From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Tue Oct 10 1995 - 08:52:47 EDT
At 11:13 PM 10/9/95, David Moore wrote:
. . .
> A look at Paul's attitude toward the gifts as such bears this out.
>One can see this attitude in his congratulation of the Corinthians, "For
>in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of
>every kind - just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among
>you - so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for
>the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1C. 1:5-7). His teaching on the
>body of Christ in the context of chapters 12-14 is a strong argument for
>the operation of the spiritual gifts in concert and implies that Paul
>envisions a church in which the multiple gifts may all function in harmony
>for the good of the body as a whole (12:12-31). This interpretation is
>also borne out in 14:26 in non-metaphorical language.
I appreciate this response, David, and I grant that there must be different
ways of interpreting these texts. I think that styles of worship must have
been a significant point of difference even in the first century and before
the destruction of Jerusalem, and I think the broad spectrum of worship
practices in Christendom today can find a basis in the variety reflected in
the NT texts. I think we shall have to agree to disagree on the
interpretation of 1 Cor 12-14, however, and I don't see much point in
carrying further that discussion.
The only point I would like to make here, however, and I may be sticking my
neck way out, is that I believe the passage you've cited in the paragraph
above, 1 Cor 1:5-7, is one of the most ironic in the entire letter, and
particularly the statement in 1:7, hWSTE MH hUSTEREISQAI EN MHDENI
XARISMATI -- but also in 1:5 EN PANTI EPLOUTISQHTE EN AUTWi, EN PANTI LOGWi
KAI PASHi GNWSEI. It seems to me that he displays what he really thinks
about the spiritual accomplishments of the Corinthian congregation in
3:1-3: OUK HDUNHQHN LALHSAI hUMIN hWS PNEUMATIKOIS ALL' hWS SARKINOIS, hWS
NHPIOIS EN XRISTWi. GALA hUMAS EPOTISA, OU BRWMA: OUPW GAR EDNASQE, ALL
OUDE ETI NUN DUNASQE, ETI GAR SARKINOI ESTE ... Chapter 2 bashes their high
regard for rhetoric and wisdom, and he continues throughout the letter to
push AGAPH wherever the Corinthians seem to be promoting GNWSIS.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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