又揀選了世上軟弱的,叫那強壯的羞愧。神也揀選了世上卑賤的、被人厭惡的……在神面前一個也不能自誇。」(林前一27-29)本來有很強的理由叫保羅以福音為恥,但他聲稱不以福音為恥,標示福音已開展了一場社會和意識形態的革命。

  這個革命性觀點跟西班牙的宣教使命有直接關係。在羅馬書十五章24節,保羅講述他的計劃:「盼望從你們那裡經過,得見你們,先與你們彼此交往,心裡稍微滿足,然後蒙你們送行。」「送行」一詞是重要的,那與西班牙的宣教使命有關的。解經家認為它是早期宣教圈子慣用的術語。11 保羅正禮貌地請求羅馬人為他的宣教事工提供後勤支援。12 在十五章28節,保羅說當他把捐款送交耶路撒冷後,「就要路過你們那裡,往西班牙去」。這又是意在言外,用意是邀請羅馬教會提供支援。

  西班牙的宣教使命有甚麼特別,須要這樣深思熟慮地準備?假如整卷羅馬書確實與這事工有直接關係,為甚麼需要這些?為甚麼保羅認為用他在帖撒羅尼迦或哥林多的做法,照樣在西班牙開展事工是不可行的?為甚麼要事先準備,而不是首先前去會堂講道,找個當地的贊助人,再建立一個地方教會?根據當今獲得的資料,我們可以為這個問題找到答案。

  新資料涉及猶流-革老丟(Julio-Claudian)王朝期間,是否有猶太人居住在西班牙。舊日解經家主要根據一些過時的資料,假定有猶太社群居於西班牙。13 可是事實上,正如保雲斯(W. P. Bowers)所指出,直到公元三至四世紀,西班牙才有相當數量的猶太殖民。14

  西班牙沒有猶太殖民,會對保羅一貫的宣教策略構成重大障礙。除了欠缺猶太人這些福音對象外,他也難以在西班牙各城招聚一群敬畏神的外邦人或歸主的猶太教徒,作為發展教會的核心成員。不會有人因全心信賴七十士譯本而對彌賽亞來臨的宣告感興趣。沒有會堂,保羅就難以使用他往日在東部希臘諸城設立工作基地的途徑。保羅在所到之地,盡可能在會堂開始他的宣教活動,遇有麻煩或有贊助人出現之後,就遷移到一個宣教基地。15 沒有會堂作起點,就極難接觸到合適的贊助人——這對保羅這個以手作維生的社會階層尤其困難。

  當地沒有會堂,也帶來相關的經濟難題,因為往來各地的猶太人經常利用這類地方作為旅館和生意的聯繫。西班牙既沒有地方會堂這個資源,就要事先尋找工作基地和招攬合適的贊助人。由於西班牙的經濟資源由羅馬人控制,礦場、工業和土地大部分也為羅馬帝國直接擁有或管理,16 要解決資源問題就可能要借助一些靠近羅馬政府官員的人。由此可見,沒有猶太殖民導致保羅必須重新部署往西班牙傳福音的整體策略。

  讓我們看看西班牙那段時期的文化情況。我發現從羅馬人的觀點來看,保羅在羅馬書一章14節所提到的卑下的「化外人」是包括了西班牙人在內的。儘管西班牙有一個歸化羅馬的上流社會,但部分人卻未為外表美麗的羅馬文化所薰陶。17 特別是農村及北部的居民根本與希羅文化沒有交流。大體而言,「那些擁有羅馬公民權利、多少被羅馬化的人,只佔西班牙人口的少數,至於其餘的人,身分地位還是一樣……。」18 西班牙所用的語言對保羅這個慣說希臘語的人來說,也構成很大阻礙。大城市一般是說拉丁語的,雖然有時說得不流利,但「西班牙的伊比利人(Iberians)和塞爾特-伊比利人(Celt-Iberians)卻說自己的語言……」。19 近期有關西班牙文化的研究證實了這點。

  在語言及政治層面上,西班牙的情況都對保羅的宣教策略帶來巨大挑戰。他須要以拉丁語宣講和教導,但他不見得能夠說流利的拉丁語而無需翻譯員協助。要開拓這樣的資源確實困難,因為當時希伯來聖經還沒有拉丁文譯本,而最早說拉丁語的教會到第二世紀中期才出現。20 就連羅馬教會在第三世紀中期以前也是說希臘語的;21 至於西方其他地區,教會多個世紀以來亦一直受希臘移民所影響。22 把福音、禮拜文和口傳的教導翻譯成另一種語言是艱巨的,特別要跨越西班牙那狹小的拉丁化圈子,是需要額外的翻譯資源。保羅先前在一些說希臘語的區域取得成功,但那些拉丁化城市卻與這些區域不同,它們以頗不同的方式作為羅馬帝國管治和文明的前哨基地。因此,在當地尋找贊助人時必須小心,對方要不為土生土長的人所憎惡。

  總之,前往西班牙宣教所要求的是另一層次的計劃和支援,與保羅早期隨機應變式的宣教策略相比,是一大轉變。

3. 消除羅馬教會內的大民族主義

  明白了向西班牙的「化外人」傳福音所帶來的挑戰,我們就能理解為何羅馬書用那麼多篇幅來處理羅馬教會的大民族主義。既然這些信徒視對方為危險的化外人,拒絕彼此接納,他們的行為就跟西班牙的羅馬人不相伯仲。在這樣的情況下宣教,只會令西班牙人感到又是可恨的羅馬帝國主義強壓下來。故此保羅要用那麼多時間,指出如何消除大民族主義。

