Love’s Folly: Love and Knowledge in 1 Corinthians

2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
Susan Grove Eastman

Tracing the language of love through 1 Corinthians, this article argues that Paul calls the Corinthians into an attentive communion with one another, in which mutual love will shape their practical wisdom. Paul’s goal is not the establishment of communal regulations, but rather the formation of moral agents through interpersonal bonds of love in Christ.

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura D'Olimpio ◽  
Andrew Peterson

Following neo-Aristotelians Alasdair MacIntyre and Martha Nussbaum, we claim that humans are story-telling animals who learn from the stories of diverse others. Moral agents use rational emotions, such as compassion, which is our focus here, to imaginatively reconstruct others’ thoughts, feelings and goals. In turn, this imaginative reconstruction plays a crucial role in deliberating and discerning how to act. A body of literature has developed in support of the role narrative artworks (i.e. novels and films) can play in allowing us the opportunity to engage imaginatively and sympathetically with diverse characters and scenarios in a safe protected space that is created by the fictional world. By practising what Nussbaum calls a ‘loving attitude’, her version of ethical attention, we can form virtuous habits that lead to phronesis (practical wisdom). In this paper, and taking compassion as an illustrative focus, we examine the ways that students’ moral education might usefully develop from engaging with narrative artworks through Philosophy for Children (P4C), where philosophy is a praxis, conducted in a classroom setting using a Community of Inquiry (CoI). We argue that narrative artworks provide useful stimulus material to engage students, generate student questions, and motivate philosophical dialogue and the formation of good habits, which, in turn, supports the argument for philosophy to be taught in schools.


2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Turner

This article seeks to define ‘spiritual formation’ as it would be understood by the apostle, and to relate that concept to his teaching on spiritual gifts, with particular reference to 1 Corinthians and Ephesians. It argues that in Ephesians spiritual gifts of wisdom and revelation build the ‘body’ towards the goal of cosmic re-unification in Christ, by deepening corporate grasp of the central mystery of the gospel.


AI & Society ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejo José G. Sison ◽  
Dulce M. Redín

AbstractWe examine Van Wynsberghe and Robbins (JAMA 25:719-735, 2019) critique of the need for Artificial Moral Agents (AMAs) and its rebuttal by Formosa and Ryan (JAMA 10.1007/s00146-020-01089-6, 2020) set against a neo-Aristotelian ethical background. Neither Van Wynsberghe and Robbins (JAMA 25:719-735, 2019) essay nor Formosa and Ryan’s (JAMA 10.1007/s00146-020-01089-6, 2020) is explicitly framed within the teachings of a specific ethical school. The former appeals to the lack of “both empirical and intuitive support” (Van Wynsberghe and Robbins 2019, p. 721) for AMAs, and the latter opts for “argumentative breadth over depth”, meaning to provide “the essential groundwork for making an all things considered judgment regarding the moral case for building AMAs” (Formosa and Ryan 2019, pp. 1–2). Although this strategy may benefit their acceptability, it may also detract from their ethical rootedness, coherence, and persuasiveness, characteristics often associated with consolidated ethical traditions. Neo-Aristotelian ethics, backed by a distinctive philosophical anthropology and worldview, is summoned to fill this gap as a standard to test these two opposing claims. It provides a substantive account of moral agency through the theory of voluntary action; it explains how voluntary action is tied to intelligent and autonomous human life; and it distinguishes machine operations from voluntary actions through the categories of poiesis and praxis respectively. This standpoint reveals that while Van Wynsberghe and Robbins may be right in rejecting the need for AMAs, there are deeper, more fundamental reasons. In addition, despite disagreeing with Formosa and Ryan’s defense of AMAs, their call for a more nuanced and context-dependent approach, similar to neo-Aristotelian practical wisdom, becomes expedient.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-255
Author(s):  
Nélida Naveros Córdova

In 1 Cor. 10:1–22, Paul deals with the role of Christ and his relationship to God. This is an important ethical topic that Paul deems necessary to discuss with the Corinthian believers. In order to make an effective, thus persuasive, argument, he follows the ancient Greco-Roman tradition of rhetoric and poetics. I argue that vv. 1–4 is Paul's introduction to his vivid representation of monotheism (vv. 5–22). As he presents his narrative of the wilderness events, he employs various rhetorical-poetic techniques to evoke in his hearers imaginative and emotional experiences that will transport them into a higher level of ethical consciousness, a new monotheistic reality in Christ.


Author(s):  
Gareth Crispin

This paper argues that a theology of accommodation can provide help to those wishing to integrate youth and children into an intergenerational local church. It will be demonstrated that God's accommodation to humanity is not only communicative, but behavioral, and that in the New Testament we see that this behavioral accommodation principle is normative for relationships within the church. Through an examination of 1 Corinthians 8–11:1, this paper demonstrates that those with authority and knowledge in the church are to accommodate those without, which almost invariably implies youth and children. Christians are to imitate Christ, and so as God accommodates in Christ, those with authority and knowledge follow suit.


2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-34
Author(s):  
DSM Bredenkamp

The purpose of this article is to describe Paul’s self-control in 1 Corinthians 9 as an example to contemporary church leaders. After ascertaining the framework of 1 Corinthians 8:1 to 11:1 as following Christ in loving servitude, Paul’s introducing of his apostleship is described as a  combination of an example and a defense. He utilizes the agon motif to make his point regarding his own sacrifices. To him self-control enkrateia) has a finite meaning: to relinquish certain liberties and rights for the sake of his mission in Christ, the identity of the church and the perseverance of his fellow believers. Church leaders can take heed of this necessity for restriction of personal liberty in response to the views of others.


