Everyone has a cultural lens through which they read the bible. When we read the bible through a western lens only, we not only limit our understanding of the text but also may gravely misinterpret it. In Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes, Jackson Wu takes us through the book of Romans with an eastern lens, exploring the honor-shame dynamics, describing the concept of collective identity, and contextualizing Paul’s letter. Additionally, he gives us new ways to look at commonly used biblical words such as glory, shame, justification, sin, and grace.
Overall Impression
I was really excited for a long time to read this book. Recently having learned more about the benefit of gaining insight into ancient near east contexts, I knew that this book would potentially be very informative to help me better read Romans. After reading this book, I learned a lot about eastern cultural perspectives, literary devices, and the context of the letter that certainly change the way I read this Letter.
While the book had a lot of helpful insight, I didn’t find Jackson’s style or writing structure to be the most accessible. The book is loaded with great content, but when going through the book chapter-by-chapter, he spends a lot of the time jumping back and forth to other chapters or other places in Scripture that it makes it difficult to follow. The beginning of the book portrays the book as a hybrid commentary, one that could be used to read alongside scripture or read as a book. However, I felt that it was more of a commentary, and reading it as a book was less feasible. Additionally, many of the points were redundant and chapters could have been shorter as well as reorganized.
Favorite Quotes
Paul does not write to individuals but to groups. His readers see themselves not as individuals but as people in a community. The entire letter is highly contextualized for people sensitive to collective identity.
Jackson (p. 64)
One’s identity is determined by whose “face” one seeks. God does not disregard collective identity; he reorients it… Gospel ministry is nothing less than overturning worldviews that effectively divide the world into culture-centric colonies.
Jackson (p. 102, 109)
Here an individualistic perspective puts readers at a disadvantage. We should not ask, “How does justification concern me individually?” but rather “What does justification say about us as a group?”
Jackson (p. 138)
Top Takeaways
- Paul had a pragmatic aim in writing his Letter to the Romans
- Ethnocentric attitudes are subtle but very problematic and antithetical to the gospel.
- We should find a balance between seeing ourselves as individually loved by God and viewing ourselves as part of a collective identity in Christ.
Disclaimer
Please note: If you liked this review or my linked summary, I encourage you to purchase the book. This review is meant to be a supplement to the book and certainly not a substitute.
