A Tale of Two Churches by UnChan Jung

Author:UnChan Jung
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: De Gruyter
Published: 2021-09-06T09:18:10.270000+00:00

Paul’s various delineations of the Corinthians’ social connections with non-believers are scattered throughout his first letter to them. An overview of them can be sketched as follows. Certain Corinthians resorted to the secular courts to resolve in-church conflicts (1 Cor 6:1 – 11; cf. §4.3.2). Some were witnessed to have eaten meat in the temple of idols (8:10). Not only were a few of the Corinthians invited to a private meal by outgroup members (10:27), but they also invited non-believers to their church and probably houses (14:23). Some of them were honoured by outgroup members (4:10; 1:26). Some individuals, such as Gaius, Crispus, Erastus, and Chloe, are the possible clues for such good social connections. This research will neither just elaborate these snapshots one by one below nor repeat other scholars’ explanations of them,100 but focus more on what the portrayals imply in a social and economic sense in light of the Roman society.

The first point is that Paul implies that social harmony was accredited to certain Corinthians, possibly wealthy members. It is no coincidence that most passages in which Paul speaks of their good relationships with outgroup members are deemed as good points of evidence for reference to the wealthy and influential members (6:1 – 11; 8:10; 10:27; 4:10). As I argued in Chapter 4, certain wealthy and influential Corinthians sought litigation against fellow believers (6:1 – 11), were invited to non-believers’ house for a meal (10:27), consumed meat in temples of idol (8:10), and were honoured by others (4:10). At the same time, these passages embody their good social connections with outgroup members as though the powerful members were responsible for them. On the other hand, the other Corinthians’ social relationship is somewhat veiled. It is unclear whether or not they also enjoyed this peace. The wealthy members may have created the overall ethos of social harmony for all Christians, or Paul might not have mentioned some tensions between non-believers and some other Corinthians, probably the poor like the Thessalonians (cf. 4:9 – 13). The Pauline evidence does not lead to an exhaustive conclusion. But if Paul’s catalogue of sufferings in 1 Cor 4:9 – 13 reflects some poor Corinthians’ social context, it may be the case that the poor Corinthians experienced ostracism from outsiders like Paul, in contrast to the wealthy (§4.3.1). One significant assumption, nonetheless, can be clearly made: those of high status played an indispensable role in building favourable relationships with outsiders.

A few wealthy Corinthian individuals are, indeed, the examples of such good social connections (cf. §4.3.2). It is likely that Crispus built good relationships with non-believers. Crispus as a former ruler of a synagogue (ἀρχισυνάγωγος, Acts 18:8) would have maintained Jewish connections. His title, ἀρχισυνάγωγος, indicates that he was a wealthy patron or benefactor in a Corinthian synagogue. It appears that he had some clients and was admired by members of his synagogue before conversion. Even though he was converted to Christ (1 Cor 1:14), it may be that he continued his favourable relationships with them. Erastus and Chloe can also serve as examples of the Corinthians’ good social relationships.

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