2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries H. Snyman

In this article, 1 Corinthians 1:1�9 is analysed from a perspective that differs from the typical approach of researchers, who tend to force ancient rhetorical categories on the letter. The analysis is done in terms of what is called a �grounded theoretical approach�. This approach is briefly summarised, followed by a description of the rhetorical situation of the letter and a systematic analysis of these nine verses. It will be argued that these verses are an integral part of Paul�s rhetorical strategy, constructed from the text itself and aimed at persuading the Corinthians to accept his authority as apostle and to follow his instructions in realising their new life in Christ. The conclusion is that a text-centred approach with its focus on the functional aspects of the text provides a better understanding of Paul�s rhetorical strategy than a typical rhetorical analysis, with its focus on the formal aspects of the text.


Author(s):  
Jarred A. Mercer

Chapter 5 defines the culmination of Hilary of Poitiers’s trinitarian anthropology, which cannot be understood without an in-depth reading of his intertextual interpretation of John 17:1–6, 1 Corinthians 15:21–28, and Philippians 3:21. In this chapter, the human destiny in Christ parsed in the previous chapter comes to fruition. This has to do initially with the novelty of Hilary’s discussion of the incarnation. He uses adsumere, language traditionally reserved for Christ’s ascension, in reference to the incarnation, tying incarnation and glorification together as one movement. Hilary speaks of Christ’s incarnation as an assumption of all humanity in the assumption of one particular human. The perfection of human potentiality is a concorporeal conforming to Christ. Humanity’s progression through Christ’s incarnation and glorification makes Christ himself the fulfillment of human potentiality. For Hilary, Christ is both the origin and destiny of humanity’s hopeful mutability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-165
Author(s):  
Bernhard J.G. Reitsma

Summary This article deals with an Islamic criticism that Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 is professing religious dissimulation ‐ in Islam called Taqiyya ‐ and that in Islamic contexts throughout history missionaries, and the so-called Insider Movements in particular, have adopted this as their missionary strategy. Paul seems to change his religion from Jew to Gentile and vice versa in order to trick people into Christianity. A more careful reading of this passage in context, however, shows that Paul primarily emphasizes the essence of the Christian faith while he is willing to give up anything that might hinder people from seeing God in Christ. He never denies his full allegiance to Jesus Christ and the cross, and is even willing to suffer for this confession. He is not dishonest about it, but he merely makes everything subordinate to this essence of the gospel. The author discusses the consequences of this conclusion for contextual missiology and the Insider Movements in relation to the Missio Dei.ZusammenfassungDer vorliegende Artikel befasst sich mit der islamischen Kritik, dass Paulus in 1. Korinther 9 eine bewusste religiöse Verschleierung bekundet ‐ im Islam wird dies Taqiyya genannt ‐ und dass im islamischen Kontext durch die Geschichte hindurch Missionare und besonders die sogenannte Insiderbewegung diese als ihre missionarische Strategie angewandt haben. Paulus wechselt scheinbar seine Religion von jüdisch zu christlich und umgekehrt, um die Menschen zu überlisten, sich zum christlichen Glauben zu bekehren. Jedoch zeigt eine etwas sorgfältigere Lesart dieses Abschnitts im Kontext, dass Paulus in erster Linie das Wesen des christlichen Glaubens hervorhebt, während er bereit ist, jedwede Sache aufzugeben, welche die Menschen abhalten könnte, Gott in Christus zu erkennen. Niemals leugnet er seine uneingeschränkte Loyalität Jesus Christus und dem Kreuz gegenüber, ja er ist vielmehr bereit, für sein Glaubensbekenntnis zu leiden. Paulus ist diesbezüglich nicht unehrlich, doch er ordnet nur alles diesem Wesen des Evangeliums unter. Der Autor erörtert die Konsequenzen dieser Schlussfolgerung für eine kontextuelle Missiologie und die Insiderbewegung in Zusammenhang mit der Missio Die.RésuméCet article traite d’une critique faite par les musulmans à l’encontre de Paul qui, en 1 Corinthiens 9, enseigne la dissimulation (Taqîya dans l’islam) dans le domaine religieux et des missionnaires ‐ des Insider Movements en particulier ‐ qui, dans un contexte musulman, ont de tout temps fait de cette pratique une stratégie missionnaire. Paul donne l’impression de passer d’une religion à l’autre ‐ juif un jour, païen le lendemain, et vice-versa ‐ dans le but d’attirer les gens dans le christianisme par la ruse. Mais une lecture plus attentive de ce chapitre replacé dans son contexte montre que Paul met avant tout l’accent sur l’essence même de la foi chrétienne, tout en affirmant qu’il est prêt à renoncer à tout ce qui pourrait empêcher l’un ou l’autre de voir Dieu en Christ. Il ne nie jamais sa totale allégeance à Jésus-Christ et à la croix et se dit même prêt à souffrir pour cette confession. Il n’est pas malhonnête à ce sujet; simplement, il subordonne toute chose à l’essence de l’Évangile. L’auteur étudie les conséquences de cette conclusion pour la missiologie contextuelle et le rapport entre les Insider Movements et la Missio Dei.


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