Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Good Questions, Good Answers: Dever on 1 Corinthians 7

A good practice for good reading is to ask good questions of the text.

Mark Dever models this for us with regard to 1 Corinthians 7. In an appendix to his book, Twelve Challenges Churches Face, Dever asks the following questions:
  • In 1 Corinthians 7:1 is Paul teaching that it is good for a man not to touch a woman or is that a Corinthian teaching that Paul is commenting on?
  • Is singleness better than marriage (1 Cor. 7:1, 8, 35, 38, 40)?
  • Does Paul think sex is bad (1 Cor. 7:6)?
  • Is divorce allowed (1 Cor. 7:10–16)?
  • Is remarriage okay (1 Cor. 7:11, 15, 39)?
  • What is "the present crisis" (1 Cor. 7:26)?
  • What does it mean for the married to act as if they're not married (1 Cor. 7:29)?
  • Does 1 Corinthians 7:29–35 teach asceticism?
For the answers, check out Lydia Brownback's blog post, and/or get the book.