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In this groundbreaking reinterpretation of one of the most influential documents of Christian theology, Stanley Stowers argues that Christian tradition has interpreted Romans in an anachronistic fashion fundamentally different from how readers in Paul`s time would have read it. He provides a new reading that places Romans within the sociocultural, historical, and rhetorical contexts of Paul`s world.

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The grammar of Paul
I thought that Stowers approach adds a dimension to the discussion about the new perspective on Paul. His attention to how a Greek speaking Gentile would read Paul's epistle is excellent. The book clearly highlights how modern tendencies to read the Bible in the "plain sense" can be hugely mistaken. His focus on who the epistle was written to and what cultural frame of reference they had is very clear. The focus on grammar and on cultural references of Gentiles exceeds simple lexical approaches. Romans was written by a Jew who straddled the growing divide between Judaism and Gentile believers in a Jewish messiah.

I really liked this book, it's full of notes about translational biases that color every approach to the epistle. I would add that Gaston's translation of Romans in his book Paul and Torah is a useful comparison. This book is not for the timid reader of Paul. You have to study it.