General Handouts

Rubric for Group Discussion Grades
Guidelines for the Interpretation Essay
An Outline of 1 Corinthians

Week 2 ~ The Context of Corinth

** reading: The introductory sections of Witherington's commentary.

• What was life in ancient Corinth like?

Slides: The Context of 1 Corinthians

Week 3 ~ 1 Cor 1:1-3:4

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**

• What is the "thesis statement" of 1 Corinthians according to Witherington? What does Paul mean by this statement?
• How does Paul introduce himself in this letter and what does he pray for in his opening prayer? How does the beginning of the letter seem geared to prepare the audience for the argument he will be making?
• What is "the wisdom of this age" and how is it different from "the wisdom of God"? What is wrong with the "wisdom of this age"?
• Paul seems to set up two groups: the "spiritual" and the "unspiritual." What is the difference between them? Who are they?
• I would argue that 1 Cor 3:1-4 is the "punch line" of Paul's argument so far. Why does he call into question the "maturity" of the audience? What impact does he want this first section to have on them?

Week 4 ~ 1 Cor 3:5-4:21

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**

• Why would people disagree about where to divide the stages of Paul's argument at the opening of chapter 3?
• In chapter 3 Paul introduces three metaphors for leadership and community life: gardening, construction, and temple-building. How does each metaphor reveal the individual's proper attitude toward the Christian community?
• How does this discussion of leadership and community relate to the discussion of wisdom in chapters 1-2?
• Why does Paul introduce the issue of judgement at the opening of chapter 4? How does this relate to the larger discussion about leadership?
• How does Paul appeal to the audience's emotions in chapter 4? What impression does this chapter give of the Corinthians' attitude?
• What part of chapter 4 would you say provides the conclusion to this first stage of Paul's argument? How does the argument of chapters 1-4 encourage the audience to "think the same thing"?

Week 5 ~ 1 Cor 5:1-6:20

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**

• How does Witherington describe the situation in 5:1-5? Can you imagine other situations that would also fit Paul's (very brief and allusive) comments? What does this suggest about the situation in Corinth?
• Based on 5:1-13, what does Paul want to see happen to the man? Why?
• What analogy does Paul want to draw between the Corinthians' life and the celebration of Passover?
• How does Paul support his argument against prostitution in 6:12-20? Why is this behaviour (common in Corinth) to be avoided?
• Notice that Paul frames the issue of lawsuits in 6:1-11 with issues of sexual conduct before and after. What is the relationship between these issues? Why deal with them together?
• How do these issues in chapters 5-6 contribute to Paul's overall argument that the Corinthian believers should "think the same things"?

Week 6 ~ 1 Cor 7:1-40

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**
** please also read my draft chapter on 1 Corinthians in Witnesses of Hope available here: http://www.tyndale.ca/~iscott/Witnesses/?q=I%20and%20II%20Corinthians. This includes the story of a fictional Corinthian named Cassandra.

• It is often suggested that some statements in this chapter are actually quotations of slogans popular among the Corinthians. How might we recognize such quotations? How does this change our reading of the chapter?
• What does Paul suggest is the role of sexuality in marriage? Why? What faulty views of sexuality is he trying to counter?
• What reasons does Paul give to encourage married Corinthians not to divorce?
• Why do you think scholars often see Paul caught between two factions of the Corinthian audience with very different views of sexuality and marriage?
• Why does Paul suggest it is "better" for single people not to marry? Is this a balanced picture of Paul's opinion about marriage? How might it be skewed to suit his present audience?
• What reasons does Paul give for allowing single people to marry? Is this a balanced picture of Paul's opinion about marriage? How might it be skewed to suit his present audience?
• If Paul were writing to address common North American misconceptions about sexuality and marriage, would he say the same things?

Week 7 ~ 1 Cor 8:1-9:27

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**

• What practice is creating the conflict in Corinth over 'food sacrificed to idols'?
• Which statements in chapter 8 are likely quotations from slogans used by the 'wise' in Corinth?
• How much does Paul agree with the position of the 'wise'? Where does he disagree?
• What kind of disagreement in the contemporary church would really be equivalent to this conflict? Why? Is Paul suggesting that believers' behaviour must always be governed by the expectations of the strictest church members?
• Why does Paul introduce the issue of a leader's privileges in chapter 9? How does this relate to the debate over idol-meats in chapter 8?
• How does this section help us to understand Paul's objectives in chapters 1-4?
• If we imagine Cassandra as a member of Paul's audience, how is his rhetoric in these chapters geared to change her (thinking, acting, feeling)?

Week 8 ~ 1 Cor 10:1-11:1

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**

• In 10:1-13 Paul finds analogies between Israel's wilderness wandering and the community's current struggles. What is the point of this analogy? How does it point the Corinthians toward proper behaviour?
• What theology of religions (i.e., the nature of pagan gods and their cults) is implied in these chapters? Paul seemed to agree with the "wise" in Corinth in 8:4-6. After reading chapter 10, does he really agree with them?
• Is there tension between Paul's attitude toward idol-meat in chapter 8 and his attitude here in chapter 10? What apparent contradictions do you see between the two chapters? How could we reconcile these tensions?
• What are the specific situations of eating that Paul is thinking about in these chapters? How are they to handle these different situations?
• Read Romans 14, where Paul again addresses conflict over food. Does Paul seem to take the same approach there as in 1 Cor 8-10? Why or why not?

Week 9 ~ 1 Cor 11

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**

• What is the significance of 'head coverings' in Corinth according to Witherington? How does this reading differ from the patristic interpretations in Kovacs?
• What model of gender relationships does Paul promote in this passage?
• What does Witherington suggest is the problem with the Corinthians' eating of Eucharist? What would be a real contemporary analogy to this situation?
• What view of the Lord's supper does Paul assume? Is it merely a symbol? Is it something more?

Week 10 ~ 1 Cor 12

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**

• Why does it seem there were conflicts over "gifts" in Corinth? How were those "gifts" being used and viewed?
• Based on chapter 12, how does Paul want the audience's understanding of those gifts to change? How will this changed understanding change their behaviour?

Week 11 ~ No reading

** Dr. Scott away at SBL conference. Take this as an opportunity to get a good start on your essay.**

Week 12 ~ 1 Cor 13-14

** be sure to read both the biblical text of this passage and the sections from Witherington and Kovacs that comment on these verses.**

• Why does Paul introduce his praise of love here in chapter 13? How does it contribute to his argument about spiritual gifts in chapters 12-14?
• Why does Paul downplay the significance of "knowledge" in chapter 13? What kind of knowledge is he focused on?
• In chapter 14, what clues does Paul give about the nature of the gifts of 'tongues' and 'prophecy'? What do they seem to involve?
• Why does Paul suggest that prophecy is 'better' than tongues? What does he suggest is the proper role of each gift in the Corinthians' worship?
• Why do you think some commentators have suggested that 14:34-35 is a later interpolation (addition) to Paul's text? If Paul did write these verses, can we understand him in such a way that he doesn't contradict his earlier statements in the letter?