DESCRIPTION:

As a community of inquiry, teacher and students will approach the book of First Corinthians with three questions in mind: (1) What did the author intend when he wrote this letter? (2) How many contemporary Christians apply its teachings? (3) What principles and resources best allow the student of Scripture to link the ancient author's intention with the contemporary reader's application? The course is thus an exercise in applied hermeneutics, an exegetical study of this fascinating letter.

First Corinthians remarkably anticipates many of the congregational disorders found in the church today: disunity, immorality, litigiousness, elitism, charismatic excess, theological heresy, financial undependability. Encounter with this text thus shows how "biblical" modern church problems can be.

The normal pattern will be an interruptible lecture followed by discussion. During the course, a series of color slides will be shown. These relate to the historical background of Christianity at Corinth. The course will meet 10:50 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, except Thursday, November 28, Thanksgiving Day.

Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987. Recent, fresh, exhaustive, and monumental.

Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome. St. Paul's Corinth: Texts and Archaeology. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press (Michael Glazier Imprint), 1983. Collected texts from antiquity, which speak about Corinth--along with a fresh interpretation of this data.

Resources for the Study of First Corinthians. Packet of course-related materials available through the Fuller Seminary bookstore.

An exegetical paper (approximately 5000 words) and a comprehensive final exam are required. Students are expected regularly to apply themselves to the portion of the text of 1 Corinthians scheduled for each class period, putting themselves in a position to report their leading observations on the assigned text portions.

None.

Elective.

Will consist of 100 multiple-choice items covering the background, content, and interpretation of First Corinthians. Set for 10:50 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Thursday, December 5, 1996.