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What would Christianity be like without Paul the apostle? The thirteen letters traditionally attributed to Paul have influenced great figures in Christian history from St. Augustine to Martin Luther to contemporary theologians as well as many believers. Yet Paul has posed a problem for many people. He has been blamed for distorting the message of Jesus, leading true Christianity astray, promoting hatred of women, and encouraging negative attitudes towards human sexuality. Still, many find his letters sublime and encouraging. This short course invites you to explore Paul’s life and mission and encourages you to look again at his letters. What is the heart of the gospel that he proclaims?
Week1
Overview of the Life of Paul
What do we know of Paul’s life? How did Paul become an apostle? This session offers an overview of the life of Paul and will emphasise the centrality of Christ in Paul’s life after his experience on the Damascus road. Paul visited the major cities of the Roman Empire and was eventually taken to Rome where he was martyred under Emperor Nero.
Week 2
Overview of the letters of Paul
This session will consider the way in which the apostle Paul’s letters were written and read in his lifetime and offers some brief comments on theological aspects of each of Paul’s letters.
Week 3
The Gospel According to Paul
What is the heart of the Good News that Paul proclaims? The heart of Paul’s Gospel is centred on the person of Christ, and more specifically on the crucified and now risen Christ (1 Cor 1-2). Why is Christ’s death and resurrection “good news”?
Week 4
The Spirituality of Paul
How did Paul live and encourage others to live the spiritual life? Throughout his letters, Paul encourages his converts to imitate him. In him they have a model of what it means to follow Christ. The model of the Christian life Paul presents to his converts is a spirituality grounded in the Paschal Mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection, whereby believers are conformed to the crucified Christ and sanctified by God’s grace in Christ through the power of God’s Spirit.
Week 5
The Legacy of Paul
Paul offers us a daunting challenge. First, he invites us to believe in the resurrection, and to live out the implications of that ‘news too good to be true’. Second, and this is not something we can manage for ourselves, but perhaps we can dispose ourselves towards it, he invites us to ‘fall in love with Christ’. Thirdly, we are to ‘live in Christ’, which means living an appropriate lifestyle, including the very Pauline marks of sinlessness and purity, and living in fellowship with other disciples.
Reading for Session 1
Daniel J. Harrington SJ, “Who was Paul the Apostle?” in Meeting St. Paul Today. Understanding the Man, His Mission and His Message, Loyola Press, Chicago 2008, pp.1-25.
For those who wish to read further
David M. Neuhaus SJ, “Getting to Know Saint Paul Today: A Change in Paradigm” in Thinking Faith: The Online Journal of the Jesuits in Britain, 27 October 2008.
Nick King SJ, “The Vision of St. Paul” in Thinking Faith: The Online Journal of the Jesuits in Britain, 25 September 2008.
Suggested Questions for Reflection
1. Why did you choose to sign up for this course?
2. Name one passage of a letter of St. Paul that you are familiar with and that resonates with you.
3. What are the multiple contexts for Paul’s world? How might his world compare to our own modern world? Who or what have been the major influences in your life?
4. Did you find anything unexpected, surprising or disturbing in this session? If so, explain what it was and why you found it that way.
Summary of Session 1
Reading for Session 2
J.A. Ziesler, Pauline Christianity, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1990, pp.1-7.
Peter Edmonds SJ, “Who was Saint Paul?” Thinking Faith: The Online Journal of the Jesuits in Britain, 27 June 2008.
For those who wish to read further
Jerome Murphy-O’Connor OP, “Paul the Pastor” in Thinking Faith: The Online Journal of the Jesuits in Britain, 29 August 2008
P.T. O’Brien, s.v. “Letters, Letter Forms” in G.F Hawthorne & R.P. Martin eds, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, Intervarsity Press, Leicester 1993, pp.550-553.
Summary of the Letters of Paul taken from the God Who Speaks website: www.godwhospeaks.uk/the-new-testament/
Suggested Questions for Reflection
1. If you had written letters about your faith twenty years ago and last week, would a reader see areas in which you have grown and changed?
2. What does Paul reveal about his personality in his letters?
3. How do Paul’s letters reflect that he is a person of his time and culture
4. Did you find anything unexpected, surprising or disturbing in this session? If so, explain what it was and why you found it that way.
Summary of Session 2
Reading for Session 3
Joseph A. Fitzmyer SJ, “The Spiritual Journey of Paul the Apostle” in According to Paul. Studies in the Theology of the Apostle, Paulist Press, New York /Mahwah, NJ 1993, pp.1-17.
