Review: Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire

Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire by Scot McKnight
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've said this before and I'll say it again, I really like Scot McKnight's stuff! While I didn't agree or end up at the same conclusions 100% of the time as McKnight in this book, I would say that I would agree or think he's right in around 90-95% of his points. That being said, McKnight himself said that this book was first and foremost NOT a commentary (even though I shelve it as such) due to the broad scope used in the letter of Romans as a whole (though he did mention that he is toying and probably eventually going to embark on the adventure of writing a commentary through the lens which he uses in this book). By approaching Romans with the mindset of the end first, and thus reading it backward, the letter itself SCREAMS to be way more pastoral in nature versus the giant tome-only of theology I hear people identify it as so often (not denying that the way we currently read Romans is 'wrong', but I agree with McKnight that our obsession with 'theology-proper' in the West has limited our capacity of seeing the 'other stuff' that is just as important). After reading this book, I will never read Romans the same again. I had the joy of teaching a class as I read through this book (as well as a companion book 'Teaching Romans Backwards') and it proved to be even more enriching! This easily has become one of my top 5 favorite books I've read. It's certainly a book that will keep you engaged and you'll probably have a hard time putting it down (I know I did. The only reason I was able to take my time, was because I forced myself to read it slowly in relation to what chapters/sections I was teaching). Overall, I think EVERY person interested in studying Romans should read this book, EVEN if you end up disagreeing with McKnight on nearly everything he says. At the very least, it would be of great benefit to expose yourself to an alternative focus and more applicable application with this approach, using it as a supplement to your current Pauline-regiment.

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