Thesis 1
Believers in Jesus at Rome in Paul’s Day Looked to the Mother Church at Jerusalem for their Christian theology, piety, and ethics.

Thesis 2:
Paul had at least five purposes in writing to the believers in Jesus at Rome: To give to the believers in Jesus at Rome what he calls in 1:11 his “spiritual gift.”; To seek the assistance of the Christians at Rome for the extension of his Gentile mission to Spain (cf. 1:13; 15:24);  To defend himself against certain criticisms of his person and various misrepresentations of his message that the Christians at Rome seem to have heard from others (and possibly somewhat believed); To counsel regarding a certain dispute that had arisen among the Christians at Rome, who evidently, on one side of the dispute, called themselves “the Strong,” while on the other side of this dispute there were other Christians who were being called “the Weak”; To counsel regarding certain attitudes of the Christians at Rome with respect to the city’s governmental authorities and the responsibilities of believers in Jesus to pay their city’s taxes and revenues. 

Thesis 3:
Paul writes to the Christians at Rome in a manner that rather closely corresponds to a “Logos Protreptikos” form of ancient philosophical letter writing (that is, a “Word [or, ‘Speech’] of Exhortation”).

Thesis 4:
Paul sets out for his readers (1) three major “Body Middle” Sections (i.e., 2:16–4:25; 5:1–8:39; 9:1–11:36), each of which sets out the Gospel for three somewhat different types of people (Jews, pagan Gentiles, and a body of Jewish and Gentile believers) all of which is followed by (2) a fourth major “Body Middle” Section (i.e., 12:1–15:33) consisting of general Christian ethical exhortations that the apostle had evidently proclaimed in his earlier Christian mission to pagan Gentiles — together with a further section of exhortations having to do with how believers in Jesus should live together in their respective Christian congregations.

​Thesis 5:
In the four sections of the apostle’s “Word/Speech of Exhortation” in the “Body Middle” of Romans 1:16-4:25, 5:1-8:39, 9:1-11:36, and 12:1-15:33 Paul uses material that he had previously preached (1) to Jews (in 1:16–4:25), (2) to Gentiles without any Jewish contacts or instruction (in 5:1–8:39), and (3) to mixed congregations of both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds at Syrian Antioch (in 9:1–11:36) — as well as in the fourth ethical section of the letter (I.e., 12:1–15:33) he contextualizes the Christian Gospel both generally and then quite specifically.

Thesis 6:
​In these contextualizations of the apostle’s letter to first century Christians at Rome, Paul is both (1) encouraging believers in Jesus today to do likewise in their Christian thinking, lives, and ministries, and (2) setting out paradigms for our doing similar in our own philosophical and cultural situations today.

​I have been reading about this complaint and the voices of support for years, yet there seems to be no practical solution.

This is a really important moral and economic issue. 

Books are very accessible here in the West, both in borrowing privileges and in cost, let alone the abundance of used books. But there is a serious need to address the matter of theological access to non-western scholars. 

One of them is licensing to local on-demand printing. 

I always worry that my own books may be unaffordable to readers in countries that cannot afford them. So I choose to personally hold all copyrights. Now I can legally authorize academic readers in many countries who are unable to afford them (Africa, S America and parts of Asia) to photocopy at will. 

I refer to this as COPYLEFT. Some generous souls in Malaysia itself have in the past made sacrificial contributions to my COPYLEFT project. It flies in the face of Western notions of academic publishing but I do this because I myself was born in Malaysia and only by the grace of God do I enjoy unheard of access to data in my own interdisciplinary field research. Why should my colleagues in the non-Western world be deprived? It's is unconscionable for this situation to persist.

In my COPYLEFT project, I even distribute FREE copies of my own work.

This is not a long term solution. It is merely a token of my awareness of how uneven the playing field is for those of us enjoying the economic privileges in the West. How then do I fund my own research? I go out (shamelessly) and seek financial sponsors to underwrite my books in order to give away copyrights. 

Note: I do not receive any royalty from my books so that there are no conflicts of interest - because my writings often directly challenge the status quo of every doctrine from every Christian denomination I can think of. Ouch...yeah.

If I were writing on standard orthodox/safe Christian theology and biblical studies, I will expect legitimate royalty for my labors, So this is not a critique of anyone receiving their rightful due as authors. 

It is especially challenging when many new discoveries and insights make most academic books out of date within 3-5 years, the length of time it takes to research and write a book.

My own recent Biblical Guide to the Metropolitan Museum's ANE Gallery was published last year. Already I am under pressure to announce a revision or a second edition. This is a burden to students of science and theology. So I am looking into online addenda to reduce the cost of scholarship.

I call upon all believers who have more stable income and wealth to share your blessings. Set up a special trust fund to encourage academic research by sponsoring book projects, even if the amount is modest, because it brightens up even the gloomiest writing day.

Except for a few weirdo-aliens of blessed memory like CS Lewis, writing is one of the hardest and loneliest tasks in the world. It is sheer self-imposed isolation. Agonies from self-critique can be crippling. 

Even after you secure funding, the pressure is on and the deadline looms. Last year, I secure an unrestricted grant from a Bible Society of US$10,000 to assist in the underwriting of a Christian Guide to the American Museum of Natural History. I have been burdened by it ever since as the 1 year deadline looms - June 30. However, the confidence it gave me was and still is deeply more satisfying than the dollar amount is worth.

If anyone in Malaysia is willing to set up such a fund and appoint trustees to monitor and disburse tokens of encouragement for writers for the Church, I will be honored to kickstart the project with a matching grant of US$1000 of my personal savings.

I am not rich or even economically comfortably by any means and I myself do not draw a regular salary. But I feel strongly that the economics of publishing is killing an entire generation of Christian thinkers who do not write popular books which sell better.

Come on, people, GIVE, and take my money, to encourage FULL-TIME thinkers and writers for the Church. 

Do not lose a generation of Christian academics in Malaysia, it may never recover. 

If 20 people reading this forks up US$50 each, your can happily take up my offer and deprive me of my money. I will eat taugeh for a month, and EACH of you will orang me a dish of HOKKIEN MEE.