May 6 2018
Final Project
To truly and deeply understand a book of the Bible, it must be examined from all angles. Having a comprehensive understanding of 1 Corinthians in this case, allows the reader to truly unlock and put to use all of the potential wisdom, teaching, and encouragement that is found in Paul’s first letter to the believers in the city of Corinth. These believers in Corinth wanted to know more about Christ and the life that He had for them. Living most of their lives as Greeks and Romans, they all had a certain identity that they were used to. Certain lifestyles, traditions, and cultural practices were hard to break after so many years of being in, and practicing these traditions. To understand where the Corinthians were at in their lives and in their faith, we must first look at the world that was surrounding them at the time. When we understand what their historical, cultural, economic, and social contexts were, we can fully understand the message that Paul intended for the Corinthians, and eventually the entirety of Christendom.
We start first with the historical context that the Corinthian people found themselves in. Ancient Corinth was the center of the Achaean League during the Hellenistic Period. The city’s timeline can basically be broken into two parts. As a very influential Greek city-state it was successful both before and after the “golden years” of Greece and Athens (around 5 B.C.). The city was destroyed in 146 B.C. by Lucius Mummius Achaicus (Munn). The primary reason for Corinth’s destruction was the Greek’s rebellion against Roman rule. In its rebuilding which was accomplished in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar ordered it to be resettled as a Roman colony. The city had a new time of flourishing when people began to come back and rebuild the city. This lead to Corinth’s increased presence in the Mediterranean and Roman world. After Paul’s presence in the area, Corinth continued to flourish and grow. Mostly due to its perfect position for trade and economics.
Culturally, Corinth was the primary place of interest to be in its time. Due to its massive economic and cultural influences from Greece and Rome, it became a center of culture and entertainment. Primarily Corinth was known for the Isthmian games, which were competitive physical games that resembled the Olympics. Of all the Panhellenic games of Ancient Greece, the Isthmian games drew the largest crowd, other than the Olympics (White). Since the games began, Corinth was always responsible for them. The myth goes that the games were named the Isthmian games due to Sisyphus finding the body of Melicertes on the Isthmus that the city of Corinth was located on. The games were named after this location, and were mainly thought of to have originated as funeral games for Melicertes. Among the competitions included in the games were; chariot races, pankration (a type of wrestling and boxing hybrid), wrestling, musical and poetic contests, and boxing. All of the above games only allowed men to compete except the musical and poetic contests. These games were so sacred and special to the Corinthians, that even in times of war, athletes from neighboring warring countries were still allowed safe passage into Corinth.
Among the games, religion was also a primary defining characteristic of the city of Corinth. Like neighboring cities of the time, Corinth was home to a temple for the Greek god of Aphrodite, who was the god of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation (Freedman 280). The most significant thing in Corinth therefore, was the culture surrounding sex and pleasure. Corinth was a place known for its sexual and promiscuous culture. People lived unashamed lives that were full of immorality and fornication. Both before and after the destruction of Corinth, it was known as the place to go if you wanted to be promiscuous. The most prominent symbol of this was the temple of Aphrodite. The site was called the Acrocorinth, a sharp mountain face that rose 1,800 feet above Corinth. On the top of this mountain was Aphrodite’s temple, as perpetual reminder of the lust and immorality that was all around the city. The worship of Aphrodite was not originally Greek, but from Oriental traditions instead. It was assumed that Aphrodite was imported from the Phoenician cult of Astarte. Many historians and scholars believe that within the temple on the Acrocorinth, lie 1,000 “priestesses” who were no more than prostitutes (Barker 606). Many believe that they did not last past the destruction of Corinth, but the tradition of immorality continued on nonetheless.
The attitude of sexual promiscuity and immorality saturated into every part of Corinthian life. The addition of traveling men and sailors at port, encouraged the sexually loose lifestyle that was in Corinth. The practice of promiscuity was so prominent, that eventually the phrase “to play the Corinthian” became synonymous with talking about sex. (Henry 407). Many also will argue against the rampant nature of Corinth, and explain that those types of behaviors and practices happened in most seafaring cities with an abundance of available men and women. The sexual sin was also due to a booming and successful economy, which had money being freely traded and exchanged in high rates.