  在十四章13節及十五章7節,保羅勸讀者要「彼此接納」(mutual “welcome”),解經家們認為這勸告與教會的處境有關。信中特有的倫理教導是這樣開始的:「信心軟弱的,你們要接納,但不要辯論所疑惑的事。」(羅十四1)這裡明顯是指猶太人的保守派基督徒,他們被視為「軟弱」的一群,受到羅馬大多數的外邦基督徒所歧視。「軟弱」一詞帶有輕蔑之意,大部分人以為這些猶太人太「軟弱」了,以致未能擺脫猶太律法的束縛。這群人很可能包括了第十六章所提到的曾被放逐的猶太基督徒,他們在革老丟法令(the Edict of Claudius)廢除後重返羅馬。根據韋福(Wolfgang Wiefel)的研究,這群猶太人看來不被接納,因而無法融入這個他們昔日曾一起建立的群體之中。雙方在神學、倫理、崇拜和領導上出現了衝突。我們從保羅的勸告得知,有人「為不同的見解爭辯」,即把別人帶到一旁,教訓一番。然而保羅強調一種無條件的接納,提醒自由派須接納保守派,不應試圖改變對方。我們從十五章7節的措詞看出,保羅把這原則伸延至雙方:「所以,你們要彼此接納……」,這符合十四章1節至十五章7節的要旨,那裡禁止信徒在教會裡試圖改變對立者:雙方要互相造就,不要攻擊對方的人格,儘管雙方的神學和文化在教會裡引發不同的觀點和做法。

  在第十六章,保羅向一大批人士問安,這些人是他先前在地中海東部一帶宣教時認識的。他們之所以回歸羅馬,是與公元54年革老丟法令失效有關。使徒行傳顯示,保羅在羅馬書十六章3至5節問候的百基拉和亞居拉是早年被迫離開羅馬的難民,而保羅則在公元50年冬到達哥林多時遇上他們。第十六章也提到另一些可能是難民的人:以拜尼土、馬利亞、安多尼古、猶尼亞、暗伯利、耳巴奴、士大古、亞比利……等。保羅何以認識這些早期的基督徒領袖?最可能的解釋是,他們是在流亡期間認識的。保羅知道他們在尼祿(Nero)執政早期的太平日子裡,在公元56至57年他在哥林多寫羅馬書之前,已經回到羅馬帝國的首都來。

  林普(Peter Lampe)在他有關羅馬基督教的大部頭著作中,23 指出了基督教在羅馬城開展的確實地域。林普基於五類型考古學和文學證據的脗合性,採用地形學的方法找到早期家庭教會兩個最可能的聚會地方:特拉斯提凡爾(Trastevere)和移民聚居地波特迦百拿(Porta Capena)周邊的阿比亞街道(Appian Way)一帶。此為奴隸和手作工人聚居的貧民區,而第十六章所提到的名字,代表了羅馬城人口中最低下的一群,他們正是住在這些貧民區裡。

  這個主題——歡迎及接納一切低下的外人,在第十六章透過信函的慣用語繼續表達。「問某某安」在此章以不同形式重複了二十一次。在希羅文化裡,「問安」的意思實際上是用手臂繞著對方,擁抱或親吻他們,以表示歡迎。那是主人在客人進入屋裡時慣常做的動作。因此,這個重複的勸勉,與十四章1節和十五章7節有同一含義:歡迎別人到你們的愛筵來。

  這要求的高潮出現在十六章16節:「要用聖潔的親嘴彼此問安」,這樣問安能消除早期基督徒群體之間的衝突。跟現今世界不少親嘴的習俗很不一樣,在保羅時代,這種親嘴主要是一件在家裡作的事,即遇見家人時互相親吻。對早期的基督徒群體來說,聖潔的親嘴使這個擴大了的家更為團結;它實際上是說,你就是我的「兄弟」「姊妹」,是極為尊敬的表達。那時大部分基督徒都不能擁有一個安樂窩,從這一點看,當他們聚集一起用餐,親嘴這個動作就延伸至家人以外的其他對象,此為早期基督徒愛筵常有的特色。不過,我想指出的是,以這方式「彼此問安」可以消除早期基督徒群體之間的敵意和偏見,使他們準備好向羅馬帝國以外的西班牙人宣教。

  這個慷慨和白白賜下恩惠的福音,被基督徒的大民族主義出賣了;因著這大民族主義,把世界聯結起來的使命遭受阻撓,正如在保羅的年代,它危害到向西班牙的化外人宣教的計劃。

4. 羅馬書主旨的新亮光

  羅馬書的主旨是:神的義是世上最強大的力量。在一章16節,保羅說福音「是神的大能,要救一切相信的」。基督飽受凌辱,在十架上受死——這樣的福音粉碎了標榜文化優越性的一切努力。福音透過基督向我們啟示,祂的死表達了神對人最深的愛,也暴露了人性最徹底的墮落。基督揭示了宗教最大的矛盾:宗教可以被濫用為謀取地位的工具,以致我們可以說:「我們比你們公義。」或說:「我們比你們更懂得尋求自由與平安。」保羅因而明確指出,生命的轉化是「一切相信的人」都可得到的,不論是活在希羅文化下的人或是化外人。神的義推翻了各個國家和群體所設立的,用以劃分貴賤的不公平制度,表明了全人類都是神所愛的,並且這愛是神聖、一視同仁和公義的。神這大能要求我們彼此接納。西方解經家還未明白這個道理,他們自宗教改革以來,就努力闡述稱義的正確教義,好證明他們那群信徒的優越性。這導致西方解經家忽視了形成羅馬書高潮的最後幾章的重要意義——信徒要彼此接納,不因神學上的分歧而彼此排斥。我相信十六章17至20節和十六章25至27節兩段經文是人們早期添加的,為要避開保羅論證中的包容意涵,反認定排外才是保羅的準則。

