find Paul engaging, such questions are only of academic interest (that is, they are thought worth pursuing only by students who are assured that “they will be on the exam”). The immediate task, then, is to engage. Nor should anyone confuse what follows with a commentary on the details of the epistle. The goal here is to make comprehensible the major components of Paul’s vision of life as they are touched upon in his most important letter. I should perhaps say (the industry will expect it) that the