Romans and the Power of the Believer

Richard J. Britton challenges those who claim that the believer is powerless in relation to God. Through his reading of Paul's Letter to the Romans alongside the critical theory of Jacques Derrida and Giorgio Agamben, among others, Britton asserts that the believer is not a passive recipient of God's grace and righteousness. Instead, the believer is an interpreter who is actively involved in reciprocal exchange and enhancement of God's eschatological and soteriological project. Drawing on ancient and modern sources, Britton contends that, if we want to upend the oppression of established religion and ideology, we must first appreciate the believer as a powerful and responsible agent within God's cosmic project.