Gordon Fee's work on I Corinthians is a contribution to The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Prepared by some of the world's leading scholars, the series provides an exposition of the New Testament books that is thorough and fully abreast of modern scholarship yet faithful to the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God.

THE TIME OF THE REIGN OF CHRIST IN 1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-28 IN LIGHT OF EARLY CHRISTIAN SESSION THEOLOGY

The First Epistle to the Corinthians

The Time of the Reign of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 in Light of Early Christian Session Theology

According to the family values that characterized the cultures in which Jesus of Nazareth and Paul of Tarsus were socialized, the authority of fathers over their children was unquestioned and almost without limits. All children were taught that filial piety was essential to life; obedience was expected of even grown sons and daughters as long as their fathers were alive, including acquiescing to the marriages that fathers were expected to arrange to increase their family's honor. The historical Jesus undermined the authority of fathers in general and rejected the obligations of blood-family ties. Paul of Tarsus then sought to put into effect Jesus' strategy, including ignoring completely the authority of fathers when advising his readers regarding marriage, divorce, and celibacy. For both Jesus and Paul, rejecting patriarchal authority was the first step toward their creating a new kind of family: faith-related brothers and sisters—without a traditional father.

Who Should Be Called Father? Paul of Tarsus between the Jesus Tradition and Patria Potestas

PAUL’S APPARENT REVERSAL OF CONCERN FOR THE WEAK BROTHER IN 1 CORINTHIANS 10:29B-30: AN EXAMINATION OF THE TEXT IN LIGHT OF GRECO-ROMAN RHETORIC by Moses Oladele Taiwo Adviser: W. Larry Richards Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout permission. ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHOF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: PAUL’S APPARENT REVERSAL OF CONCERN FOR THE WEAK BROTHER IN 1 CORINTHIANS 10:29B-30: AN EXAMINATION OF THE TEXT IN LIGHT OF GRECO-ROMAN RHETORIC Name o f researcher Moses Oladele Taiwo Name and degree of faculty adviser W. Larry Richards, PhD. Date completed: September 2002 Problem In I Cor 8:l-10:29a, Paul has been consistently on the side o f the brother in 8:11 whose conscience is weak to eat food offered to idols. But, in 10:29b-30, he seems to reverse himself, here suggesting that one should be able to eat anything regardless o f its provenance or the effect such eating may have on others. Or, what should be made o f the two questions asked in the text that appear neither fitted to the context nor directly answered by what precedes and follows in the discussion of eiScoAoOura in 8:1-11:1? Approach Scholars have employed various methodological interpretations in search for the contextual meaning o f the two questions asked in I Cor 10:29b-30 without a solution. Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout permission. However, no one has treated the two questions asked in the passage as an argumentative device intended to resolve the problem o f eating idol food discussed throughout 8:1-11:1. in order to understand the function o f l0:29b-30 in Paul’s argumentation, my research agenda is laid out in the following manner. First, following the introductory chapter, the four broader issues where no consensus exists are discussed in chapter 2 because they in no small measure impact the understanding of the two questions asked in 1 Cor l0:29b-30. For example, the view that Paul intervened in two different ways has led to the partitioning of chaps. 8 and 10 into 8:1-13 + 10:23-11:1 where it is argued Paul allows the eating o f idol food, and 10:1-22 where the same food is denounced, is informed by the content of 10:29b-30. Because Paul defends a position of not eating on account o f the weak brother, the view is found inadequate upon examination o f l0:29b-30 in its contexts. Second, the examination o f I Cor 10:29b-30 in the larger context o f 8:1-10:22 (chapter 3) and the narrower context o f 10:23-11:1 (chapter 4) suggests a unified deliberative rhetorical argumentation that characterizes 1 Corinthians. Paul’s deliberative rhetoric, as those in the classical handbooks of Greco-Roman rhetoric, reveals that the two rhetorical questions in l0:29b-30 function in two ways. First, they are asked to dissuade the “strong” from setting a bad example for the “weak” by participating in idol feasts. Second, they help to persuade the strong to adopt Paul’s own behavioral patterns following their wrong use o f knowledge (chap. 8), exercised in the name o f authority or “rights” (chap. 9), and freedom (chap. 10). Thus, the two questions asked in the passage belong to one o f the three proofs (irioreic) Paul used to persuade the strong to consider the weak brother (vss. 29b-33) before his final appeal in 11:1. Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout permission. Conclusion My investigation of the function o f the two rhetorical questions asked in I Cor 10:29b-30 reveals some of the problems in the interpretation o f 1 Corinthians in general, and 8:1-11:1, in particular. However, Paul’s use o f the deliberative rhetorical device provides insights to resolve the problems o f understanding the passage against other rhetorical species and methods. The device helps to account for I0:29b-30 as Paul’s means of disarming the strong in their wrong use o f freedom, and his reason for choosing not to eat idol food because o f his concerns for the weak brother. Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout permission.

Paul's Apparent Reversal of Concern for the Weak Brother in l Corinthians 10:29B-30: an Examination of the Text in Light of Greco-Roman Rhetoric

This article surveys research on the figure of Satan in Jewish and Christian writings from the Old Testament, the Pseudepigrapha, the Qumran literature, and the New Testament. Following an introduction which notes early scholarly ignorance of Satan as a subject in and of itself, the article then proceeds according to the individual writings within the aforementioned groups. The overview will demonstrate that, while certain references to Satan have been discussed more often, typically due to their controversial nature (e.g., 1 Chron. 21.1; Lk. 10.19), others have been largely overlooked and require further consideration.

The First Epistle to the Corinthians

Citations

The Time of the Reign of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 in Light of Early Christian Session Theology

Who Should Be Called Father? Paul of Tarsus between the Jesus Tradition and Patria Potestas

Paul's Apparent Reversal of Concern for the Weak Brother in l Corinthians 10:29B-30: an Examination of the Text in Light of Greco-Roman Rhetoric

The Devil in the Details: A Survey of Research on Satan in Biblical Studies:

Imagining the Scandal of the Cross with Graphic/Novel Reading