One of the most exciting moments of my retirement, and of my time as a student of the New Testament, was when Jane and I had the opportunity to visit Ancient Corinth in 2019. This blog contains three of the many photos I took, my favourite being the one facing the Acrocorinth (Corinth’s equivalent of the Acropolis in Athens). The site is run by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and they have organised digs there annually (more or less) since 1896. Much of the material discovered and described can be found in a series of volumes called Corinth, some of which are now in the public domain and available on ASCSA’s website at: https://corinth.ascsa.net/research?v=default#Publications .

What they have discovered has been discussed widely in the world of archaeology and biblical studies, and the material remains uncovered shed much light on the social setting and conditions of what was a vibrant commercial city served by two ports, one on either side of the isthmus. The Apostle Paul spent a lot of time there and wrote several letters to the infant church in Corinth, the relationship being a bit like that between an irritated parent and a wayward child.

Little did I know then that I would spend a considerable amount of time with parts of these letters, especially Paul’s great chapter on resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15, and a much more controverted section, 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10. This latter passage is particularly significant in my present studies, and I would be grateful for your help by sharing your impressions with me.

The focus is 2 Corinthians 5:1-5, where Paul speaks of believers receiving a permanent home from God to replace the tent-house that we have now. The latter speaks of frailty and mortality, while the former gives the assurance of endurance and stability. The question is, according to 2 Corinthians 5:1-5, when do believers receive this new home? Is it at the point of death, or on the day of resurrection? Or is there another solution?

One of the fascinating follow-up questions relates to us in our time: how do we picture our friends and family who have departed this life ahead of us? I’m not going to make any suggestions so that I don’t muddy the waters, but I would appreciate hearing what you think. Are they recognisable? Do they have shape and form? Are they wispy ethereal beings? Do they have any conscious existence at all?

There are many other questions that could be asked, but my main one is this: what do you think, and why do you think it? There are lots of reasons why this is important to us as human beings who grieve the loss of loved ones, but the main one is pastoral, thinking about the comfort we can take from what we believe.

Take a moment or two to drop me a comment. I’d be very grateful to hear from you to inform my own thinking. Nothing shared on the blog will be shared anywhere else. Thanks in advance and may your thinking about this bring its own comfort.