Spanning a variety of disciplines, this 1995 enquiry focuses on one particular Pauline characteristic: the apostle's habit of making matters of faith the object of logical appraisal. A tracing of the elliptical patterns of argument in Romans 1-8 illustrates this habit and, at the same time, displays how Paul's vigorous persistence in it seems often not to be matched by the solidity, or at any rate the lucidity, of his logic. By viewing Paul against the background of semiology, more especially the semiological theory of Umberto Eco, new light is shed on the genesis of Paul's reasoning. The discussion which ensues is marked by an interesting and productive combination of modern linguistics and classical logic. Moreover, the singular potential of today's techniques of 'fuzzy' logical analysis for measuring the intellectual muscle of Paul's argumentation is brought out dramatically by the uniqueness of his semiological situation. His rationality takes on a new face.

This is a series of commentaries on the New English Bible designed for use in schools and training colleges, and for the layman. It replaces the old Cambridge Bible for Schools. Each volume will comment on one book, or two or three short books, of the Bible, beginning with the New Testament, already published. In each the text will be given in full. Sections of text and commentary alternate, so that the reader does not have to keep two books open, or turn from one part of the book to the other, or refer to a commentary in small type at the foot of the page. Great care has been taken to see that the commentary is suitable for the student and the layman: there is no Greek or Hebrew, and no strings of biblical references, but the commentary does convey the latest and best scholarship. The general editors all have experience of teaching or examining in schools and working with adults. It is hoped to have the series complete in a few years. There will also be a general introductory volume, Understanding the New Testament, and a volume of maps and plates, The New Testament Illustrated.

Spanning a variety of disciplines, this 1995 enquiry focuses on one particular Pauline characteristic: the apostle's habit of making matters of faith the object of logical appraisal. A tracing of the elliptical patterns of argument in Romans 1-8 illustrates this habit and, at the same time, displays how Paul's vigorous persistence in it seems often not to be matched by the solidity, or at any rate the lucidity, of his logic. By viewing Paul against the background of semiology, more especially the semiological theory of Umberto Eco, new light is shed on the genesis of Paul's reasoning. The discussion which ensues is marked by an interesting and productive combination of modern linguistics and classical logic. Moreover, the singular potential of today's techniques of 'fuzzy' logical analysis for measuring the intellectual muscle of Paul's argumentation is brought out dramatically by the uniqueness of his semiological situation. His rationality takes on a new face.

This is a series of commentaries on the New English Bible designed for use in schools and training colleges, and for the layman. It replaces the old Cambridge Bible for Schools. Each volume will comment on one book, or two or three short books, of the Bible, beginning with the New Testament, already published. In each the text will be given in full. Sections of text and commentary alternate, so that the reader does not have to keep two books open, or turn from one part of the book to the other, or refer to a commentary in small type at the foot of the page. Great care has been taken to see that the commentary is suitable for the student and the layman: there is no Greek or Hebrew, and no strings of biblical references, but the commentary does convey the latest and best scholarship. The general editors all have experience of teaching or examining in schools and working with adults. It is hoped to have the series complete in a few years. There will also be a general introductory volume, Understanding the New Testament, and a volume of maps and plates, The New Testament Illustrated.