Romans 1:18-32
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: MyWords::RE::God'sWords

Karl Barth

Of course, Barth has an axe to grind here, what with the whole Natur und Gnade and Nein! controversy. For Barth, the sole revelation of God is Jesus Christ---there is none other. In this, I would partly agree with him. But I would also affirm that there are witnesses in Creation and in Torah that point to this revelation without they themselves being divine revelation per se. In other words, the kosmos does indeed testify to the one Word of God, but humanity refuses to recognize this testimony for what it is. So, the testimony is there, but it is not revelation because revelation, by definition, requires the possibility (though not the guarantee) that the message emanating from the testimony will be received in such a way that the recipient--the "reveal-ee"--recognizes the meaning that the sender--the revealer--intended. After an individual embraces God's grace (or, more precisely, after an individual is embraced by God's grace), the testimony of the created order becomes revelation, because he or she is now able to recognize it as a witness to the identity of God. Put another way, revelation is present in Creation but it is not general revelation. If you're interested in the rest of my thoughts on this subject, see my articles in Perspectives in Religious Studies and Midwestern Journal of Theology.

According to Barth, it is humanity's confidence in their own righteousness that is the actual object of God's wrath. Hmm ... I'll have to think about that one.

John R.W. Stott

Romans 1:17: "He who--through faith--is righteous, he is the one who shall live."

Nothing keeps humanity away from Christ more than their inability to admit their need. This is also true in addictions--in Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, "We admitted we were powerless."

[My own thought: The self-justifying behavior of people on talk shows is an example of humanity's depravity.]

Our creation as sexual beings was the crown of God's creation; it is not surprising then that, as humanity turns from creation as a witness to the true God, it is our sexuality that becomes most confused.

It is humanity's actions against which God is revealing his wrath--humanity's asebia and adikia.

Isaiah 6:3: "The whole earth is filled with his chabod."

God's wrath is revealed most clearly when he simply lets humanity go our own way.

C.K. Barrett

Nothing worthwhile in Barrett's exposition, at least from my perspective.

F.F. Bruce

The venerable Bruce notes C.S. Lewis' statement in The Problem of Pain that hell is God allowing humanity to "enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded."

"Error" is too weak for the noun in 1:27; it is a perversion, an idolatrous  twisting of divine truth.

Anders Nygren

Quoting Schlatter, Nygren says, "A religion that lives on lies, human bodies defiled, a society in which hatred and war find their home ... these are the revelations of God's wrath."

Martin Luther

"Notice the order of the stages of perdition: The first is ingratitude. Lucifer before the Fall was unthankful toward his Creator. It is the result of inner complacency--ignoring the giver, one accepts the gifts as if they were not given but owed. ... It is gratitude that maintains love for God and, in this way, keeps the heart directed toward God. Because it is thus illuminated, the heart worships the only true God."

Craig Keener

According to Jewish tradition, Noah received a sevenfold Torah for which all humanity, even Gentiles, is responsible. This Torah is known to all people.