  事實上,保羅在這最長的一封書信裡,用了十六章來說明應怎樣理解基督所彰顯的神的義,並將之活出來。這直接關係到應如何理解十五章33節的「賜平安的神」,以及十五章7至13節的全球性復和。若神的義果真是一視同仁的,我們在國際場景裡,就該按國際法一視同仁地對待其他國家。在教會的場景裡,在類似羅馬那種會眾互相爭競的處境中,就意味該邀請群體裡的成員參加自己的愛筵;這愛筵是慶賀基督代替卑微的人經歷羞辱性的死而建立的團契(koinonia)。神的義的救贖大能,是藉著彼此問安,藉著聚會開始時聖潔的親嘴而傳開的。

總結

  時候到了,隨著二十一世紀來臨,我們應認真地思考早期基督徒集體生活的真正本質、化外人被視為低下這個議題、宗教何以淪為一個取得尊榮的工具,以及神那一視同仁的義。當代基督徒、回教徒和猶太人所使用和鼓吹的暴力,反映了他們對神的義有扭曲了的觀念,又有人妄想藉暴力成就良善;最能對應這一切的,正是基督在十架上忍受羞辱的福音。這講說神的義的福音,是全世界真正的權力中心,那裡有被人看為低下的地位,那裡就有勝過它的福音;這使我們知道,無論我們身處耶路撒冷或地極的哪一端,我們全都是神所愛的兒女。化外人和居住於羅馬帝國中心的公民,不論他們身在何處,在基督裡他們之間的分界已被徹底消除了。假如人們明白這一點並將之活出來,那麼二十一世紀的歷史將反映全球復和的使命的實現,這使命正是保羅昔日寫羅馬書時提出的。

____________________________________________

1 參 Stephen Benko, “The Kiss,” in Pagan Rome and the Early Christians, ed. S. Benko (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1984) 79-102;John Ellington, “Kissing in the Bible: Form and Meaning,” BT 41 (1990): 409-416;William Klassen, “The Sacred Kiss in the New Testament,” NTS 39 (1993): 122-135;Eleanor Kreider, “Let the Faithful Greet Each Other: The Kiss of Peace,” Conrad Grebel Review 5 (1987): 28-49;W. Lowrie, “The Kiss of Peace,” TTo 12 (1955): 236-242;Nicholas James Perella, The Kiss: Sacred and Profane: An Interpretative History of Kiss Symbolism and Related Religio-Erotic Themes (Berkeley: University of California, 1969);Klaus Thraede, “Ursprünge und Formen des ‘Heiligen Kusses’ im frühen Christentum,” JAC 11-12 (1968-1969): 124-180。
2 Halvor Moxnes, “Honour and Righteousness in Romans,” JSNT 32 (1988): 61-77,此文發展了之前一篇文章的思想,該文為 “Paulus og den norske vaeremåten. ‘Skam’ og ‘aere’ i Romerbrevet” [Paul and Norwegian Culture. “Shame” and “Honor” in Romans], NorTT 86 (1985): 129-140。
3 E. A. Judge, “The Conflict of Educational Aims in New Testament Thought,” Journal of Christian Education 9 (1966): 38-39;他引述了 Sallust, Bellum Jugurthinum LXXXV: 26的一句:「沉默只會使人誤以謙遜取代一顆內疚的良心」。
4 J. E. Lendon, Empire of Honour (Oxford: OUP, 2001), 96.
5 參 A. Horstmann, “α_σχύvoμαι be ashamed,” EDNT 1 (1990): 42-43,此語突出了被別人「羞辱」的意思,它有別於為自己的行為「感到羞愧」的主觀意思,後者特別見於 παισχύνομαι 的用法。
6 Moxnes, “Honour and Righteousness in Romans,” 63.
7 Moxnes, “Honour and Righteousness in Romans,” 62.
8 Moxnes, “Honour and Righteousness in Romans,” 64.
9 Yves Albert Dauge, Le Barbare. Recherches sur la conception romaine de la barbarie et de la civilisation Collection Latomus 176 (Brussels: Latomus, 1981): 393-810,作者指出在羅馬文獻中,「化外人」一詞所形容的外人是非理性、野蠻、好戰、疏離、無秩序的,在各方面都與文明的羅馬人相反。
10 參 James C. Walters, Ethnic Issues in Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Valley Forge: TPI, 1993), 68-79。
11 Michel, Römer, 369.
12 C. H. Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1932), 229.
13 Ernst Käsemann, Commentary on Romans, trans. G. W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 398; C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, vol. 2 (Edinburgh: Clark, 1979), 769; Michel, Römer, 369;Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ: 175 B.C.-A.D.135, vol. 3, rev. ed., G. Vermes et al. (Edinburgh: Clark, 1986), 84-85,Schürer 此新修訂的版本在這一點上更正了之前的版本,考慮到 Bower 在其作品所提出的見解。
14 W. P. Bowers, “Jewish Communities in Spain in the Time of Paul the Apostle,” JTS 26 (1975): 400.
15 參 Stanley Kent Stowers, “Social Status, Public Speaking and Private Teaching: The Circumstances of Paul’s Preaching Activity,” Novum Testamentum 26 (1984): 68-73,當中有證據顯示,贊助人的家是保羅宣教的主要場所。也有學者提出保羅可能用工場作為宣教的場所,參 Ronald F. Hock, The Social Context of Paul’s Ministry: Tentmaking and Apostleship (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980)。
16 M. Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire (Oxford: Clarendon, 1926;引文取自 P. M. Fraser 修訂的第二版,1957), 213f。亦參 J. M. Blázquez (Martínez), “Roma y la explotació’n económica de la Península Ibérica,” Las Raices de España, ed. J. M. Gómez-Tabanera (Madrid, 1967) 253-281。
17 Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, 211-215.
18 Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, 215.
19 Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, 213.
20 參 W. H. C. Frend, The Rise of Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 340。
21 參 W. H. C. Frend, Town and Country in the Early Christian Centuries (London: Variorum, 1980), 126。
22 參 Frend, “A Note on the Influence of Greek Immigrants on the Spread of Christianity in the West,” in Town and Country in the Early Christian Centuries, 125-129。
23 Peter Lampe, Die stadtrömischen Christen in den ersten beiden Jahrhunderten: Studien zur Sozialgeschichte (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1987; second ed., 1990);英譯本 From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries, trans. M. Steinhauser, foreword by R. Jewett (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003)。

