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  • From: thevoidboy AT sprynet.com (J. Amador)
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Opponents in 1&2 Corinthians
  • Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 00:26:07 -0400 (EDT)


The major difference between what Dr. Hughes has expressed and what I
believe to be the case, is that 1) the Corinthian canonical correspondence
is not comprised of 5 letters loosely and poorly redacted, in need of a
reconstructed timeline of composition to describe its trajectory; and 2)
there are no "opponents", but groups of individuals who have received
Paul's gospel in a way unanticipated by him.

I have elaborated part 1 previously, and will dispense with further
arguments other than to note how easy it is for one to continue to adopt
the partition theory without responding to arguments to the contrary.

As for part 2: There are no "opponents", but rather groups and individuals
who have accepted and adapted Paul's message in a way that he did not
anticipate (analogous to the Galatians, who heard his message and did not
respond in a way he anticipated). "Mis"-understandings and so-called
"factionalisms" are part of Paul's rhetorical strategy of division and
shaming. However, the basis for these "mis"-understandings ends up being
the very message he delivered to the community in 1 Cor 15: the tradition
of crucifixion and resurrection. Whereas the Corinthians played out to the
fullest the resurrection theology of the message ("all things are lawful"),
the ramifications upon the social status of believers (particularly womyn
and slaves) upset Paul to such a degree that he had to dissociate their
reception from what he thought he delivered (Christ crucified). {cf. Anne
Wire, whose rhetorical reading of the Corinthian correspondence is one of
the best offered so far}

In other words, there are no "opponents". There are only those who took
Paul at his word. And he didn't like it. And the more they accepted his
message, the further away from him they went. To the degree that the
message of other missionaries struck them as more appropriate to their
circumstances (exigence).

The only opponent of Paul was himself.

To support this note only this: 1 Cor 15 seeks to deliver the "common
ground" between him and his audience, a ground shared by all, but with a
twist Paul wishes to deliver to his own rhetorical ends. What this
suggests is: the Corinthians accepted the gospel he proclaimed (15:1-7),
but in a way he did not anticipate and felt compelled to clarify
(15:12-58).

As the relationship developed, so did the differences in the understanding
of the gospel.

(And it only takes 2 canonical letters to evidence this, not 5 partial ones).

-David Amador, Ph.D.
Santa Rosa, CA


TheVoidBoy AT sprynet.com
J.D.H. Amador, Ph.D.
Dept of Humanities
Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa, CA






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