EXPLORING THE MYTHOLOGY OF CHRISTIANITY:
A STUDY OF ROMANS

AN EXISTENTIAL INTERPRETATION
OF PAUL'S LETTER TO THE ROMANS

ROMANS: AN EXISTENTIAL INTERPRETATION

ROMANS DEMYTHOLOGIZED:
AN EXISTENTIAL INTERPRETATION

This file is divided into six parts:
1. short course description.
2. half-page course description.
3. one-page course description.
4. syllabus for distant learners.
5. suggestions for offering this seminar in other places.
6. online course schedule.

{1. short course description:}

     We seek the existential/spiritual meanings contained
in a letter written more than 19 centuries ago
by the first author in the Christian tradition.
We will unpack Paul's first-century concepts
such as reconciliation, acquittal, adoption, forgiveness, & grace
using the perspective of existentialism---most importantly Bultmann.
Our textbook is Romans: An Existential Interpretation by James Park.

{2. half-page course description:}

EXPLORING THE MYTHOLOGY OF CHRISTIANITY:
A STUDY OF ROMANS

     The language of myth can sometimes embody truths
that are not easily expressed in more direct language.
This seminar will examine the mythology of the Christian faith
as found in one book of the New Testament.
This discussion should be avoided by people
who turn blue in the face when they come across words like "God" or "Christ",
which are impossible to avoid in Romans.
Likewise this seminar is not for people who want
a sentimental affirmation of religion as "morality tinged with emotion".

     Rather, this study is for people who have graduated
from traditional Christianity, perhaps because they see it as
a mixture of superstition, metaphysics, & moralism.
In Rudolf Bultmann's word, we will "demythologize"
Paul's first-century mythology
to discover the existential reality---the personal, inward meanings
hidden behind the often obscure Christian images.

     The study-book for this seminar is
An Existential Interpretation of Paul's Letter to the Romans
by James Park. 
Participants need not be familiar with existentialism.
You need only to be sensitive to the dynamics
of your deepest levels of being.
For example, do you notice an inexplicable guilt
and/or a preternatural terror of death ?

{3. one-page course description:}

ROMANS DEMYTHOLOGIZED:
AN EXISTENTIAL INTERPRETATION

     This seminar in intended for people
who come from a Christian background.
We might have joined the UU movement
because we can no longer accept any literal interpretation of the Bible.
But now—perhaps with the distance of a few years—
we can revisit the familiar concepts of the New Testament
with a fresh perspective.

     Altho the existential perspective to be used in this study
has been available for over 100 years in the writings of Soren Kierkegaard
and Rudolf Bultmann, no Christian church (to our knowledge)
has ever embraced this existential interpretation of the Christian experience.
Thus, even if you have studied Romans very carefully in some other context,
you have probably never come across this "demythologizing" approach.

     Romans is probably the central text of the Christian faith.
The Christian experience is a transforming event in the life of the individual.
But this 'saving power' is usually expressed
in figures of speech we no longer understand.
Thus, we need to look for the spiritual value
often hidden within Paul's first-century religious language.

     What did the following myths and metaphors
really mean in the lives of the first Christians?
estrangement/reconciliation; slavery-to-sin/redemption-to-freedom;
guilt/expiation; death/life; Adam/Christ; indictment/acquittal;
outsiderness/adoption; grafting into the tree of God;
dependence on God; forgiveness; justification (rightwising);
overlooking sins; new self; indwelling spirit; faith; grace;
hope; joy; love?

     Our resource for probing these difficult concepts will be:
Romans: An Existential Interpretation
(second edition 1991) ($7 wholesale).
This is probably the only book of "demythologizing" (Rudolf Bultmann's word)
that examines a New Testament book line-by-line, image-by-image,
making Paul's first-century concepts intelligible and acceptable
to thoughtful people of our time.

     Existentialism provides the conceptual framework
for understanding our universal Existential Predicament or Malaise,
which Paul struggled with 20 centuries ago,
using the religious concepts and ideas current in his own time and culture.
But familiarity with existential philosophy and psychology is not essential.
We need only to be sensitive to our inward dynamics.
For example, have we ever been gripped by a
'conscience-like' pang that had nothing to do with misbehavior?
(That might have been existential or spiritual guilt .)
Or do we have a preternatural terror of death?
(That could be ontological anxiety or being-towards-death.)
Such experiences might be glimpses of our Existential Predicament,
which is as real now---in the 21st century---as it was in the first century.

