Prof. N.T. Wright guides students toward a thorough grasp of the apostle Paul’s lasting role in Christian history.
What you will learn
☑ Students will have a thorough knowledge of the apostle Paul’s background.
☑ Students will gain an understanding of how and why Paul wrote the things he wrote.
☑ Students will be able to explain why Paul’s writing and thinking are so important for today’s society.
☑ Students will discern the importance of historical pursuit as part of New Testament studies.
Description
N. T. Wright’s definitive biography of Paul reveals the apostle’s lasting role in Christian history as an inventor of new paradigms for how we understand Jesus and what he accomplished. Wright celebrates
Paul’s stature as one of the most effective and influential intellectuals in human history, while shedding fresh light on his writings, thoughts, and ideas. Consider these remarkable facts: Paul’s writing occupy less than 90 pages in a modern translation yet they have, page per page, generated more sermons, books, monographs, and journal articles than any other writings from the ancient world.
This course endeavors to answer the questions:
- How did this impact result from a man like Paul?
- What was Paul doing and what did he think about why he was doing it?
- How did someone with his background and upbringing end up speaking, traveling, and writing in the way he did?
- What, exactly, happened on the road to Damascus that changed the course of Paul’s life and the course of human history?
These and other questions are the focus of this comprehensive course.
English
Language
Content
Paul’s Background and Formative Years
For Leaders – Discussion Questions and Biblical Text to Print
Course Overview of Paul: A Biography: Small Group Edition
Gal 1:1-4 KNT Text
Gal 1:1-4 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session One: Gal 1:1-4 ‘Paul’s Background’
Gal 1:1-4 Discussion Questions
Phil 3:2-6 KNT Text
Phil 3:2-6 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Two: Phil 3:2-6 ‘Saul of Tarsus’
Phil 3:2-6 Discussion Questions
Gal 1:13-17 KNT Text
Gal 1:13-17 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Three: Gal 1:13-17 ‘Paul’s Conversion’
Gal 1:13-17 Discussion Questions
Gal 3:27-29 KNT Text
Gal 3:27-29 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Four: Gal 3:27-29 ‘The Silent Years’
Gal 3:27-29 Discussion Questions
Acts 11:19-30 KNT Text
Acts 11:19-30 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Five: Acts 11:19-30 ‘Paul and Barnabus’
Acts 11:19-30 Discussion Questions
Paul and the ‘Invention’ of Missions
Acts 26:15b-18 KNT Text
Acts 26:15b-18 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Six: Acts 26:15b-18 ‘Inviting the Gentiles in’
Acts 26:15b-18 Discussion Questions
Gal 2:11-21 KNT Text
Gal 2:11-21 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Seven: Gal 2:11-21 ‘A Clash of Loyalty’
Gal 2:11-21 Discussion Questions
Acts 15:1-3 KNT Text
Acts 15:1-3 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Eight: Acts 15:1-3 ‘One Badge of Membership in the King’
Acts 15:1-3 Discussion Questions
Paul’s Counter-Imperial Message
Acts 17:5-7 KNT Text
Acts 17:5-7 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Nine: Acts 17:5-7 ‘There is Another King’
Acts 17:5-7 Discussion Questions
Acts 17:16-21 KNT Text
Acts 17:16-21 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Ten: Acts 17:16-21 ‘The True Meaning of Life’
Acts 17:16-21 Discussion Questions
1 Cor 1:22-25; 1 Thess 2:10-12,19-20 KNT Text
1 Cor 1:22-25 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
1 Thess 2:10-12,19-20 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Eleven: 1 Cor 1:22-25; 1 Thess 2:10-12,19-20 ‘The Real Power’
1Cor 1:22-25; 1Thess 2:10-12;19-20 Discussion Questions
Paul’s Theology and the Ministry of Reconciliation
2 Cor 1:8-11 KNT Text
2 Cor 1:8-11 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Twelve: 2 Cor 1:8-11 ‘Trust God who Raises the Dead’
2Cor 1:8-11 Discussion Questions
Col 1:15-20 KNT Text
Col 1:15-20 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Thirteen: Col 1:15-20 ‘God’s Plan to Renew the World’
Col 1:15-20 Discussion Questions
2 Cor 5:11-6:2 KNT Text
2 Cor 5:11-6:2 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Fourteen: 2 Cor 5:11-6:2 ‘The Plan of God for Future Creation’
2Cor 5:11-6:2 Discussion Questions
Paul’s Challenge for the Church Today
Rom 1:1-5; 16-17 KNT Text
Rom 1:1-5; 16-17 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Fifteen: Rom 1:1-5; 16-17 ‘Unity Across Cultural Boundaries’
Rom 1:1-5; 16-17 Discussion Questions
Acts 25:10-11 KNT Text
Acts 25:10-11 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Sixteen: Acts 25:10-11 ‘Redefined Identity’
Acts 25:10-11 Discussion Questions
2 Tim 4:6-8 KNT Text
2 Tim 4:6-8 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Seventeen: 2 Tim 4:6-8 ‘Handling Adversity and Suffering’
2 Tim 4:6-8 Discussion Questions
Eph 2:8-10 KNT Text
Eph 2:8-10 Reading by Prof. N.T. Wright
Session Eighteen: Eph 2:8-10 ‘A Whole New Way of Thinking and Living’
Eph 2:8-10 Discussion Questions
Bonus Lecture