Romans: An Existential
Interpretation
{short title for second edition, 1991}
Romans Demythologized:
An Existential Interpretation
{third edition, 200?}
(Minneapolis, MN:
Existential Books:www.existentialbooks.com, 1991—second
edition)
80 pages plus a 16-page appendix on existential
guilt
(Library of Congress call number: BS2665.2.P37
1991)
(ISBN: 0-89231-201-7—large format paperback—8.5
X 11 inches)
(ISBN: 0-89231-200-9—small format paperback—8.5
X 5.5 inches)
Our
Existential Predicament
is not an invention of the 20th century,
altho existential philosophy and psychology
of the 19th and 20th century
have brought our Existential or Spiritual
Malaise into new focus.
The earliest recorded awareness of our Spiritual
Dilemma
is found in the letters of Paul,
written 2000 years ago and collected in
the New Testament.
James Park gives a careful
analysis to Paul's most important letter
—Romans—searching for the existential meanings
often hidden in the language and images
Paul uses,
and which have become so familiar at least
to Christians
that they have lost most of their original
meaning.
Paul's basic message is
the we are caught in a Predicament
from which we cannot release ourselves.
But emancipation from our Spiritual Dilemma
or Spiritual Malaise
is possible as a gift—if we discover how
to re-orient ourselves.
'Sin' and 'death' are
two of the most important
perspectives Paul uses to view our inner
Predicament.
In this interpretation 'sin' does not mean
misbehaving;
rather, Paul points to a sense of guilt
much deeper than behavior
—an existential or spiritual guilt, which
is independent of morality.
Likewise, when Paul speaks
of 'death',
he is not referring merely to a biological
process that ends life.
Rather he is pointing toward what modern
philosophers
have described as being-towards-death or
ontological anxiety.
Some
other powerful Christian
concepts
are given a similar existential interpretation:
grace, expiation-sacrifice, justification,
redemption,
forgiveness, baptism, new self, adoption,
grafting-in.
Describing how we re-orient ourselves
to move from our Spiritual Malaise to Spiritual
Freedom
is one of the most difficult tasks of the
Christian thinker.
Paul used every image and metaphor that
came into his head.
Romans: An Existential
Interpretation
(the short title for the second edition)
makes the transformation described by Paul
in the first century
intelligible for the careful reader of the
21st century.
This
book follows the approach of
existential theologian
and New Testament scholar,
Rudolf Bultmann, who attempted to uncover
the personal, existential meanings of New
Testament mythology.
This is perhaps the only book of "demythologizing"
that explores the text line-by-line, myth-by-myth,
image-by-image,
attempting to make Paul's thought intelligible
for our time.
It shows how Paul—thinking as a first-century
person—
was already aware of what we now call our
Existential Predicament.
In fact, the chapter on existential guilt
from
Our
Existential Predicament is included as an appendix.
HOW
TO GET YOUR COPY OF
An Existential Interpretation of Paul's
Letter to the Romans
1. Choose the format you prefer (the text is the same):
Small format paperback
(8.5" X 5.5"); 96
pages:
$7.00 plus $2.00 postage and handling; ISBN:
0-89231-200-9.
Large format paperback
(8.5" X 11"); 96 pages:
$10.00 plus $2.00 postage and handling:
ISBN: 0-89231-201-7.
2. Send your name and address with your check or money-order to:
Existential Books
Lofts on Arts Avenue #218
1829 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404-1836
Minnesota residents add
7% (of the price of the book)
for state and local sales taxes.
More information available on the Internet:
If you would like to
attend a class based
on this book
or undertake an independent study of it,
go to the Romans
course descriptions
.
Several other books on
existential spirituality
will be found in the
Existential
Spirituality Bibliography
.
Go to
the beginning of this website
James
Leonard Park—Free
Library