Ancient Anglican

A surface reading of this verse leads to the interpretation that 1) members of the Corinthian congregation were being vicariously baptized for the benefit of those who had already died and 2) Paul has no objection to the practice.

These verses, at least in the modern context, challenge us in the use of proof-texting Scripture.  Taking a particular verse of Scripture in which to build a position can be dangerous.

The overall principle that Paul desires is a mature, edifying, decent, and orderly worship.

Beginnning in Chapter 11, Paul argues that divisions are overcome by discerning the body of Christ within the Eucharist and the Church. In this way, we realize that divisions are not based upon Christ but secondary issues. We make this discovery through the recognition of the primacy of love in Chapter 13.

Since Jesus commands us to love our enemies, how must be apply the love described in verses 4-7 to that person?

Like Plato’s Republic, within this chapter, Paul is providing us with a different type of community with Jesus as Lord and each of us performing a specific function or office within this new unified undivided community.

As you read through this chapter notice the different lists of gifts that Paul sets forth and the fact that 1) everyone has a gift, and 2) no one has all the gifts.

Within his struggle with scriptural interpretation, Augustine concludes his discussion with the idea that all of Scripture and any reading we would give to a particular passage must be ordered by the two great precepts of love of God and love of neighbor “for otherwise we make God a liar.”

The allevation of women having to cover their heads in church raises two questions: 1) upon what grounds does the church have the authority to dispense with a clear biblical directive (there are a lot more directives the church has let go of in the last century) and 2) what is the underlying principle of Paul’s directive and how do we continue to carry out that instruction today.

Although Augustine says we should be open to alternative interpretations of Scripture, one of the rules he lays down is that the Scriptures should not be given a nonsensical interpretation that contradicts our reason and observations of the natural world.

Here, Paul speaks of the cloud (Holy Spirit), the sea (baptism), and the food and drink (Eucharist) that those in the Exodus experienced just as the Church now experiences their fulfillment.

A person’s insistence that their interpretation of Scripture is the “correct one” stems not from “vision but from vanity” and love of themselves and not of God. True humility and charity requires we be able to equally love someone else’s true opinion of the Scriptures. Augustine – On Christian Doctrine