李金好 譯

本文承蒙朱偉特博士授權翻譯,謹此致謝。

  The Seminary invited world renowned New Testament scholar, Professor Robert Jewett, to be our speaker at the morning chapel on April 17. Dr. Chow Siu-chun was the respondent. Dr. Jewett claimed Roman’s main theme is the overcoming of shameful status and pointed out that this same issue often lies behind the many conflicts of the 21st century. We are indeed privileged that Dr. Jewett has granted HKBTS’s English Newsletter permission to publish his manuscript in this issue.

Scripture: 1:1-17, 14:1-16:16

Introduction

  One of the oddities of Romans research, dominated thus far by western scholars, is the lack of interest in the twofold admonition to “welcome” each other in Rom 14:1 and 15:7 and the twenty-one repetitions of the formula “greet so and so” in chapter 16. In the vast scholarly literature on Romans, there is not a single article devoted to either of these terms. The reference in 16:16 to the “holy kiss” has attracted more attention,1 but no study has thus far explained its function in the congregational situation or the argument of the letter. In the studies written on the dialectic between honor and shame in Romans, there is no mention of the social function of honoring guests implicit in these references.2

  Given the fact that these admonitions form the climax of the letter, their significance is indisputable. Yet commentators have lacked the theological and social sensitivity to understand what was at stake in these prominent references. The preoccupation with issues of guilt and forgiveness, which has dominated the theology of Romans since Augustine’s time, has rendered our theological tradition oddly uninterested in the pervasive social issues of shameful exclusion and honorable welcome. What is the function of these themes in the argument of the Paul’s letter? What is their social and theological relevance in the situation Paul is attempting to address in Romans? Is there a basis here to develop a new ethic of honorable welcome in the 21st century? We begin the quest with a consideration of the language of honor and shame in the opening chapter of the letter.

I. Overcoming shameful status in the argument of Romans

  E. A. Judge helps us understand that Paul in Romans is reversing a broad cultural tradition in the ancient world that viewed the earning of honor as the only suitable goal for life. “It was held that the winning of honor was the only adequate reward for merit in public life. ”3 This insight was confirmed by Empire of Honor, in which J. E. Lendon describes the views of the upper class in the Roman Empire:

When a great aristocrat peered down into society beneath him, there was a threshold beneath which, to his mind, honor did not exist; there were people, a great many people, without honor, and best kept that way…. The slave is the archetype of the man without honor.4

Most of the audience of Romans consisted of persons with no prospects of gaining such glory. In the hierarchical context of Roman society, the early Christians were mostly slaves and former slaves who were demeaned from birth on prejudicial grounds. The rhetoric of shame in New Testament usage includes both shameful deeds and shameful status imposed by others.5 It is the second type of shame that surfaces most prominently in this letter. In fact the most damaging form of shame is this second type, namely to internalize prejudicial assessments that persons or groups are worthless, that their lives are without significance.

  In “Honor and Righteousness in Romans,” Halvor Moxnes places the argument of the letter in the ancient cultural context of an “honor society” in which “recognition and approval from others” is central, which means that the “group is more important than the individual.”6 This contrasts with the dominant concern of Western theology and interpretation of Romans, “in which guilt and guilt-feeling predominate as a response to wrongdoing.”7 He notes that the word fields of honor and shame play important roles in the argument of Romans, with references to “honor, dishonor, shameless, be ashamed, put to shame, glory, glorify, praise, boast and boasting” playing decisive roles in Paul’s argument. This focus on honor and shame relates to the central purpose of the letter as Moxnes understands it, “to bring together believing Jews and non-Jews in one community.”8 This means that shameful exclusion should be overcome, and that cannot be accomplished by forgiveness. This relates to the fact that guilt and forgiveness are decidedly secondary issues in Romans.

