1 and 2 Corinthians: Community, Mission and Ministry in the New Creation (BN9402W)

Content

This unit provides a comprehensive study of the Corinthian correspondence. The canonical letters 1 and 2 Corinthians provide a partial window into the emergence of an early Christ-assembly and the challenges and conflicts faced by that community. The letters also enable us to see Paul’s theology emerging in response to those challenges and conflicts. This unit will consider scholarly reconstructions of Corinthian community history and accounts of the theological convictions that come to expression in the rhetoric of the letters. A particular focus will be on the ways that the Corinthian correspondence constructs the identity, beliefs, boundaries, and behaviour of an early Christ-believing community, with special reference to the interface between the community and its cultural location. The unit will also explore Paul’s defense of his own ministry and consider its relationship to the community’s self-understanding and mission.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Prerequisite: Foundational unit in New Testament

Pedagogy

Students will be guided through core methodologies, context, and interpretative frameworks through lectures.

Lectures will integrate in-depth engagement with the primary texts, and introduce students to significant issues in scholarly debate.

Classroom and/or online exercises will provide weekly opportunity to demonstrate engagement with primary texts.

Structured tutorial preparation and discussion will enable participatory consideration of selected primary texts.

Indicative Bibliography

• Adams, Edward, and David G. Horrell, eds. Christianity at Corinth: The Quest for the Pauline Church. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2004.
• Bieringer, Reimund. ed. The Corinthian Correspondence. BETL 125. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1996.
• Bowens, Lisa M. An Apostle in Battle: Paul and Spiritual Warfare in 2 Corinthians 12:1–10. WUNT 433. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017.
• Brookins, Timothy A. Corinthian Wisdom, Stoic Philosophy, and the Ancient Economy. SNTSMS 159. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
• Cameron, Ron, and Merrill P. Miller, eds. Redescribing Paul and the Corinthians. ECL 5. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011.
• Harris, Murray J. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. NIGTC. Grand Rapids / Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2005.
• Lim, Kar Yong. 'The Sufferings of Christ are Abundant in Us': A Narrative Dynamics Investigation of Paul's Sufferings in 2 Corinthians. LNTS 399. London: T & T Clark International, 2009.
• Mitchell, Margaret M. Paul, The Corinthians and the Birth of Christian Hermeneutics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
• Stegman, Thomas. The Character of Jesus: The Linchpin to Paul's Argument in 2 Corinthians. AnBib 158. Rome: Pontifico Istituto Biblico, 2005.
• Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

Assessment