Day 41
Nope. Not one Corinthian. Or even two Corinthians. Second and first, thank you very much. I’m referring to former President Trump’s shameful attempt at pandering to evangelical Christians by citing a verse from “Two Corinthians.” They still supported him. Woe to you, Pharisees.
Anyway, Paul takes on an interesting role here. While Romans had some general theological counsel, the two letters to the churches in Corinth have a great deal of corrective guidance. Paul even references two additional letters where he had to rebuke the churches for their immorality. There’s a point at the end of Second Corinthians where he talks about his upcoming visit (ch 13). He fears they will disappoint him and he will disappoint them in return. It’s obvious from these books that there were growing pains.
I look at these books and see the usual mastery of words from Paul, but the sharp tone is different. This is a man who has had enough of the quarreling and what looks like “anything goes” Christianity. So these letters are sent to set them on the straight and narrow path. Now, I couldn’t imagine writing a letter like this to a church I serve. Maybe one I consult, but even then, the tone would be softened. Maybe I’m full of Midwestern guilt and conflict avoidance. I do wonder what exactly the reports were about the churches. Were people spending too much time at brothels? It’s clear that was part of it. Were there bizarre relationships and fights over authority? Yep.
It goes to show that human institutions are immensely flawed and nothing changes. That criticism often gets lobbed at religious groups, but…are you going to tell me the Sierra Club doesn’t have petty fights and bickering? Yeah, I thought so.
Anyway, I like Paul. Is that sacrilege to admit? The verses about women are almost all additions by editors and not his words. The passages about homosexuality assume he even knew what a homosexual orientation was. Fun fact: He didn’t. He was probably referring to power dynamics in relationships and temple prostitution. Anyway. Beyond those things, I like him. He’s passionate, eloquent, and clearly cares about his communities as a spiritual parent. He makes me want to be a better steward of my own traditions.
One Word for First Corinthians: Development
One Word for Second Corinthians: Arbiter
Parts of the Text That Stayed With Me
- 1 Cor 1:11-13, Oh Humans. He mentions divisions and quarrels, mostly related to whose “authority” members of the churches claim. Is it Paul? Someone else? Jesus? Paul tells them to focus on Christ.
- 1 Cor 7:26, End Time Cometh. These are the verses I truly struggle with. Did Paul genuinely think the end was coming or did it means something else? If the former, then biblical literalism is a sham. If the latter, well, it’s still a sham but opens up a new world of interpretation.
- 1 Cor 10:16-17, Eucharist. From the very beginning Christians practiced communion. It’s right here.
- 1 Cor 13, More Gifts. Spiritual gift discernment is incredibly important to Paul. What are yours?
- 2 Cor 1:8, What the hell? Paul has had a rough go of things. He hints at some intense persecution throughout this book, including three shipwrecks (11:25).
- 2 Cor 3:14, About That Other Covenant. The old covenant is a veil that impedes “seeing.” This is a sharp but masterful critique of literalism as it relates to Mosaic Law.
- 2 Cor 5:7, Classic verse. For we “walk by faith, not by sight.” I have to wonder, how do I walk by faith?
- 2 Cor 7:8, Midwestern Guilt. Paul is all about being sorry he made the church in Corinth feel bad for admonishing them. But he also isn’t sorry. Sorry not sorry?
- 2 Cor 13, Here He Comes. Paul is comin’, people. You better get your act together before he visits again.
This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.