  To these references, I would add the socially discriminatory categories that Moxnes overlooked such as

  • “Greeks and barbarians, educated and uneducated” in 1:14;
  • The 28 appearances of the potentially shameful epithet “Gentiles”;
  • The categories “weak” and “strong” employed in 14:1-15:7;
  • The 25 references to social gestures of honor in the form of “welcome” and “greeting” that dominate the last three chapters;
  • And the 70 references to “righteousness,” “make righteous,” etc. that are often mistranslated as “justification.”

  When compared with the single allusion to the “passing over previously committed sins” in Rom 3:25, it is clear that a mainstream has been confused for a minor current in the tradition of interpreting Romans. Therefore, in place of the traditional theology of Romans that concentrates on individual guilt and forgiveness for failing to live up to the law, I propose that the central issue is setting the world right by overcoming its perverse systems of honor and shame through conformity to various forms of law.

  This allows Paul’s letter to have a fresh relevance for the 21st century. Although it was relevant in previous centuries to stress forgiveness because most people in the West feared the fires of hell because they were not living up to the law, forgiveness is less relevant for most societies today. Most people living in Europe and North America no longer feel bound by the law, and the societies in Africa and Asia lack the tradition of biblical rules. The most significant conflicts in our time come from shame in the form of social discrimination. Muslims who dominate the news in this “era of Jihad” resent their domination by others; they feel discriminated against, and in fact the aggressive policies of the west, currently led by the United States, are an expression of the feeling of superiority. Other nations that have suffered from various forms of imperialism act out of resentment against their former masters, which makes peaceful international relations difficult to maintain. Paul’s argument has great relevance in this contemporary situation, because Rom 1-3 says that none is superior, that all nations have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In face of claims that some group earns God’s blessings because of its alleged virtues, Rom 3-6, 9-11 says all people can be saved by grace alone. We need to reformulate the classical Reformation doctrine of “justification by faith” in relevant social terms. To become “righteous through faith” means to accept the gospel of Christ’s shameful death in behalf of the shamed, which means that all of us humans are equally honored. God is not the God of the Jews or the Gentiles alone, argues Paul at the end of Romans 3, because his righteousness is impartial. If we understood this, we would all be willing to stop crusading against each other, and to place ourselves under the same standards of international law, which would be the key to world peace.

2. The challenge of the mission to the barbarians in Spain

  This new approach to the theology of Romans is linked with the central purpose of this letter, which was to enlist Roman support for the mission to Spain. Here again, there is a surprise. In 1:14, Paul employs some discriminatory language by referring to “Greeks and barbarians…wise and foolish.” These terms articulate the social boundaries of Greco-Roman culture in a thoroughly abusive manner. As studies of βάρβαρoς by Yves Albert Dauge and others have shown,9 this is the “N-” word in Greco-Roman culture. When paired with its ideological opposite, “Greeks,” it denotes the violent, perverse, corrupt, uncivilized realm beyond and at times within the Roman Empire that threatens peace and security. There may be parallels here to the ancient Chinese view of the dangerous barbarians of the North. Similarly, the terms σoφός (“wise”) and άvοήτoς (“unwise/uneducated”) depict the educational boundary between citizens of the Roman Empire and the shameful masses. But it is not just Paul’s use of these epithets of honor and shame that jars the reader; he undercuts the moral premise of the Greco-Roman world in proclaiming his indebtedness to the shameful as well as to the honorable representatives of the antitheses.

  When the remarkable formulation is followed by the antithesis “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” in Rom 1:16-17, there is a reversal of the claim of ethnic priority that was being claimed by the Gentile Christian majority in Rome.10 The reference to not being “ashamed of the gospel” (1:16) also sets the tone for the entire subsequent letter. One can see from the parallel text in 1 Cor. 1:20-31 that the gospel was innately shameful as far as ancient cultures were concerned. The message about a messianic redeemer being crucified was a “stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” A divine self revelation on an obscene cross seemed to demean God and overlook the honor and propriety of established religious traditions, both Jewish and Greco-Roman. Rather than appealing to the honorable and righteous members of society, such a gospel seemed designed to appeal to the despised and the powerless. To use the words of 1 Corinthians once again, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world …so that no one might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Cor. 1:27-29) There were powerful, social reasons why Paul should have been ashamed of this gospel; his claim not to be ashamed signals that a social and ideological revolution has been inaugurated by the gospel.

  This revolutionary viewpoint is directly related to the mission to Spain. In Rom 15:24, Paul refers to his plan to “see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be sped forward on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little.” The crucial element in verse 24 in relation to the Spanish mission is the expression “send forward,” or “sped onward” which is perceived by commentators as something of a technical expression in early Christian missionary circles.11 Paul is politely requesting logistical support for his mission project.12 In 15:28, Paul says that after the offering has been delivered to Jerusalem, “I shall go on by way of you to Spain.” Again by implication this reference invites the Roman churches to become involved in the planning and support of the Spanish project.

