Roman's Believe it or Not

Romans, being Paul's letter to Christians in Rome, is a difficult read for someone who isn't familiar with Christian doctrine; to an atheist, the material might even be called laughable. I think this most applies in Paul's discussion of the supernatural in general; in our culture, anything unearthly has serious doubt cast upon it by the looming certainty of science and evolutionary philosophy. To an unbeliever, God's power and intervention in our world appears to be fantasy, and that's a hard belief to shake. Without the supernatural element of God, of course, our faith is nothing, so this point must be acknowledged for the Romans message to be taken seriously. As far as explaining this to a non-Christian goes, it is important to point out the evidence Paul himself takes time to record. In an indirect sense, Paul is doing his best to prove the power of God in his own story. In discussing his many hardships throughout his ministry, it would surprise anyone that Paul is still in the game after enduring and surviving so much, but Paul explains that it his his faith in God and God's power to provide that keeps him going. Paul is saying that the supernatural is explicitly evident in one's life, if they'll only dare to look for it. And once you see it, I'd say that there's no more denying it.

Despite the importance of the power of Christ in the gospel, there are other more philosophical points that Paul makes that would be easily digested by atheist listeners. For example, I think anyone would agree that a person's actions flow from his inward motives, and anyone would admit that love is the most important social virtue. Romans is full of justifications of morals that most people would believe that an ideal society would hold. Throughout the letter, Paul lists important virtues that sprout from relationship with Christ, and these virtues are found also throughout our global society. While atheists would cling to scientific principles behind these morals that shape our culture, the fact remains that they believe that certain behaviors rank better than others, and Paul did, too. Paul's Christian explanation of why these morals matter is an easy transition from simply holding those beliefs, and I think that many non-Christians could track with it. Paul's analytic approach and logical progression through points would stand out as intelligent to any reader, despite their opinion on its content. I believe this is an important fact to establish with those who would read Romans; without it, they may look at it as a fairy tale, but with insight on Paul's intellect, who knows, they might just take it seriously.