In this conversation, Dr. Lynn Cohick is joined by Dr. Joseph R. Dodson and his daughter Maddie Mae Motl about their book, Conquerors, Not Captives: Reframing Romans 7 for the Christian Life. They challenge the popular view that the “I” in Romans 7 is Paul describing the normal Christian struggle with sin and instead argue that Paul is using a rhetorical persona, not speaking autobiographically. Drawing on the wider context of Romans 5–8, church history (from Origen and Augustine to Luther and Calvin), and an apocalyptic/cosmological view of sin and death, they present Romans 7 as depicting life under sin and the law rather than Spirit-empowered Christian existence.

Resources Mentioned:

The Visual Museum of Women in Christianity

Conquerors Not Captives: Reframing Romans 7 for the Christian Life by Dr. Joseph R. Dodson and Mattie Mae Motl

Paul and the Giants of Philosophy: Reading the Apostle in Greco-Roman Context by Dr. Joseph R. Dodson and Dr. David E. Briones

The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee

Episode Sponsor:

The Alabaster Jar is brought to you by The Center for Women in Leadership, a newly formed 501©3 nonprofit organization whose purpose is to equip women in a context that is biblically rooted, theologically robust, and ethnically diverse to thrive as leaders in the academy, the marketplace, and the Church. Follow them on Instagram @leadershipwithoutapology.

S6 E37 | Dr. Joseph R. Dodson and Mattie Mae Motl | Conquerors, Not Captives: Rethinking Romans 7