  What was there about the Spanish mission that required such tactful preparation? If, indeed, the entire letter to the Romans is directly related to this project as I show in the commentary, why was it all necessary? Why did Paul not think it was feasible to start the mission in Spain as he had in Thessalonica or Corinth? Why not arrive without advanced notice or preparation, start preaching in a synagogue, find a local patron or patroness, and build a local congregation of converts? In light of information that is now available, we are now in a position to provide an informed answer to this question.

  The first matter on which new information is available relates to the presence of Jewish population in Spain during the Julio-Claudian period. Older commentators assume the presence of Jewish communities in Spain, relying primarily on outdated information.13 In fact evidence of substantial Jewish settlement in Spain does not appear until the third and fourth centuries C. E., as W. P. Bowers has shown.14

  The lack of Jewish settlement in Spain posed several large barriers to Paul’s previous missionary strategy. Not only did this eliminate the prospects of Jewish converts to the gospel, but it also ruled out finding a group of God-fearers or proselytes in the Spanish cities to recruit as the initial core of Christian churches. There would be no initial interest in a messianic proclamation prepared by devotion to the Septuagint. The absence of synagogues also eliminated the avenues that Paul normally used to establish a base of operations in the Greek cities of the east. Wherever possible Paul began his missionary activities in local synagogues and move to an independent base of operations after troubles erupted or patrons and patronesses emerged.15 Without a synagogue as a starting point, the crucial contacts with appropriate patrons would be extremely difficult to make, especially for a handworker of Paul’s social class.

  The absence of synagogues would pose a related economic problem, because Jewish travelers often used such buildings as convenient hostels and places to develop business contacts. In the case of Spain, prior arrangements for bases of operations and the recruitment of appropriate patrons would be required in the absence of the resources of local synagogues. Given the Roman domination of the economic resources in Spain and the high proportion of mines, industries, and estates directly owned and managed by the empire,16 it would likely be necessary to approach this problem through persons close to administrators in Rome. The broad consequence of the lack of Jewish settlement is that the entire strategy of the Spanish mission needs to be reconceived.

  With regard to the Spanish cultural situation during the period of Paul’s intended mission, I have discovered that Paul’s reference to shameful “barbarians” in Rom 1:14 would have included the Spaniards, from the Roman point of view. Despite the presence of a small, Romanized upper class in Spain, large portions of the peninsula were substantially untouched by the veneer of Roman civilization.17 The rural population in particular and the northern portions of Spain specifically remained apart from Greco Roman culture. In general, “those who held Latin rights and were more or less Romanized formed a small minority of the population of Spain, while the status of the rest remained the same ….”18 On the decisive question of the language spoken in Spain, the barriers to a Greek speaker like Paul were rather high. While Latin was spoken in the major cities, at least in part, and at times rather poorly, the “Iberians and Celt-Iberians of Spain spoke their own languages….”19 Recent studies of the cultural situation in Spain confirm this picture.

  The situation in Spain presented Paul’s missionary strategizing with formidable challenges both on the linguistic and political levels. Proclamation and instruction in Latin would be required, and there is no evidence that Paul was sufficiently fluent to carry this out without translators. Indeed, such resources would be difficult to develop, because the Hebrew scriptures were not yet available in Latin, and the first evidence we have of Latin-speaking churches is in the middle of the Second Century.20 Even the church in Rome remained Greek speaking until the middle of the third century,21 while elsewhere in the West the church was associated for centuries with Greek immigrants.22 The translation of the gospel, the liturgy, and the instructional traditions into another language would be a substantial undertaking, especially in light of the fact that a range of additional translation resources would be required to extend past the restricted circle of Latin civilization in Spain. Since the Latinized urban centers functioned as outposts of Roman rule and civilization in ways quite different from the Greek speaking portions of the empire where Paul had scored his earlier successes, care would have to be taken to find local patrons who were not resented by the native population.

  In sum, the Spanish mission required a level of planning and support that represented a huge leap from the improvised scheme of earlier Pauline missionizing.

3. Overcoming Chauvinism within the Roman Congregations

  When one understands the challenge of a mission to the “barbarians” in Spain, it becomes clear why so much of Romans seeks to overcome chauvinistic behavior among the congregations in Rome. Since these congregations were treating each other as dangerous barbarians, refusing to accept each other, they were behaving much like the Romans had behaved in Spain. A mission under these circumstances would be perceived by the Spaniards as one more exercise in hateful Roman imperialism. This is why Paul spends so much time providing ways to overcome chauvinism.

  In 14:13 and 15:7 there is an admonition to mutual “welcome” in a context that commentators agree was closely related to the congregational situation. The specific ethic of the letter opens with the words, “Welcome the one who is weak in faith, but not in order to dispute debatable points” (Rom 14:1). This is a clear reference to the Jewish Christian conservatives, the “weak” who are being discriminated against by the Gentile Christian majority in Rome. The term “weak” was probably applied by the majority in a pejorative sense, depicting their opponents as persons too “weak” to break free from the Jewish law. It is likely that this group included some of the Jewish Christian exiles mentioned in chapter 16 who are now returning to Rome after the lapse of the Edict of Claudius. Following the reconstruction of Wolfgang Wiefel, it appears that they were not being accepted back into the groups they had earlier helped to form. Conflicts over theology, ethics, worship, and leadership had emerged. As we can tell from the wording of Paul’s admonition, when they were admitted into these congregations, it was “to dispute debatable points,” that is, to get them in a corner and show them what’s what. Paul insists instead on an unconditional form of welcome, in which liberals were to accept conservatives without trying to change them. As we can see from the wording of 15:7, Paul extends this principle both ways: “Welcome one another, therefore…” This fits the argument of 14:1-15:7 which forbids mutual conversion of opponents in the church: each side is to build up the other, protecting the integrity of those whose theology and cultures lead them to different perspectives and practices in the church.

