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Work #1007 · Mature (Paul's most extensive and systematic letter)

Romans

Paul of Tarsus (Saul / Saint Paul)
c. 56-58 CE (composed in Corinth, near the end of Paul's third missionary journey) · Koine Greek
Pastoral-doctrinal letter (16 chapters) · Earliest Christianity / Pauline Christianity

Justification by faith, the universality of sin, the universality of grace, and the place of Israel in God's redemptive plan — Paul's most systematic theological exposition

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Romans (Mature (Paul's most extensive and systematic letter))
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Scripture
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Romans

Salvation-historical time — from the patriarchs through the giving of the law to the coming of Christ and the eschatological consummation.

Space

Romans

The Roman Empire as the immediate geographical context; the cosmic-eschatological space of God's redemptive plan.

Matter

Romans

The embodied human under sin; the embodied Christ; the resurrection body that is the hope of the Christian.

Observer

Romans

Paul as apostolic teacher; the Roman Christian community as the immediate audience; the global church across time as the broader audience.

Energy

Romans

The energy of grace through which the believer is justified; the energy of the Spirit through which the new life is enabled.

Information

Romans

The discrete propositional content of Pauline theology — justification, grace, the place of Israel — as the foundational information for Christian doctrine.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Romans

Romans 9-11 on Israel has been the subject of continuing theological controversy — supersessionist readings (the church replaces Israel) and non-supersessionist readings (Israel remains the people of God's covenant) continue to divide Christian interpretation. The Reformation's reading of Romans 3-4 (justification by faith alone) is contested by the contemporary "New Perspective on Paul" (Sanders, Dunn, Wright) which reads Paul against a different first-century Jewish background. The text's political influence — from Romans 13 on the Christian's relation to state authority — has been variously used through Christian history.