Last time, I did my mid-year music check-in. Today it's time to look back at the first six months of my bookish life. But first, the roundup for the past two weeks: Roundup Music Last week's new releases were quiet since they fell over a long weekend in the US. The biggest release by far … Continue reading Culture Roundup (July 11, 2026): My Bookish Mid-Year Check in
In the last post, we looked at a transitional section of Paul's Letter to the Romans, which brought together all the themes of the letter to date: that all stand as sinners before God, but have been made right with God through the way of faithfulness, the good-faith way of life and peace revealed in … Continue reading The Case of Two Adams: Romans 5.12-21
Before moving on from Paul’s first big argument, it’s time for another targum, a loose explanatory paraphrase of the text: [3.21] But now, God’s justice has been revealed apart from the Law (though the Law and Prophets foretell it), that is, God’s justice for all who faithfully participate in Jesus’ good-faith life. God doesn’t … Continue reading Saved by Faith: A Targum on Romans 3.21-5.11
In Chapter 4, Paul headed off accusations of novelty in his gospel or that it was a rejection of God’s covenant with Abraham by insisting that Abraham’s election was itself an act of divine grace that made him right with God (’justified’ him) by faith. Now in chapter five, he returns to his main argument, … Continue reading On Peace and Boasting: Romans 5.1-11
Paul has spent the past two-and-a-half chapters making his case that everyone, both Jews and Gentiles alike, is in the same position before God: in need a salvation that is grounded not in performing the ‘works of the Law’ but a relationship grounded in faith(fulness). But if that’s the case, one might wonder, why would … Continue reading Actually, It’s Been about Faith All Along: Romans 4
Matthew Root 