  In Romans 16 Paul greets a large number of persons whom he had met in previous missionary activities in the eastern half of the Mediterranean world. They are now back in Rome, which correlates with what we know about official Roman policy. In C. E. 49 the Emperor Claudius issued an edict banning Jewish agitators from Rome because of uproars over a certain “Chrestus.” I still accept the standard inference that conflicts between Christian evangelists and Jewish zealots and traditionalists in the Roman synagogues led to this edict that disrupted both synagogue and church life in the city until the end of Claudius’ career in C. E. 54. The book of Acts indicates that Priscilla and Aquila, whom Paul greets in 16:3-5, were refugees forced out of Rome whom Paul met in Corinth when he arrived there in the winter of C. E. 50. Other likely refugees mentioned in chapter 16 are Epaenetus, Mary, Andronicus and Junia, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, Herodion, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus and his mother. The most probable explanation for Paul’s acquaintance with these early Christian leaders is that they met during exile. Paul knows that they have returned to the capitol of the empire during the peaceful, early years of the Nero administration before he writes in the winter of C. E. 56-57 from Corinth.

  The massive study of Roman Christianity by Peter Lampe,23 my colleague in Heidelberg, goes beyond these frequently accepted inferences to suggest the precise districts in the city where Christianity got its start. Using a topographic method based on the coincidence between five different types of archeological and literary evidence, Lampe showed that two of the most likely areas for early Christian house churches were in Trastevere and the section on the Appian Way around the Porta Capena inhabited by the immigrants. These are the slum districts where slaves and handworkers lived, the most shamed element in the population of Rome, whose names surface in chapter 16.

  This theme of inclusive welcome of shameful outsiders is continued in the repeated formulas of chapter 16. “Greet so and so” is repeated 21 times in this chapter, in various forms. The meaning of the term “greet” in the Greco-Roman culture is actually to put one’s arms around the other, to hug or kiss them as a sign of welcome. It was ordinarily done when a guest enters the house or space of a host. So the implication of this repeated admonition is the same as we found in 14:1 and 15:7, to welcome people into your love feasts.

  The climax in this request for mutual welcome, which would overcome the conflicts between these early Christian groups, is found in 16:16, “greet one another with a holy kiss.” In contrast to much of the kissing in the modern world, in Paul’s time it was primarily a family matter. One kissed family members when meeting them. In the case of early Christian groups, the holy kiss sealed the solidarity of extended family. It said, in effect, you are my “brother” or “sister;” it is the ultimate expression of honor. And in view of the fact that most Christians did not own homes, the kiss was extended when they met for their common meals. It was a regular feature in the early Christian love feasts. What I would like to point out, however, is that to “greet one another” in this manner would overcome the hostilities and prejudices between early Christian groups, and make them ready to participate in the mission to the imperial outsiders in Spain.

  This gospel of generous grace has been betrayed by Christian chauvinism, thwarting the mission to unify the world, just as in Paul’s time, it threatened the possibility of a successful mission to the barbarians in Spain.

4. New light on the thesis of Romans

  The thesis of Romans is that the righteousness of God is the greatest power in the world. In 1:16, Paul writes that the gospel “is the power of God for salvation, for all who believe.” The gospel of Christ shamefully crucified shatters all efforts to retain claims of cultural superiority. It is revealed in Christ, whose death expressed divine love at its height and exposed human depravity at its depth. Christ revealed the deepest dilemma of religion, that it can be misused as a means of status acquisition, leading us to say, “We are more righteous than you,” and “We know better than you how to achieve freedom and peace.” This is why Paul insists that this transformation is available to all who believe, whether Greco-Romans or barbarians. The righteousness of God overturns the unjust systems of honor and shame that each nation and group creates, showing that all humans are equally loved by God with a holy, impartial, righteous passion. This power demands mutual acceptance of others. This has not been understood by western interpreters, who since the Reformation have devoted their energies to define the correct doctrine of justification so as to prove the superiority of their group of believers. This leads western commentators to disregard the significance of the climactic, final chapters of Romans that call for mutual acceptance in place of theological exclusion of fellow believers. We return to this theme in the final lecture that identifies the interpolations of 16:17-20 and 16:25-27 as early efforts to avoid the tolerant implications of Paul’s argument and to establish intolerant exclusion as the norm advocated by Paul.

  In fact, Paul devotes 16 chapters of his longest letter to demonstrate how divine righteousness as revealed in Christ should be understood and lived out. This has a direct bearing on how the “God of peace” in 15:33 and the global reconciliation of 15:7-13 should be understood. If divine righteousness is indeed impartial, then in the international arena, we should treat other nations as equals under international law. In the church arena similar to the situation of congregational competition that Paul was facing in Rome, it means inviting members of other groups into one’s own love feasts that celebrate the koinonia established by the shameful death of Christ in behalf of the shamed. It is in mutual greetings of one another, through the holy kiss at the beginning of our meetings together, that the redemptive power of divine righteousness is spread.