     With open-but-critical minds, we will attempt to uncover
the existential meanings (the significance for our own personal lives)
contained in the puzzling mythological terminology.
We will attempt to tune-in to our own spiritual sensitivity,
using the insights of existential philosophy and psychology
to illuminate the structure of our inner selves.
Then we will unpack the obscure symbols and figures of speech
Paul uses in his letter to the Romans.
Our ultimate purpose in undertaking this study
is to see if it might help us to find our own ways
beyond our Existential Malaise.

     We will begin by reading
the 16-page appendix on existential/spiritual guilt,
which should served as a powerful magnifying glass
for examining Paul's talk about "bondage to sin", "guilt", etc.
Then, each week we will discuss 2 or 3 chapters of Romans,
the exact pace determined by the class.

    This appendix is also published
as the chapter called "Existential Guilt" in
Our Existential Predicament:
Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety, & Death.
If you click "Existential Guilt" above,
you will see the outline and first two pages of that chapter.

    One sample page from the Romans: An Existential Interpretation
appears here on the Internet:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/RM5-3-5.html

    For more information about
An Existential interpretation of Paul's Letter to the Romans, go to:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/RM.html
You will find the complete table of contents and the link to a sample page
as well as purchase instructions.

{4. syllabus for distant learners:}

    If you cannot attent the seminar described above,
which will meet in Minneapolis or St. Paul, Minnesota
and which will be led by the author of the text, James Park,
you can still undertake this study on your own.

    (1) Get a copy of the book by mail from the publisher:
Send your check or money order for $7 (US)
plus $2 for postage and handling to:

Existential Books
Lofts on Arts Avenue #218
1829 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404-1836

     Additional resources include two other books by James Park:

Opening to Grace: Transcending our Spiritual Malaise:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/OG.html

Our Existential Predicament:
Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety, & Death:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/XP.html

    Also, the Existential Spirituality Bibliography
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/B-XSP.html
gives information on a number of other background books,
especially the works of Soren Kierkegaard.

{5. suggestions for offering this seminar in other places:}

    The seminar described above may also be adapted
to many other times and places.
It could even be included as a textbook in a seminary class on Romans
or (more broadly) on the theology of Paul or the New Testament.
As noted above, no Christian churches have adopted this perspective,
but some very liberal and open-minded Christian churches
---such as those associated with the Unitarian Universalist movement---
might find this approach to Christian mythology quite enlightening.
If you would like to offer this seminar as an adult studies class,
here are some suggestions:

    1. Select the best of the suggested titles for your situation.
Or make up another title
if you plan to structure your seminar somewhat differently.
For example, it might be interesting
to study this book of the New Testament
using Romans: An Existential Interpretation
alongside other commentaries on Paul's epistle to the Romans.

    2. Adapt whatever you need from the three course descriptions above
for your specific local situation.

    3, There is no separate study-guide for this seminar.
If everyone in the group reads the book carefully,
there should be lots of interesting discussion.

    4. The facilitator should have read at least the complete text
before the beginning of the class.
Many questions that will arise early in the class
are dealt with later in the book.
It would be even better if the facilitator
has read some of the other resources listed above for distant learners.

    And before the class begins,
the faciltator should clarify any obscure points
with the author of the text.
If questions arise in the mind of the facilitator,
they will probably also arise in the seminar.

    5. The author of the text---James Park---
offers to respond to questions and comments
from adult study groups, seminary classes, etc.
Any individual or group reading
Romans: An Existential Interpretation
is invited to write to the author of the book.
He should be able to respond to questions sent by e-mail
within a week:
Send all responses and questions to: James Park:
e-mail: PARKx032@TC.UMN.EDU
There is no charge for such responses from the author.

{6. possible online course schedule}

This online or Internet offering is explained in the following nine parts:
1. OVERVIEW OF THE ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUP.
2. THE BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP BEHIND THIS COURSE.
3. THE PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWPOINT BEHIND THIS COURSE.
4. THE DISCUSSION LEADER.
5. SOME POSSIBLE REASONS FOR JOINING THIS DISCUSSION.
6. READING AND DISCUSSION SCHEDULE.
7. GETTING YOUR COPY OF THE TEXT BEING DISCUSSED.
8. JOINING THE ONLINE COMMUNITY (E-MAILING LIST)
        CALLED "ROMANS DEMYTHOLOGIZED".
9. E-MAIL LISTS THAT HAVE ANNOUNCED THIS CLASS.

