The Malady of the Christian Body: A Theological Exposition of Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, Volume 1

by Brian Brock, Bernd Wannenwetsch, Stanley Hauerwas (Foreword)

The ailments of the contemporary church are remarkably similar to those suffered by the fractious Corinthian church in the first century. This is the challenge presented in The Malady of the Christian Body, a two-volume commentary by Brian Brock and Bernd Wannenwetsch. The manner in which Paul engages questions of factionalism, sexuality, legal conflict, idolatry, dress codes, and eating habits reveals that neither the malady he diagnoses nor the therapy he offers track the dominant accounts currently on offer of the malaise suffered by today's church. This volume depicts the Apostle as carefully examining the organic whole that is the body of Christ in order to detect obstacles to the healthy flow of powers that sustain its life. The therapy that is then offered comes by way of a redirection of the Corinthian believers' attention to the ways in which they can embrace God's active working among them to heal their broken unity. This book breaks new ground in crossing and reconfiguring the traditional disciplinary boundaries between biblical studies, systematic theology, and theological ethics.

"Thick--that is the word that comes to mind for characterizing this extraordinary commentary. 'Thick' is sometimes associated with 'slow, ' but I am using the term to indicate the richness of the theological readings of Paul offered in this book. I think they touch on every theological issue we confront today. As a result I cannot imagine another resource taking its place for many years." --Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Emeritus Professor of Divinity and Law, Duke University

"While theological readings of Scripture often glide over the text, this one plunges into it. The authors' interpretations are sometimes controversial, often highly original, and always theologically rich and insightful. Most importantly, they invite the reader to participate in their own act and practice of reading 1 Corinthians from and for the church. It is an invitation any theologian or Christian ethicist--indeed, any Christian--would do well to accept." --Gerald McKenny, Walter Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame; author of The Analogy of Grace: Karl Barth's Moral Theology

"How are we to learn to hear Paul in such a way that we also may be convicted by his writings to the Corinthians? All too often our hermeneutical preliminaries, historical contextualizations, and efforts to find coherence serve as unconscious stratagems for evading the apostle's message. By helping us to learn to read Paul over against ourselves, Brian Brock and Bernd Wannenwetsch's immensely rewarding and illuminating commentary on 1 Corinthians points us the way to the Christ who is profoundly and truly for us." --Robert Song, Durham University

Brian Brock is Reader in Moral and Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen. He is the author of Singing the Ethos of God, Christian Ethics in a Technological Age, and most recently, Captive to Christ, Open to the World.

Bernd Wannenwetsch was Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics at the University of Oxford, Chair in Theological Ethics at the University of Aberdeen and the president of the Society for the Study of Christian Ethics. His publications include Political Worship, Guter schneller Tod?, and Verlangen.

Genres: Theology

280 pages, Paperback

Published November 8, 2016

Reviews

[Pat O'Keeffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This (and the following volume) is an excellent commentary, not because it delivers clear and agreeable answers to every question raised in the text, but because of the clarity of its theological approach to the Scriptures. Indeed, reading it might raise more questions for you than you came with, for the commentators do not shirk the hard questions raised by the text. Rather than creating distance between the original recipients of Paul's letter and modern readers, the writers encourage us to sit down with the Corinthian church and allow ourselves to be directly addressed by the apostle. This is far more challenging, thought-provoking, and practical than any other modern commentary I have read. I would highly recommend it to you, both for your study of 1 Corinthians, but also as a commendable example of the theological interpretation of Scripture. You may not agree with every conclusion, but you will be greatly served by their reverent expectation that the Scriptures speak powerfully into the life of the church in every age.

[Ben Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was in some ways frustrating, even annoying. Written very specifically for an academic audience (why?), they claim to be giving a complete and innovative new reading, but often leave their understanding understated. There were gaps, with key issues skipped our glossed over. Many words used to say very little. Like other writers I can think of, there's a cloying 'we're very clever, and everyone else is very stupid' vibe throughout. So why the four stars? Because it was sufficiently fresh and innovative to make me think again and in new ways about many, many passages across 1 Corinthians.