Preparing for Dr. Ben's class

People often give me a puzzled look on campus when they find out I'm Eastern Orthodox and studying at Asbury. Their follow-up question is usually, "When did you become Orthodox?", thinking most likely that it must have been since I started my studies at Asbury. Why else would an Eastern Orthodox Christian choose to study at a Wesleyan school, when there are some very fine Orthodox seminaries in this country? When I answer that I have been Orthodox since 1987, the look in response is even more puzzling. "Why are you here then?" they ask.

The answer is Ben Witherington. When I was laid off from my job in 2009, I saw it as an opportunity to go back to school, but had no idea how to choose a graduate program. (I also had no idea that, if someone chooses to get an M.A. from a seminary in preparation for doctoral work, it is usually from one's own ecclesial tradition. Hence the puzzled look on people's faces.) I decided that I would focus on the scholars I enjoyed reading the most and see about the possibility of studying under them.

First on the list was N. T. Wright. While that would have been a dream come true, he is at the University of St. Andrews, and I knew from the start that moving to Great Britain would not be a possibility.

Next on the list was Ben Witherington here at Asbury. I had read many of his books over the previous ten years, beginning with his commentary on Acts. I had never been to Kentucky, but after my wife's visit here in 2010, we decided it would be a good move.

The ironic thing, as I prepare to graduate in December, is that I have not to date taken a single class under Dr. Witherington, nor have I met him. It seems fitting then that I will finish off my seminary education this Fall with his class on New Testament Theology.

I've been preparing by immersing myself in his books from the syllabus. This morning I was particularly interested in reading in The Problem with Evangelical Theology his thoughts on the Pauline "I" of Romans 7: In other words, when Paul says "I" in this chapter, is he merely talking about himself? Or speaking on behalf of a particular Jewish individual or Jews as a whole? Or humanity as a whole? Or is he just speaking generally of no one in particular? I was interested that he appeals to the Greek Fathers in seeking to understand Paul's thought.

This is an example of how an Eastern Orthodox Christian could be so valuable to the field of Pauline studies. So much of the so-called "New Perspective" on Paul is a reaction to Luther's reading of Paul, which was based on Augustine's reading. Yet long before Sanders, Dunn, or Wright, the Greek Fathers such as John Chrysostom offered an alternative to Augustine's understanding of many aspects of Paul's thought. I hope in my own work in the future to reintegrate them into the discussion of what Paul said and meant.

Here are some of the books I'm reading for the class, if anyone is interested: