4. Date and Place of Writing. From 1 Cor 16:8 it is clear that this letter was written at Ephesus; and from 1 Cor 16:5, where there is a question of a proximate visit to Macedonia, it is also clear that it was written toward the end of the Apostle’s sojourn in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, very probably in the spring of the year 57; for it was about this time that Timothy and Erastus were sent to Macedonia (Acts 19:22), just shortly before the tumult stirred up by Demetrius (Acts 19:23 ff.), following which St Paul left Asia.  That the Epistle was written around Paschal time also seems very probable from the allusions in it to the Pasch, to unleavened bread (5:6-7; 15:20, 23; 16:15), and to the Resurrection of Christ (15:4, 12).  Cornely thinks it was written in 58.  The exact time depends on the date assigned to the close of St Paul’s stay in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, and since this cannot be fixed with entire certainty and precision, the date given for the writing of the Epistle can be only approximate.

The Epistle was probably carried to Corinth by the delegates who had come from there to Ephesus, namely Stephanus, Fortanatus and Achaicus.  This is according to the note attached to the end of the letter in the Received Text.  That Timothy could not have delivered the letter to the Corinthians, as some have said, seems evident from the fact that he had departed for Macedonia before it was completed.

5. Authenticity and Canonicity. The authenticity of this Epistle has been so universally accepted by critics of practically every school that it seems hardly necessary to cite arguments in proof of it.  Even the German Rationalists of the Tubingen School admitted as genuine the Epistles to the Corinthians, the Romans and the Galatians.  A few minor objections to 1 Corinthians have in recent times been raised by such Rationalists as Bruno Baur, Nabor, Pierson and Loman; but they are too insignificant to merit any serious attention.  It will be sufficient, therefore, to give some of the principle proofs for its genuineness and canonicity.

(a) External proofs.  This Epistle was certainly known to the earliest ecclesiastical writers.  Clement of Rome, who was the friend and companion of St Paul (Phil 4:3), and later Bishop of Rome (Euseb., Hist. Eccl. 111. 4), in his first letter to the Corinthians (47:1-3) wrote about the year 98 as follows: “Take up the Epistle of the blessed Apostle Paul.  What did he write to you at the time when the Gospel first began to be preached?  Truly, under the inspiration of the Spirit, he wrote to you concerning himself and Cephas, and Apollo, because even the parties had been formed among you,” etc.  Polycarp, the disciple of St John the Evangelist, in his letter to the Philippians (11:2) cites 1 Cor 6:2, attributing it directly to St Paul: “Do we not know that the saints shall judge the world, as Paul teaches.”  The enumeration of the vices of the Philippians given by Polycarp in the same letter is exactly parallel with 1 Cor 6:9-10, and terminates with the very words of the Apostle: “They shall not possess the Kingdom of God.”  In the Greek edition of the letters of St Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (circa 98-117), there are many quotations from this Epistle.  St Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons and a disciple of Polycarp, cites (Adv. Haer. 111. 11, 9; 18, 2) the Epistle over sixty times, often observing that it is the work of St Paul and was written to the Corinthians.  Clement of Alexandria (Pædag. 1. 6) and Tertullian (De rusur. mort. 18) also cites 1 Corinthians a great number of times, and frequently by name.  Many other authorities might be given in proof of the authorship of this Epistle, but it will be sufficient to add that it was also admitted as authentic by Basilides, Marcion and other heretics of the first centuries.

(b) Internal proofs.  Even a casual examination of the nature and contents of the present Epistle shows beyond question that it was written by St Paul.  Its historical facts and dogmatic teaching, its peculiarity of language and style, the manner in which it refers to the Old Testament, the characteristic way in which arguments are developed, beginning with general principles and coming to particular conclusions, the personal touches which it bears on every page,-all prove conclusively that it could not have been written by anybody except the Apostle Paul.  Moreover, all that we otherwise known of St Paul and of Corinth we find to be in perfect agreement with the information furnished by this Epistle.  As Charles Baur has said (Der Apostel Paulus, Stuttgart, 1845, vil. I, p. 260), “this letter is tis own guarantee of authenticity; for more than any other writing of the New Testament, it carries us to the living midst of the a Church in formation and gives us an inner view of the development of the new life called forth by Christianity.”

Our Sunday Visitor. Good online stuff. Resources for purchase.

Catholic Culture.

Recommended Reading. Of in-print books, provided by the Diocese of Harrisburg. Some fine suggestions.