1. OVERVIEW OF THE ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUP.

    During the months of ,
this class on Romans will be offered by means of the Internet.
Most of the participants will be Unitarian Uiversalists
living in various places in the United States.
And some local UU congregations
will have face-to-face groups gathered to discuss the study book.

    {details here about local congregations holding discussions.
}

    But any individuals, anywhere in the world,
are welcome to join the discussion,
using their computer screens to read
what other participants have to say
and their computer keyboards to express their own responses
to the book and to the comments of other participants.

    As should be clear from the course descriptions above,
this is not a simple-minded "introduction to the Bible" class.
Rather it will be intellectually and spiritually challenging.
Both UU clergy and laypeople are likely to participate.
Controversial view-points will be explored,
with which the participants may disagree.

    The author of the study book---James Park---
will also participate in these discussions
and respond to questions from everyone.

2. THE BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP BEHIND THIS COURSE.

    Rudolf Bultmann is the controversial scholar of the New Testament
who invented the process he named
"demythologizing" and "existential interpretation".
Members of the clergy might have read some of his books in seminary.

    A knowledge of Bultman is not required for this class,
but anyone who wants to explore
this approach to the New Testament more deeply
is invited to look for his books at the library.

    His Theology of the New Testament (two volumes)
gives his most comprehensive treatment of the thought of Paul.

    More popular books (which are still in print) include:
Jesus Christ and Mythology (Prentice-Hall, 1997)
and The New Testament and Mythology
and Other Basic Writings edited by Schubert M. Ogden
(Fortress Press, 1984).

3. THE PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWPOINT BEHIND THIS COURSE.

    Rudolf Bultmann belongs to a school of thought
with a long and powerful tradition---existentialism.
This philosophy of life attempts to tune-in
with the deepest levels of human existence.
Bultman shows that Paul---writing 20 centuries ago---
was already aware of what we now call our Existential Predicament.
Paul's primary ways of expressing our Malaise were "sin" and "death".
But both of these expressions need to be deeply demythologized
before we can get to the existential truth behind these concepts.
"Sin" when existentially interpreted becomes "existential guilt" .
"Death" when existentially interpreted becomes "ontological anxiety" .

    These are just two ways of experiencing our Existential Malaise.
Besides these two, there are at least
nine other major ways of noticing our inward suffering:
meaninglessness , anxiety , depression , loneliness ,
despair , splitting , insecurity , absurdity , & the Void .
Each of these receives a chapter-long treatment
is the basic book exploring our Existential Dilemma:
Our Existential Predicament:
Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety, & Death .

    A much shorter book, summarizing the content
of Our Existential Predicament is called
Opening to Grace: Transcending Our Spiritual Malaise .

    Another book of existential spirituality
begins with our human efforts to fulfill ourselves:
In Quest of Fulfillment:
Money, Achievement, Marriage, Children, Enjoyment, & Religion .

    And the shortest book dealing with themes of existential spirituality is:
Spirituality for Humanists: Six Capacities of Our Human Spirits .

    All four of these background books were also written
by the author of the text for this course---James Park.

    If you would like to read other books in existential spirituality,
especially the works of Søren Kierkegaard,
go to the Existential Spirituality Bibliography :
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/B-XSP.html

4. THE DISCUSSION LEADER.

   James Park is a long-time UU layperson with a theological education.
He is also the author of the small book to be used in this discussion,
"Romans: An Existential Interpretation".

    His own spiritual path is closest to
that of Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855),
who is often called the founder of existentialism.
Existential spirituality is one of the sub-divisions
of the religious humanist wing of UU thinking.
Here is a brief description of existential spirituality:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/XSP.html

    More than half of the 'rooms' of James Park's home page
relate to Unitarian Universalist themes and organizations.
For example:
Cyber-Sermon Registry:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CySerReg.html

Heart, Mind, & Spirit---an electronic magazine for UUs on campus:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/HMS.html

World Wide Unitarian Universalists:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/Y-INDEX.html

    Much more about James Park's UU connections are explained here:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/JP-UU.html

5. SOME POSSIBLE REASONS FOR JOINING THIS DISCUSSION.

    Since this is NOT a beginning-level class,
it is likely that it will attract people from all over the USA and the wider world
who have quite personal and specific reasons for joining this discussion:

1. You are a UU clergy-person looking for some stimulation
that goes beyond the academic materials you studied in seminary.

2. You are a UU seminary student
who happens to be studying the New Testament
and you are interested in an approach to the thought of Paul
not included in the normal course of study at your seminary.

3. You are a New Testament scholar,
who has read all the other books interpreting Romans.
You have read all of Rudolf Bultmann's books.
You are thoroly familiar with "demythologizing"
and "existential interpretation".
And now you are interested to see how these processes
will be applied specifically to Paul's Letter to the Romans.

4. You are a person in spiritual quest,
looking for rational forms of spirituality
that might answer some of your questions.
Your researches have already led you
to some books in existential spirituality.
And now you are ready to examine
the oldest roots of this form of spirituality.

5. You are a deeply sensitive person,
painfully aware of your Existential Predicament or Malaise.
You would like to find an honest and intelligent
way to be religious,
especially if existential faith can help you find liberation
from your guilt, meaninglessness, absurdity, & anxiety.

6. You think of yourself as a UU Christian,
but you do not really know how you relate to the New Testament.

7. You come from a Christian background,
but you no longer accept the irrational beliefs of your youth.
Now you are ready to look more deeply into the New Testament
to see if there might be some insights there
that were overlooked in Sunday School.

8. You are a serious student of existentialism.
And it seems intriging that there might be existential themes
found in a text as old as 2,000 years.
You have read Søren Kiekegaard on anxiety, guilt, & despair.
And you are ready to look into the New Testament,
from which many of his ideas derive.

9. You don't know anything about existentialism,
the Christian faith, or the New Testament,
but this combination of ideas seems interesting to you.
And you have the time and the commitment
to learn something completely new,
which you have never heard of before.

10. {add your special reasons here}

6. READING AND DISCUSSION SCHEDULE.

    Each week we will read and discuss about 15 pages of the text:
An Existential Interpretation of Paul's Letter to the Romans .
It will take 7 weeks to complete the course:

WEEK ONE: 

Appendix: From Existential Guilt to Existential Freedom
I. MORAL CONSCIENCE vs. EXISTENTIAL GUILT
     1. General Description
     2. Cause
     3. Duration
     4. Scope
     5. Cure
II. HOW MORAL CONSCIENCE AND EXISTENTIAL GUILT MIX
III. HOW DO WE DISCOVER EXISTENTIAL GUILT?
     1. Exaggerated guilt
     2. Misassigned guilt
     3. Recurrent guilt
     4. On/off guilt
     5. Uncaused guilt
IV. EXISTENTIAL UNEASINESS
V. WAYS OF RESPONDING TO EXISTENTIAL GUILT
VI. RELEASE FROM EXISTENTIAL GUILT

[To avoid confusion, the chapter numbers of our textbook
are the same as the chapter numbers of the book of Romans]

WEEK TWO: 

The Meaning of Existential Interpretation

(ADDRESS TO THE GREEKS 1:18-32)

Chapter 1
1:16-17     Paul's Introduction
1:18-20     Natural Human Knowledge of the Divine
1:21-23     Our Natural Idolatry
1:24-25     Natural Consequences

WEEK THREE: 

(ADDRESS TO THE JEWS 2:1-3:20)

Chapter 2
2:1-4         Even You Jews are Guilty
2:5-10       Old Testament Moralism---Justification by Works
2:11-15     Can Gentiles Be Good?
2:25-29     The True Circumcision, the True Jew

Chapter 3
3:9             Bondage to Existential Guilt
3:19-20     Law Brings only the Awareness of Guilt
3:21-22     From Indictment to Acquittal
3:23-24     From Slavery to Freedom
3:25          The Expiation of Sin
3:25-26     Overlooking Former Sins
3:27-28     Faith in Not a Work
3:29-31     Faith Fulfills the True Intention of the Law

WEEK FOUR: 

