Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Resurrection denial, sexual propriety, spiritual powers, social class, and factionalism were fracturing the church in Corinth. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians aim at reconciling this Christian community while expounding some of the most practical theology contained in the New Testament. What was really happening in this church? Why did Paul write multiple letters to them?
Corinth had been destroyed by Rome in 146 BCE and refounded as a Roman colony in 44 BCE, with settlers drawn from across the empire. By Paul’s time, it was a major commercial hub where Roman, Greek, and Jewish populations intersected. That diversity is reflected in the church itself: factions formed around competing leaders such as Paul, Apollos, and Cephas; others promoted rival forms of authority, rhetoric, and spiritual status. The letters address disputes over patronage, social hierarchy, sexual ethics, communal meals, and resurrection, while 1 Clement shows that similar conflicts continued into the late first century.
In this live lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will examine the history of Corinth and the rise of its Christian community. We will consider how the issues Paul and others address in their letters to the Corinthian church reveal patterns of factionalism and theological conflict that continue to shape the development of Christianity today.
Sources we will cover include:
● 1 Corinthians
● 2 Corinthians
● 1 Clement
● Acts 18
● Strabo, Geographica (Geography)
● Pausanias, Description of Greece
● Erastus inscription
● Seneca (Letters, Moral Essays)
● Dionysius of Corinth, in Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History 4.23)
Join the livestream to participate in the discussion and to ask questions of our lecturer during the Q&A.
This lecture is part of our series exploring Christianity and the Bible from an academic perspective through history, mythology, archaeology, theology, and biblical studies.
📚 Browse our catalogue of free lectures at centreplace.ca/lectures
Your generous support allows us to offer these lectures at no cost. Please consider making a donation (tax deductible in the US and Canada):
❤️ centreplace.ca/donate
Resurrection denial, sexual propriety, spiritual powers, social class, and factionalism were fracturing the church in Corinth. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians aim at reconciling this Christian community while expounding some of the most practical theology contained in the New Testament. What was really happening in this church? Why did Paul write multiple letters to them?
Corinth had been destroyed by Rome in 146 BCE and refounded as a Roman colony in 44 BCE, with settlers drawn from across the empire. By Paul’s time, it was a major commercial hub where Roman, Greek, and Jewish populations intersected. That diversity is reflected in the church itself: factions formed around competing leaders such as Paul, Apollos, and Cephas; others promoted rival forms of authority, rhetoric, and spiritual status. The letters address disputes over patronage, social hierarchy, sexual ethics, communal meals, and resurrection, while 1 Clement shows that similar conflicts continued into the late first century.
In this live lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will examine the history of Corinth and the rise of its Christian community. We will consider how the issues Paul and others address in their letters to the Corinthian church reveal patterns of factionalism and theological conflict that continue to shape the development of Christianity today.
Sources we will cover include:
● 1 Corinthians
● 2 Corinthians
● 1 Clement
● Acts 18
● Strabo, Geographica (Geography)
● Pausanias, Description of Greece
● Erastus inscription
● Seneca (Letters, Moral Essays)
● Dionysius of Corinth, in Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History 4.23)
Join the livestream to participate in the discussion and to ask questions of our lecturer during the Q&A.
This lecture is part of our series exploring Christianity and the Bible from an academic perspective through history, mythology, archaeology, theology, and biblical studies.
📚 Browse our catalogue of free lectures at centreplace.ca/lectures
Your generous support allows us to offer these lectures at no cost. Please consider making a donation (tax deductible in the US and Canada):
❤️ centreplace.ca/donate