Conclusion

  The time has come in the 21st century for the true nature of early Christian communalism, the issue of barbarian shame, the insight about the perversion of religion into a means of gaining honor, and the message concerning the impartial righteousness of God to become clear. In face of the violent campaigns of contemporary Christians, Muslims and Jews that reflect distorted visions of divine righteousness, and illusions about the capacity to achieve the good through violence, the gospel of Christ shamefully crucified remains supremely relevant. This gospel of divine righteousness is the true power center of the universe, overcoming shameful status where ever it remains, and making us know that we are all God’s beloved children wherever we may be on that great circle from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. In Christ the line between the barbarians and the citizens of imperial centers, wherever they may be located, has been definitively erased. If this were understood and lived out, the story of the 21st century would reflect the fulfillment of the globally reconciling mission that Paul wrote this letter to advance.

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1 See Stephen Benko, “The Kiss,” in Pagan Rome and the Early Christians, ed. S. Benko (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1984) 79-102;John Ellington, “Kissing in the Bible: Form and Meaning,” BT 41 (1990): 409-416;William Klassen, “The Sacred Kiss in the New Testament,” NTS 39 (1993): 122-135;Eleanor Kreider, “Let the Faithful Greet Each Other: The Kiss of Peace,” Conrad Grebel Review 5 (1987): 28-49;W. Lowrie, “The Kiss of Peace,” TTo 12 (1955): 236-242;Nicholas James Perella, The Kiss: Sacred and Profane: An Interpretative History of Kiss Symbolism and Related Religio-Erotic Themes (Berkeley: University of California, 1969);Klaus Thraede, “Ursprünge und Formen des ‘Heiligen Kusses’ im frühen Christentum,” JAC 11-12 (1968-1969): 124-180.
2 Halvor Moxnes, “Honor and Righteousness in Romans,” JSNT 32 (1988): 61-77, which develops the ideas in the earlier article, “Paulus og den norske vaeremåten. ‘Skam’ og ‘aere’ i Romerbrevet” [Paul and Norwegian Culture. “Shame” and “Honor” in Romans], NorTT 86 (1985): 129-140.
3 E. A. Judge, “The Conflict of Educational Aims in New Testament Thought,” Journal of Christian Education 9 (1966): 38-39; he cites Sallust, Bellum Jugurthinum LXXXV: 26, “Reticence would only cause people to mistake modesty for a guilty conscience.”
4 J. E. Lendon, Empire of Honour (Oxford: OUP, 2001), 96.
5 See A. Horstmann, “α_σχύvoμαι be ashamed,” EDNT 1 (1990): 42-43, which lifts up the public sense of persons “being put to shame” by others in contrast to the subjective meaning of “be ashamed” of what one has done, found especially in the use of “παισχύvoμαι.”
6 Moxnes, “Honour and Righteousness in Romans,” 63.
7 Moxnes, “Honour and Righteousness in Romans,” 62.
8 Moxnes, “Honour and Righteousness in Romans,” 64.
9 Yves Albert Dauge, Le Barbare. Recherches sur la conception romaine de la barbarie et de la civilization, Collection Latomus 176 (Brussels: Latomus, 1981): 393-810, showing that the term barbarian in Roman materials serves to depict outsiders as irrational, ferocious, warlike, alienated, chaotic, and in all respects the opposite of the civilized Roman.
10 See James C. Walters, Ethnic Issues in Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Valley Forge: TPI, 1993), 68-79。
11 Michel, Römer, 369.
12 C. H. Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1932), 229.
13 Ernst Käsemann, Commentary on Romans, trans. G. W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 398; C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, vol. 2 (Edinburgh: Clark, 1979), 769; Michel, Römer, 369; the new edition of Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ: 175 B.C.-A.D.135, vol. 3, rev. ed., G. Vermes et al. (Edinburgh: Clark, 1986), 84-85 correct the earlier edition at this point, taking Bowers’ work into account.
14 W. P. Bowers, “Jewish Communities in Spain in the Time of Paul the Apostle,” JTS 26 (1975): 400.
15 See Stanley Kent Stowers, “Social Status, Public Speaking and Private Teaching: The Circumstances of Paul’s Preaching Activity,” Novum Testamentum 26 (1984): 68-73, for evidence suggesting that the homes of patrons were the primary locus of the Pauline mission. The use of workshops for missionizing has been made plausible by Ronald F. Hock, The Social Context of Paul’s Ministry: Tentmaking and Apostleship (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980).
16 M. Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire (Oxford: Clarendon, 1926; citations from the second edition revised by P. M. Fraser, 1957), 213f. See also J. M. Blázquez (Martínez), “Roma y la explotació’n económica de la Península Ibérica,” Las Raices de España, ed. J. M. Gómez-Tabanera (Madrid, 1967), 253-281.
17 Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, 211-215.
18 Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, 215.
19 Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, 213.
20 See W. H. C. Frend, The Rise of Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 340.
21 See W. H. C. Frend, Town and Country in the Early Christian Centuries (London: Variorum, 1980), 126.
22 See Frend, “A Note on the Influence of Greek Immigrants on the Spread of Christianity in the West,” in Town and Country in the Early Christian Centuries, 125-129.
23 Peter Lampe, Die stadtrömischen Christen in den ersten beiden Jahrhunderten: Studien zur Sozialgeschichte (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1987; second ed., 1990); English translation, From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries, trans. M. Steinhauser, foreword by R. Jewett (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003).