Audio:

EWTN Live. Online audio of Father Mitch Pacwa and Dr. Scott Hahn discussing the Year of St Paul

The Gospel According To St Paul. An online six week Scripture study by Dr. Scott Hahn. The audio for week one is a bit “soft” but don’t let this stop you.

Online Books:

My Biblical Commentaries Page. You can find many links to online books relating to St Paul’s writing

My Year of St Paul Page.  A page of this blog (see the link below blog title).  There may be some overlap of content between this post and the contents of that page.

St Thomas Aquinas’ Commentary of Romans Links to his other commentaries on Paul HERE

On Paul’s World and Time by Pope Benedict XVI.  This begins a new catechesis for his Wednesday Audiences.

An Audio Documentary on Paul’s Life  a 6 part series.  Rather liberal, but some useful stuff

Paul, Who Are You?  By Pauline Books and Media.  Brief, check out the links at the end to more brief articles.

See additional links on my Year of St Paul Page.  A permanent link to this page is listed under this blogs title.  That page will be updated periodically.  If anyone comes across news items or blog posts of interest,please let me know.

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Ephesians 

Philippians 

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy 

Titus 

Philemon 

Galatians

UPDATE:  No bus was in sight (sigh).  The hand out sheet I had intended on distributing (see below) was a bust, the copying machine was on jamming.  In addition, I said I wouldn’t whine about this, but I’m a liar.  On Sunday night, at about 9:30 PM my computer crashed as I was doing my third and last re-write of my talk.  Needless to say, I lost everything except my original rough draft, so the talk was very unpolished.  Most people said they were pleased with the talk, but I’m thinking they were just being polite.
Here are the handout sheets which will help people identify the cities and regions associated with St Paul. They come from the website of Father Felix Just, S.J.

Here are some of the resources I used in preparing the talk:

McKenzie’s Dictionary of the Bible by Father John McKenzie, S.J.

The Jerome Biblical Commentary

The New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture

New World Dictionary-Concordance to the New American Bible

According To Paul by Father Joseph Fitzmyer, S.J.

Acts of Apostles, Sacra Pagina Series, by Luke Timothy Johnson

Check out the resources I’ve gathered on St Paul HERE and HERE.  I’ll be adding more throughout the year.  Soon I’ll have a page dedicated to the Year of St Paul.  The link will be located under my blog’s title.

See the previous list of resources HERE.

ONLINE BOOKS:
1 Corinthians Commentary by Father Cornelius a Lapide
2 Corinthians & Galatians by Father Lapide

1 Thessalonians by St Thomas Aquinas
1 Corinthians Aquinas
2 Corinthians Aquinas
Galatians Aquinas
Romans Aquinas
Philippians Aquinas
Colossians Aquinas
Ephesians Aquinas
Philemon Aquinas

William of St. Thierry’s Reception of Origen’s Exegesis of Romans by Thomas Scheck

Haydock Bible Commentary

AUDIO/VIDEO:

• In The Footsteps Of St Paul By Father Mitch Pacwa. Thirteen one-half hour shows on the Apostle’s First Letter to Corinth.
  Ephesians. By Father Mitch Pacwa
• A Brief Life Of Paul YouTube video
• A Tour of the Basilica Of St Paul Outside The Walls YouTube video

PRINT: Available online

• An Introduction To The Pauline Letters (PDF) by Father Dom Henry Wansbrough. Somewhat liberal
• An Introduction To Acts Of Apostles By Father Dom Henry Wansbrough. Somewhat liberal.
• Plans to Romans Fr. D.H. Wansbrough. Various study outlines present from different studies and commentaries.
• Why Did Paul Write Romans? Fr D.H. Wansbrough
• Paul’s Teaching On The Law In Romans Fr D.H. Wansbrough
• Notes On St Paul Father Joseph Rickaby. Quite dated but still of some use. I suggest using the PDF format. The site may take a while to load.
• Lector Notes Notes on the Sunday readings posted by a Catholic Deacon.
• Commentary On The Pauline Epistles by Father William Most

WEB SITES:

• Our Sunday Visitor A page dedicated to the Pauline year
• Man Of Three Cultures Celebrating the Year of St Paul
• All About Turkey Info on Paul.  A good bit of Paul’s activity took place in what is modern day Turkey

PRINT books for purchase

• Witness of the Messiah on Acts 1-15
• Envoy of the Messiah On Acts 16-28

AUDIO/VIDEO For purchase