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Durham E-Theses God Our Teacher and the Teaching of Theology: Learning from Premodern Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1-4. HARRIS, STEVE,EDWARD How to cite: HARRIS, STEVE,EDWARD (2015) God Our Teacher and the Teaching of Theology: Learning from Premodern Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1-4. , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11010/ Use policy This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0 (CC BY-NC-ND) Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Abstract “God Our Teacher and the Teaching of Theology: Learning from Premodern Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1-4.” Steven Edward Harris The doctrine of divine pedagogy, regarding how God teaches humanity about himself, has suffered neglect in modern theology. Particularly in Protestant theology, its social form, in which certain human beings are used by God to teach others, was foreshortened. Thus, its traditional explanatory function in relation to how one comes to know God through the teaching and learning of theology faded. Recently, some attempts have been made to recover the doctrine in this relation and in its full scope, notably by John Webster. This thesis adds to efforts to reassemble the doctrine by identifying a remaining gap in recent explications, namely, human teachers of theology as agents of God’s teaching, and sets out to give a theological account of their role. In this way it seeks to restore a social view of the economy of the divine pedagogy. To do this, it turns to 1 Corinthians 1-4, and premodern commentary thereupon. It finds there is an ‘economic’ pattern to Paul’s understanding of how God brings people to know him in these chapters, as read by premodern commentators, and develops an analytic schema of five elements by which to diagnose the fullness or the paucity of a doctrine of divine pedagogy. These are: (i) God, the divine teacher; (ii) the history of this teaching; (iii) wisdom as the object taught; (iv) human students and, finally, (v) human teachers. Structuring premodern comments on 1 Corinthians 1-4 around these five elements, it draws out an expansive account of the economy of divine teaching. In concluding, it suggests some areas for further exploration and discusses the significance of the ‘economic’ form of the doctrine for contemporary theology and theological self- understanding. God Our Teacher and the Teaching of Theology: Learning from Premodern Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1-4 Steven Edward Harris Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Theology at the University of Durham Department of Theology and Religion September 2014 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. — Psalm 25:4-5 (ESV) Table of Contents Abbreviations vi Declaration ix Statement of Copyright ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction. Theologians in God’s Plan 1 1. God the Teacher of His Wisdom 13 2. The Divine Pedagogy in History 33 3. Wisdom, Divine and Human 55 4. The Students of the Divine Wisdom 91 5. The Position and Authority of God’s Teachers 131 6. The Method and Judgment of God’s Teachers 171 7. The End of the Divine Pedagogy 205 Conclusion. Knowing God 223 Appendix A. Chronological Table of Commentators 235 Bibliography 237 v Abbreviations Full details given in the bibliography. Aquinas, Thomas In I ad Cor., etc. Super primam epistolam ad Corinthios lectura, etc. Leon. Opera omnia iussu Leonis XIII P. M. edita, 50 vols. Parma S. Thomae opera omnia, 25 vols. ScG Summa contra Gentiles (Leon. 13-15) ST Summa theologiae (Leon. 4-12) Augustine ciu. De ciuitate Dei (CCSL47-48) doctr. chr. De doctrina christiana (CCSL32) ench. Enchiridion de fide spe et caritate (CCSL46) en. Ps. Enarrationes in Psalmos (CCSL38-40) ep. Epistulae (CSEL34, 44, 57) ep. Io. tr. In epistulam Iohannis ad Parthos tractatus (CCSL37) f. et op. De fide et operibus (CSEL41) Io. ev. tr. In Iohannis evangelium tractatus (CCSL36) trin. De trinitate (CCSL50-50A) Bugenhagen, Johann Comm. Commentarius in quatuor capita prioris epistolae ad Corinthios Bullinger, Heinrich In prior. ad Cor. In priorem D. Pauli ad Corinthios epistolam Cajetan, Tommaso de Vio Cardinal Ep. Pauli Epistolae Pauli et aliorum apostolorum ad Graecam veritatem castigatae Calvin, John CNTC Calvin's New Testament Commentaries. 12 vols. CO Ioannis Calvini opera quae supersunt omnia, 59 vols. CTS Calvin’s Commentaries. 45 vols. Calvin Translation Society. Inst. Institutio religionis christianae / Institutes of the Christian Religion McNeill-Battles Battles, trans. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 2 vols. Ed., McNeill. Catharinus, Ambrosius Comm. Commentaria in omnes Divi Pauli et alias septem canonicas epistolas Chrysostom, John Hom. In epistulam I ad Corinthios homiliae Colet, John En. prim. ad Cor. Enarratio in Primam epistolam S. Pauli ad Corinthios CCCM Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina vi CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum de Gagny, Jean Schol. Breuissima et facillima in omnes D. Pauli epistolas scholia Denis the Carthusian Comm. In omnes beati Pauli epistolas commentaria Ephrem the Syrian Comm. Commentarii in epistolas D. Pauli nunc primum ex Armenio in Latinum Erasmus, Desiderius Paraphr. Paraphrases in epistolam Pavli ad Corinthios priorem Glossa ordinaria Bibliorum sacrorum cum glossa ordinaria, vol. 6 Gloss marginal gloss interlinear interlinear gloss Gregory the Great Conc. Concordia quorumdam testimoniorum S. Scripturae (PL79) Dial. Dialogorum libri IV (SC251, 260, 265) HEv. Homiliae in Evangelia (PL76) HEz. Homiliae in Hiezechielem (CCSL142) Mor. Moralia in Iob (CCSL143, 143A, 143B) Guilliaud, Claude Coll. Collatio in omnes divi Pauli apostoli Epistolas Hemmingsen, Neils Comm. Commentarius In Utramque Epistolam Pauli Apostoli Ad Corinthos, vol. 1 Hoffmeister, Johann In utr. ad Cor. Hom. In utrasque S. Pauli ad Corinthios epistolas Homilie Hugh of St. Cher In ep. omn. D. Pauli Opera omnia in universum vetus, & novum testamentum, vol. 7 Rep. apostil. Repertorium apostillarum utruisque testamenti domini Hugonis Cardinalis, vol. 6 ad. litt. ad litteram exp. gloss. expositio glossae moral. moraliter Lefèvre d'Étaples, Jacques S. Pauli Ep. S. Pauli epistolae XIV Maior, Georg En. prim. ad Cor. Enarratio primae epistolae Pauli ad Corinthios Melanchthon, Philipp Annot. Annotationes ad Corinthios duas vii Meyer, Sebastian Comm. In utramque D. Pauli epistolam ad Corinthios commentarii Musculus, Wolfgang Comm. In ambas apostoli Pauli ad Corinthios epistolas commentarii Nicholas of Amiens Comm. Porr. Commentarius Porretanus in primam epistolam ad Corinthios Nicolas of Gorran Postil. Postilla elucidativa et magistralis super epistolas Pauli Nicholas of Lyra Bibliorum sacrorum cum glossa ordinaria, vol. 6 Olivi, Peter of John Postil. Postilla in Isaiam et in I ad Corinthios Origen fr. Jenkins, “Origen on I Corinthians” = fr. 1-16; Jenkins, “Origen on I Corinthians II” = fr. 17-32 PG Patrologia Cursus Completus, Series Graeca PL Patrologia Cursus Completus, Series Latina Pellikan, Konrad Comm. Commentaria bibliorum, vol. 7 Primaticci, Gregorio Lit. exp. ep. Pauli Literalis expositio omnium epistolarum divi Pauli Robert of Melun Qu. ep. Pauli Quaestiones de epistolis Pauli Vermigli, Peter Martyr In prior. ad Cor. In selectissimam D. Pauli priorem ad Corinthios Epistolam Zwingli, Ulrich Ep. aliq. Pauli In Evangelicum historiam de domino nostro Iesu Christo Epistolasque aliquot Pauli viii Declaration This work has been submitted to the University of Durham in accordance with the regulations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. It is my own work, and none of it has been previously submitted to the University of Durham or any other university. Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any format, including electronic, without the author’s prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. ix x Acknowledgments It is appropriate in a thesis about the teaching and learning of theology that an author be acutely aware of the many debts, not least educational, that he or she owes. I have been blessed, during my time at the University of Durham and in previous studies, with many wonderful teachers of theology, professionally or otherwise. First mention belongs to Ted Leck who, as my youth pastor, lent me a copy of Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship and so unintentionally sent me into the wide and bright world of theology. From him I learned much of what I still value about knowing God. Among past professors, I think especially of Mark Bowald at Redeemer, who pushed me to think theologically, and Don Wood at Aberdeen, whose course of readings in the theological interpretation of John 4 had much to do with the methodology and themes I choose to take up in this thesis. A very great thanks is owed to Mark McIntosh, my first doctoral supervisor, who accepted a proposal on Bonaventure, Cassian and Evagrius and got this instead. His intellectual generosity and intense—what shall I call it?—empathy for ideas arising from the Christian past is somehow matched by his encouragement, concern and hospitality. As all his students can say, Mark has given me much. I also owe a great deal to Lewis Ayres, who took over as my primary supervisor upon Mark’s return to Chicago. Lewis, thankfully, was willing to take on the project as it stood and see it through to the finish. He is, one could say, the practical complement to Mark’s speculative and offered very helpful advice regarding the material of the thesis, the academic process and what comes after all this. To Lewis, many thanks. I must thank, in addition, Prof.