Dear Paul: Life and Letters of the Apostle

Who was Paul the apostle? Why do people still care about his letters today? This course delves into the life and letters of this Jewish man who later became a foundational figure for Christianity. We will analyze his letters within the ancient Mediterranean social milieu, focusing on their literary styles, rhetoric, and historical contexts. This approach will provide us with fresh insights into various theological and sociocultural issues discussed in his letters, such as salvation, eschatology, marriage, racial/ethnic relations, slavery, economic inequality, and church-state relations. Additionally, using a variety of interpretive approaches, we will reconstruct responses to Paul’s letters from ancient audiences and critically engage with the ways these texts are read and used in our contemporary public sphere. 3 hrs. seminar.