Becoming God's New Creation
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Corinth at the Time of Paul's Arrival
This page is a resource that can help you grow spiritually. Whenever you see a link Become! on a study page, click on it to find questions and activities. The activities on this page refer to our web page Corinth at the Time of Paul's Arrival and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, "Running the Race."
The sphinx: (left) Learn more about her.
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Questions and Activities
Note: If a box "Running the Race" does not pop-up when you click on the link for 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and you can't find it minimized on your desktop, click here for help.
1. Good evangelists talk and work with people in their own contexts. The biannual Isthmian games were popular in Corinth. This event was not only an athletic and artistic competition but also part of a religious ceremony. The games were held in honor of Poseidon, the Greek god of the earthquakes and water, also known as the god of the sea.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 [standard link]. How does Paul describe his method of spreading the gospel? Why might he have used the analogies of running a race and boxing? On the basis of this scripture, make a list of all of the different groups that you think Paul related to in Corinth.
2. Imagine you are Paul (or Paula!) living in today's world. Choose a real or imaginary Christian congregation to write a letter about your approach to evangelism, using 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 [standard link] as a basis.
3. Did you know that Nike is not just the name of a running shoe? It comes from a Greek word meaning
"victory" Nike's labor practices are hardly victorious, however.
Look at an Adbuster poster spoofing Nike [Standard Link, Outside]. The woman shown running barefoot is from Indonesia. In 1999, Nike gave workers in Indonesia a penny an hour increase to 15 cents an hour, $6.07 a week. Read more about Indonesians' plight working for Nike.
Jump here for an action-oriented question that invites you to participate a truly victorious race, ending child labor and other labor abuses, including those committed by the Nike corporation.
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Especially for Youth
1. Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 [standard link], especially the last part where Paul compares Christian
living to competition at a big athletic event. Did you know that the Corinthians hosted Isthmian games? It was popular event like the Olympics. (The map shows where Corinth and Olympia were located in the southern part of Greece.)
As their name suggests, the games were held on the isthmus of Greece, where the Corinth Canal is today (see photo). The canal did not exist during Paul's time.
Youth were participants in the Isthmian games:
Paul probably compared Christian living to athletics because he knew the Corinthians were either participants or big fans of the games, which were held in honor of the Greek god Poseidon [Standard Link, Outside], lord of water and earthquakes. See a sculpture of Poseidon [Standard Link]. He used the image of running as a way to get his point across.
Which point(s) do think Paul was trying to make in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 about being a New Creation in Christ:
- that there is only one winner?
- that we need to compete with each other?
- that we must constantly "exercise, be in good shape, and do our best"?
- that we must use self-control in our personal lives?
- that the way of Christ brings eternal rewards but the way of the Greek gods perishable rewards?
- that we are to always live in a way that we keep focused on Jesus Christ?
2. Have you competed in a race? Did you win or lose? How did you feel after you ran? Does Paul's analogy (comparison) of a foot race to Christian living help you understand what it is like to be a New Creation in Christ? Why or why not?
3. Do you have sneakers or running shoes? Which brand do you wear? Are certain brands of shoes more popular than others at your school? Why? Is it because they cost more? Look nicer? Because the most "popular" students wear them? How do you feel about that?
Do you know anyone who has had her or his sneakers stolen? Were they hurt? What did they do afterward? Did they report it to school authorities or the police? Why or why not? How can youth help to make their schools and communities safer places to live?
4. You have probably heard of Nike shoes and seen their ads on television and elsewhere. Do you know what the word "Nike" means?
"Nike" comes from the Greek word for "victory." Nike was the Greek goddess of Victory; she ruled over all athletic contests. Also she was was a symbol of Victory over death. See a sculpture of Nike.
A Roman woman and man wearing garlands ("perishable wreaths"), detail of a wall painting in the tablinum of House of Caecilius, Pompeii. Credit: Paula Chabot
Paul used a version of the Greek word "Nike" in his first letter to Corinth:
When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
"Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
Did you know that today Nike has become a name associated not just with cool shoes but with sweatshops? Sweatshops are places where people, even children and youth, must work long hours under harsh conditions for unfair wages. The cartoon below expresses one view of Nike: that it treats overseas workers like slaves. What do you think?
Learn more about sweatshops and child labor by reading the next section and materials it links to. Run a good race by helping others. Become victorious through Jesus Christ, who gives us strength to run even a marathon.
Note: Youth will enjoy other activities on this page; adults can also participate here. The questions above refer to Corinth at the Time of Paul's Arrival and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, "Running the Race."
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Running the Good Race
The Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church participates with a coalition of church and secular groups, including the National Labor Committee, in the End Child Labor and Sweat Shop Abuses Campaign. The links below will give you information and suggestions about what you can do to help. Press your "BACK" button at the top of your browser to return to this page.
Child Labor and Sweat Shop Links
Greek History and Athletics
Nike unbinding her sandal: relief figure from parapet of the Temple of Athena Nike, Athens. ca. 415-410 B.C. (bigger image, 35K)
Paul's Letters to the Corinthians
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Notes and Credits
The photo of the sculpture of Nike is from AICT's "Ancient Art and Architecture" at http://www.mcad.edu/AICT/html/ancient/GS/gs057.html.
The picture the art from Pompeii was taken by Paul Chabot. It is a resource from the VRoma Project.
The photograph(s) by Allan R. Brockway are used with his permission. Please credit him and the web page on Corinth, which Thomas Price has written. For many years, Allan Brockway was "specialist" in Jewish Christian Relations with the World Council of Churches in Geneva and an educator in Judaism and Christianity at the Selly Oak Colleges and the University of Birmingham (England). Thomas Price earned his Ph.D. in theology from Boston University and worked for the General Board of Church and Society for 10 years. He works for the Social Security Administration and teaches adult Bible classes in Paul and the historical Jesus at St. Matthew's UMC, Bowie, Maryland. The web site grew out of his research on Paul before and after a tour of Greece and Turkey in the "footsteps of Paul."
Disclaimer: Some links jump to outside sites for further information on Corinthians, the Bible, Paul, and other resources. Links do not constitute an endorsement by the Women's Division of the information on other web sites. External web sites offer us diverse perspectives; afford us an opportunity to compare them to United Methodist positions; and, encourage us to critically analyze the issues raised by the Corinthians web pages.
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