Bible, Christian History

I & II Corinthians

Taught by Joshua Shaw
Difficulty: Introductory
Crosslist: None
Runs 4/8 – 6/15/24
$225.00 – $399.00

As a letter, 1 Corinthians appears just like the Corinthian church did: fragmented. But what was the history of the Corinthian church? Whence did the differing parties arise? What was the exact nature of their doctrinal dispute(s)? And, above all, what was their relationship to the Apostle Paul? Is there a unifying thought in this epistle; or (and is the answer the same?)  in what did the unity of the Corinthian church consist?

 

This class will try to answer these and like questions through a very careful reading of 1 Corinthians, taking to our aid all historical evidence may offer (foremost of them 2 Corinthians, but also Clement’s letter, and writers as Pausanias, Lucian, and Clement of Alexandria), as well as the best of late 19th and early 20th century commentary. The goal of this class is twofold: to enable the student to use historical and exegetical materials to get at Paul’s meaning most faithfully; and, more importantly, to take Paul’s message to the Corinthian to heart: he was and remains the Apostle of the Gentiles. Students will come away seeing how this rich apostolic epistle turns licence and division into liberty and unity.

 

Deadline to register: Friday, March 29th

The syllabus for this class is now available. You can access it here.

 

 

ENROLLMENT OPTIONS

Auditing ($225):

participate in readings and live class sessions, but no graded assignments and no course credit

Full course (Full-Time Discount) ($275):

for-credit courses (at least four per term) toward our Certificate or M.Litt in Classical Protestantism

Full course ($399):

individual classes on a for-credit basis; you can later apply them toward a Certificate or Degree

 

ENROLL NOW

Description

This Bible/History course will be taught by Joshua Shaw, and will run from April 8th through June 15th. The syllabus will be posted when available.

As a letter, 1 Corinthians appears just like the Corinthian church did: fragmented. But what was the history of the Corinthian church? Whence did the differing parties arise? What was the exact nature of their doctrinal dispute(s)? And, above all, what was their relationship to the Apostle Paul? Is there a unifying thought in this epistle; or (and is the answer the same?)  in what did the unity of the Corinthian church consist?

This class will try to answer these and like questions through a very careful reading of 1 Corinthians, taking to our aid all historical evidence may offer (foremost of them 2 Corinthians, but also Clement’s letter, and writers as Pausanias, Lucian, and Clement of Alexandria), as well as the best of late 19th and early 20th century commentary. The goal of this class is twofold: to enable the student to use historical and exegetical materials to get at Paul’s meaning most faithfully; and, more importantly, to take Paul’s message to the Corinthian to heart: he was and remains the Apostle of the Gentiles. Students will come away seeing how this rich apostolic epistle turns license and division into liberty and unity.

 

Joshua Shaw is currently a Davenant Fellow, but will soon begin work building out the humanities program for Anthem Classical school in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he will be living with his wife and two children. He did his B.A. at Hillsdale and M.A. at Bryn Mawr in  Classics, where he received a surprise invitation to do his PhD in Germany at Tübingen University in Antiken Kirchengeschichte. He is working to complete his dissertation on Eusebius’s Praeparation for the Gospel (to be published with Mohr Siebeck).  He writes regularly for The Regensburg Forum, an academic blog which supports irenic debate between committed Christians in the Thomistic and Reformed traditions.

 

The syllabus for this class is now available. You can access it here.

 

Details

Online only, runs 10 weeks, meeting 2 hr./wk. via Zoom. Students will also have the option to participate in class discussion on the Davenant Common Room Discord server. Register to reserve your spot and schedule will be set after a poll of participating students; if the class time does not fit your schedule, you will be eligible for a full refund.

This is a graduate-level course. Although a BA is not a necessary pre-requisite for this course, students should come prepared to do graduate-level work.