Chapter 4
4:1-5         Abraham, the Father of Faith
4:6-8         Forgiveness
4:9-12       Abraham Became Existentially Free
                      while he was Uncircumcised
4:13-16     The Promise on the Basis of Faith, not Law
4:17-25     Faith as Absolute Trust

Chapter 5
5:1-2         Justification---Peace---Grace---Hope
5:3-5         Our New Capacity to Endure Suffering
                      Shows that Our Hope is not Groundless
5:6-9         Christ Died for Us
5:10-11     Reconciliation
5:12-14     Existential Guilt and Ontological Anxiety
5:15-21     Adam and Christ:
                      Our Existential Predicament and Existential Freedom

WEEK FIVE: 

Chapter 6
6:1-2         Having Become Existentially Free,
                      Are We Automatically Free from Sin?
6:3-4         Baptism as the Symbol of Existential Change
6:5-7         Getting a New Self
6:12-19     From the Old Slavery to the New Freedom
6:20-23     The Salary Sin Pays is Death, but Your Gift is Life

Chapter 7
7:1-4         Freedom from the Law
7:5-6         To Serve You in a New Way
7:7-11       How the Law Discloses Guilt and Death
7:14-15,    The Dynamics of Existential Guilt
  21-15

WEEK SIX: 

Chapter 8
8:1-4         From Sin and Death to Life under the Spirit:
                      From Our Existential Predicament to Existential Freedom
8:5-8         The Merely-Human Self and the Existentially-Free Self
8:9-13       The Indwelling of Your Spirit
                      ---The New Life of Existential Freedom
8:14-17     Adoption into Your Family
8:18-25     Saved in Hope: The Forward Glow of Existential Freedom
8:26-27     Your Spirit Helps Us to Pray:
                      Becoming Attuned to Existential Freedom
8:28-30     Our Dependence on Your Existential Freedom
8:31-39     Can Anything Separate Us from You?

WEEK SEVEN: 

Chapters 9-11
9:10-23      Toying with Predestination
9:30-10:4   Why Gentiles are Being Liberated while Jews are Being Lost
10:10-15    Sharing the Message of Existential Freedom
11:16-24    The Gift of Grafting-in

Chapters 12-15
12:1-2         How to Accept Existential Freedom
14:13-17     Moral Differences among the Existentially Free
14:22-23     Instead of Ethics: Living within Existential Freedom
15:13          Closing Prayer

7. GETTING YOUR COPY OF THE TEXT BEING DISCUSSED.

    There is no charge for joining this online class.
Your only cost is the Internet connection you already have
and the cost of the textbook: $7 wholesale,
plus $2 shipping to anywhere in the USA.

    Send your check or money-order to:

Existential Books
Lofts on Arts Avenue #218
1829 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404-1836

(If your congregation is having a group,
you can save shipping costs
by ordering directly from the publisher---Existential Books---
and having several books shipped to the same address.)

    (Note: double-shipping the book doubles the shipping cost
and delays getting the book to your home.
If you order directly from Existential Books,
within two weeks you will be able to open the green cover.)

    More complete information about the book, is found here:
An Existential Interpretation of Paul's Letter to the Romans .
(There is also a large-format printing of this book available
only directly from the publisher for a higher price.
Details at the above link.)

8. JOINING THE ONLINE COMMUNITY (E-MAILING LIST)
        CALLED "ROMANS DEMYTHOLOGIZED".

    Once you have a copy of the text in hand,
and if you are sure you want to join the discussion,
write to me: James Park: e-mail: PARKx032@TC.UMN.EDU .

    I will established a closed, unlisted electronic bulletin board,
named "Romans Demythologized".
You can only join by means of an Invitation from me.
So send me your name and the e-mail address
from which you wish to participate in our discussions.
(Again, there is no charge for joining this on-line group.)

    Once you become a member of "Romans Demythologized",
you will be able to participate fully in all exchanges of ideas
from the comfort of the chair in which you are now seated.
You will send and receive e-mails about the book.
And/or you will be able to read the exchanges later at this URL:

    When you write to me at PARKx032@TC.UMN.EDU
to register for this free, online course,
you may also ask any questions or share any ideas
that are now circulating around in your head.

    Since there are only 40 copies of the study book in print,
this online discussion group will be limited to
the first forty people who obtain the book.

9. E-MAIL LISTS THAT HAVE ANNOUNCED THIS CLASS

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