Romans & Galatians

No Longer Slaves brings the ancient New Testament message into conversation with African American culture. Twenty centuries after Paul penned Galatians, American culture in general and American Christianity in particular continue to struggle with the problem of race relations. Our challenges are not identical to those faced by Paul and the Galatians. Yet, when one reads Galatians through the lens of African American experience, striking similarities emerge.

In No Longer Slaves, Brad Braxton helps us see that race relations are a central issue in Galatians. Paul believes that Christ came in order to unite Jews and Gentiles. The church was intended to be a multi-ethnic community in which persons of different backgrounds co-existed harmoniously. Any effort to compel Gentiles to live as Jews is an invalidation of the freedom of the Gospel. Galatians offers us a portrait of an early Christian leader and community sorting out complex social issues.

No Longer Slaves explores the concept of liberation in African American experience. It entails a discussion of American slavery. Rather than depicting African Americans simply as victims of the crimes of slavery and segregation, Braxton describes the creative cultural and religious responses of African Americans to their oppression. He employs a type of reader-response theory that considers the experiences of the reading community as a lens through which texts are read. His discussion of methodology exposes the reader to some of the issues in the current debate without becoming burdensome to the non-specialist.

The remainder of the book is an interpretation of PaulÂ’s letter to the Galatians. Although Braxton takes seriously the original context of Galatians and his exegesis engages the Greek text, he offers a contemporary theological reading that privileges the history, experiences, and concerns of African Americans. Those who are concerned about the connection between Christianity and ethnicity will find this interpretation intriguing and challenging.

In 1977 a collection of essays appeared that quickly became a standard for studying the purpose and occasion of Romans. Now The Romans Debate: Revised and Expanded Edition is available in a newly designed and enlarged format. Besides the original essays, the new edition includes thirteen of the most cogent, recent articles on this subject; a comprehensive bibliography; and an index.

This is not a volume for the "already decided." Spanning the spectrum of interpretation, these essays attempt to challenge opposing views, complement points of consensus, and above all contribute to our understanding of Paul's controversial letter to the Romans. In its own unique way, each of these articles compels the reader to return to the text and to listen anew to the message of Romans both for Paul's day and for ours.

"The first edition was indispensable. Its revision and expansion make it even more valuable. To have the major studies in a single volume is not only convenient but obliges one to confront all aspects of a fascinating ongoing debate."
—Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, OP, Professor of New Testament, Ecole Biblique de Jerusalem

Paul's letter to the Galatians, sometimes known as the Magna Carta of Christian liberty, is central to the understanding of the relation of Paul and the Law. Philip F. Esler provides a detailed and accessible interpretation of the text, which draws on contemporary and modern literary models. He outlines the problems often associated with reading Galatians, the context of the text, the rhetoric of the text and the intercultural and social implications of Galatians. Galatians presents a new understanding of this important New Testament text.