Paul and the Rhetoric of Reconciliation

by Mitchell, Margaret Mary

• ISBN13: 9780664221775
• ISBN10: 0664221777
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-06-01
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

This work casts new light on the genre, function, and composition of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Margaret Mitchell thoroughly documents her argument that First Corinthians was a single letter, not a combination of fragments, whose aim was to persuade the Corinthian Christian community to become unified.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Note on Citations	xiii
Introduction to the Task and Methodology	1	(19)
Corinthians as Deliberative Rhetoric	20	(45)
Excursus: Ancient Deliberative Speeches and Letters	21	(3)
The Time Frame of Deliberative Rhetoric	24	(1)
The Appeal to Advantage in Deliberative Rhetoric	25	(14)
The Deliberative Appeal to Advantage in 1 Corinthians	33	(6)
The Use and Function of Examples in Deliberative Rhetoric	39	(21)
The Call to Imitation in the Deliberative Use of Example	42	(5)
Proof by Example in 1 Corinthians	47	(2)
Paul's Use of Himself as an Example for Imitation in 1 Corinthians	49	(1)
Exacursus: Paraenesis and Deliberative Rhetoric	50	(10)
Factionalism and Concord in Deliberative Rhetoric	60	(5)
Thematic and Rhetorical Unity in 1 Corinthians: The Language of Factionalism and Reconciliation	65	(119)
The Questions and the Argument	65	(3)
Political Terms in 1 Cor 1:10	68	(13)
Excursus: The Descriptive Significance of the Term	71	(10)
Political Terms and Topoi Introduced in 1 Cor 1:11-4:21	81	(30)
Excursus: The Form of the ``Slogans'' in 1:12	83	(16)
The Building Metaphor for Concord in 1 Corinthians	99	(12)
References to Corinthian Factionalism in 1 Cor 5-16	111	(69)
1 Corinthians 5. The Proper Mix for Unity	112	(4)
1 Corinthians 6	116	(1)
Legal Disputes at Corinth	116	(2)
Freedom, Individuality and Division	118	(3)
1 Corinthians 7. Domestic Discord	121	(5)
1 Cor 8-10. Factionalism, Freedom and Compromise	126	(1)
1 Corinthians 8	126	(2)
Offense and Factionalism	128	(2)
1 Corinthians 9. Freedom and Accommodation	130	(8)
1 Corinthians 10	138	(1)
The Negative Example of the Wilderness Generation	138	(3)
Unity in Sharing the Same Rituals	141	(1)
Factionalism and the Common Advantage	142	(5)
``Pleasing Everyone''-the Description of the Non-Factionalist	147	(2)
1 Corinthians 11	149	(1)
Divisive Customs at Corinth	149	(2)
Divisions and ``Coming Together''	151	(6)
1 Corinthians 12. The Body Metaphor for Unity	157	(8)
1 Corinthians 13. Love as the Antidote to Factionalism	165	(6)
1 Corinthians 14. Disunity at Worship	171	(4)
1 Corinthians 15. Controversy over the Resurrection	175	(2)
1 Corinthians 16. Final Matters of Concern	177	(3)
Summation of Terms and Topoi Related to Factionalism in 1 Corinthians	180	(2)
Conclusions	182	(2)
Compositional Analysis: 1 Corinthians as a Unified Deliberative Letter Urging Concord	184	(112)
Outline of Epistolary and Rhetorical Structure of 1 Corinthians	184	(2)
Preliminary Remarks on the Composition of 1 Corinthians	186	(6)
Compositional Analysis	192	(104)
1:1-3 Epistolary Prescript	192	(2)
1:4-9 Epistolary Thanksgiving/Rhetorical	194	(3)
1:10-15:58 Epistolary Body	197	(1)
1:10 Thesis Statement to the Deliberative Argument	198	(2)
1:11-17 Statement of Facts	200	(2)
1:18-15:57 Proofs	202	(5)
1:18-4:21 First Section of Proof: Censure of Corinthian Factionalism and the Need for Paul's Advice	207	(6)
Epideictic Elements in 1:18-4:21	213	(12)
5:1-11:1 Second Section of Proof: The Integrity of the Corinthian Community Agaist Outside Defilement	225	(3)
5:1-7:40 and Group Solidarity	228	(1)
5:1-13 A Case of	228	(2)
6:1-11 Court Battles	230	(2)
6:12-20 A Second Case of, with Treatment By General Principles	232	(3)
7:1-40 Marriage and Status	235	(2)
8:1-11:1 Idol Meats, Freedom and Group Unity	237	(4)
8:1-13 Idol Meats and Division. First Treatment	241	(2)
9:1-27 Exemplary Argument: The Proper Use of Freedom for the Common Good	243	(7)
10:1-13 The Negative Example of the Wilderness Generation	250	(4)
10:14-22 Idolatry, Second Treatment: Cultic Unity as Norm and Standard	254	(2)
10:23-11:1 Final Appeal to the Common Advantage as Opposed to Factionalism. Conclusion to the Second Section of Proof	256	(2)
11:2-14:40 Third Section of Proof: Manifestations of Corinthian Factionalism When ``Coming Together''	258	(2)
11:2-16 Divisive Customs in Worship	260	(3)
11:17-34 Divisions in the Lord's Supper	263	(3)
12:1-14:40 Spiritual Gifts and Unity	266	(1)
12:1-31a Spiritual Gifts, First Treatment. The Body of Christ: Corinthian Unity in Diversity	267	(3)
12:31b-14:1a Exemplary Argument: The Gift of Love as the Antidote to Factionalism	270	(9)
14:1b-40 Spiritual Gifts, Second Treatment. Unity in Diversity of Language	279	(4)
15:1-57 Fourth Section of Proof: The Resurrection as the Final Goal. Unity in the	283	(7)
15:58 Conclusion/ Summation to the Argument in the Body of the Letter	290	(1)
16:1-24 Epistolary Closing	291	(2)
16:1-4 Instructions on the Collection	293	(1)
16:5-12 Visit plans (Paul, Apollos, Timothy)	293	(1)
16:13-18 Recapitulation of the Argument. Final Concrete Advice for Unity	294	(1)
16:19-21 Epistolary Greetings	294	(1)
16:22-24 Final Curse and Prayer Calling for Unity in Love and in Jesus Christ	294	(2)
Conclusion	296	(9)
Bibliography	305	(22)
Reference Works	305	(1)
Ancient Sources: Texts, Editions, Translations	306	(5)
Secondary Literature Consulted	311	(16)
Indices	327	(1)
Passages Cited	327	(1)
Old Testament and Apocrypha	327	(1)
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and Other Jewish Writings	328	(3)
New Testament	331	(13)
Early Christian Literature and the Ancient Church	344	(4)
Greek and Latin Texts	348	(25)
Modern Authors	373