For those who wish to read further
Morna D. Hooker, “Christ died…and was raised” in Paul: A Short Introduction, One world, Oxford 2003, pp.90-102.
N.T. Wright, “Herald of the King” in What Saint Paul Really Said, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1997, pp.39-62.
Suggested Questions for Reflection
1. What is the gospel? That is the central question in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. What is your understanding of the gospel? Which elements of the gospel are expressed in the opening of Paul’s letter (Gal 1:1-5)? What other aspects of the gospel would you add to his statement?
2. Paul realised that he had been going in the wrong direction (Gal 1:13-17). When have you had this kind of experience? What did you learn about yourself? How does that lesson affect you today?
3. In Romans 1:1-7Paul speaks of himself & the Roman Christians being called by God. How have you experienced God’s call? Who has God called you to serve? How is your way of relating with the people in your life shaped by your sense of being called by God?
4. Did you find anything unexpected, surprising or disturbing in this session? If so, explain what it was and why you found it that way.
Summary of Session 3
Read and reflect on the following passages
- 1 Thessalonians 1:5-8 “you became imitators of me.”
- 2 Thessalonians 3:7 “imitate us.”
- 1 Corinthians 4:16 “I urge you, imitate me.”
- 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
- Philippians 3:17 “Join others in being imitators of me.”
- Galatians 2:20 “Imitate me…..”
For those who wish to read further
E.P. Saunders, “Missionary Strategy and message” in Paul: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, pp.23-31.
Michael J. Gorman, Paul’s Theology and Spirituality, in The Paulist Biblical Commentary, eds. José Enrique Aguilar Chiu etal., Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, NJ 2018, pp. 1230-1233.
Suggested Questions for Reflection
1. How would you express in your own words the meaning of Paul’s statement in Galatians 2:20 - “Imitate me, because it is no longer I, Paul, who live. But it is Christ who lives within me”?
2. In what ways has imitation of other people shaped your relationship with God? Consider people you have heard or read about, as well as those you have known personally. Who do you regard as an especially suitable model for you to imitate? Why?
3. In contrast to the pattern of living that Paul encouraged, the Judaizing Christian missionaries do not share in the sufferings of Christ & do not strive toward the heavenly goal (Phil3:18-19). In what way might imitation of Christ’s sufferings & an orientation toward heavenly life serve as criteria for evaluating the authenticity of various approaches to spirituality today?
4. Did you find anything unexpected, surprising or disturbing in this session? If so, explain what it was and why you found it that way.
Summary of Session 4
Reading for Session 5
Nicholas King SJ, “Paul and Women” in Not that Man! Restoring St. Paul’s Reputation, Kevin Mayhew Ltd, Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk, 2009, pp.207-233.
Brian Purfield, Paul as Pastor, Notes for Private Use, London Jesuit Centre, June 2023.
For those who wish to read further
Tom Wright, “The Challenge of Paul” in Paul: A Biography, SPCK, London, 2018, pp.398-432.
For further reference
Ronald D. Witherup, 101 Questions and Answers on Paul, Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, N.J., 2003.
Suggested Questions for Reflection
1. How does Paul view human sexuality in general, and why does he view homosexual actions (not orientation) as a distortion of what God intended?
2. Is Paul’s teaching on sex helpful to us today?
3. Do you think that Paul is against women?
4. Did you find anything unexpected, surprising or disturbing in this session? If so, explain what it was and why you found it that way.
5. What will you take away from this short introductory course on St. Paul?
Summary of Session 5
We would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to provide us with feedback on your experience with our course. Please complete an evaluation form here:
Evaluation form - Rediscovering St Paul · ChurchSuite Forms
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to this request.
Week 1
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Week 5
Brian is a tutor in the theology stream. Originally from Birmingham, Brian studied philosophy and theology at the Gregorian University, Rome and later gained a Masters Degree in Franciscan Studies from St. Bonaventure’s University, New York. He has given retreats and courses throughout the UK and Ireland, North America, the Far East and Australia. He taught at the International Franciscan Study, Canterbury and at Campion House, Osterley before joining the Mount Street Jesuit Team when it began in 2004. Brian also taught at Heythrop College on the Foundation Degree in Pastoral Ministry. His particular interest is in opening up the Scriptures to people, young and old, at a level that they can understand and seek to apply to their daily lives. Brian is married to Deborah who works for CAFOD. They live in Buckinghamshire.