Economically, Corinth was also a premier place to be. It’s primary source of revenue in the city was through its perfectly strategic placement for trade. Corinth was located on an Isthmus, which meant that it was located on a narrow plot of land, linking two larger pieces of land. This particular piece of land connected the southern part of Greece known as the Peloponnesian peninsula, with the northern part of Greece. People who traveled by land within Greece had to travel through Corinth, and it also had harbors on each side. Ships would pass through Corinth because it would cut their journey down by about a week, because they did not have to travel all the way around the peninsula in the south. They would primarily ship goods on to Italy by unloading goods in one harbor, transporting them across town, and then loading them on another ship in the next harbor.
There was a small amount of “hometown” industry in Corinth, that was mainly based upon the traveling populations that came through the city. The primary industries in Corinth were tentmaking and producing bronze. The tentmaking industry was supplied by the generous tourism industry that Corinth sustained, between the travelers there for trade, the worshippers there for Aphrodite, and spectators there for the Isthmian games. Paul himself benefitted from the tentmaking while he was in Corinth, a trade he had been taught when he was young. He primarily worked in the shop of Aquila and Priscilla (1 Corinthians 4:12). The bronze that was produced in Corinth was shipped all over the Roman empire to be used for weapons, statues, and tools. The economy that grew Corinth monetarily was the same economy that took “ordinary” people, and pulled them up economically and socially. It was an economy that most people could participate and trade in, and lead to many people becoming successful in their trade or business.
Socially, Corinth was quite the place to be located if you were interested in climbing the social ladder. The population of the City of Corinth was made up of a variety of people. “Some of its top officials were children of former slaves who had come into money through the booming economy of Corinth” (Fee 3). As mentioned earlier, there were many travelers both by land and sea, that had semi-permanent residence in Corinth. The rest of the population was quite the mix of people. The inhabitants were primarily Romans, both veterans and free men and women. Greece had been slow to supply people to populate Corinth, but by the time the Apostle Paul came through, Greek were present in large numbers. Since the status of a freedman from Rome was just that above a slave they did not have much place in Roman society, but flocked to Corinth instead. This served two purposes, primarily it ridded Rome of potential trouble, and also allowed freedman opportunities to take advantage of their freedom, and establish some kind of socio-economic stability and status.
Corinth experienced a lot of newcomers to its city. Romans were dominant, but with them they brought all sorts of traditions and culture. Even though it was part of the Roman empire, Corinth maintained many of its Greek ties and traditions. From the east however, came mystery cults from Egypt and Asia (Freedman 281).
Most people who worked in Corinth were tradespeople, or oversaw trade in some way. If you were not producing a certain type of good or item, you oversaw its trade or transport in another way. Although the amount of wealth in Corinth was great, there was quite a large gap between the rich and poor in the city. Slaves and Freedman represented most of the population, but both classes had quite the distinct amount of privilege.
Many times, you would visit the Agora, a type of central gathering place of trade and social life. Located at the Agora was the central bank in Corinth, which oversaw a large amount of economic activity due to Corinth’s particularly beneficial location for trading. Corinthians had a diet mostly made up of vegetables and fish. Occasionally, they would enjoy cheese, figs, and olives. Among their food traditions was sometimes partaking in food that had been previously sacrificed to a god. This became quite the issue for the Corinthian believers, because they did not know whether or not it was permitted for them to eat such types of foods. This dilemma with food was one of many that perplexed the Corinthians, and only began their clash of culture and belief in the ancient era.
Within the society and culture of Corinth, lay many ways of being distracted from the Christian message that was being announced among the Corinthians. The first issue that occurred within the Corinthian church, was how they were going to respond to all of the sexual promiscuity that was happening at all times, all around them. Until they received the message of Jesus, they had almost no other idea of what worshipping a god could look like. Practically, even though they were at the center of culture and society, they remained on the outside of other religion for quite some time. When Christianity began to spread throughout the Roman empire, the city of Corinth had to have been shocked by some of the practices that Christianity’s followers adhered to. The entire idea of controlling one’s own sexual desires was an entirely new idea to the Corinthians. This would have seemed so countercultural to them, because they were typically suited worshipping lust and desire, in their worship of Aphrodite. To hear Paul’s words on the sanctity of human relationships, and the importance of morality, would have been completely upside down thinking to them.
After the shock of learning that they could no longer live in sexual promiscuity, the Corinthian believers would also be reminded and taught that there was an entire new way of worshipping this new Jewish God. Among other things were the practical social changes that came along with believing in the Christian God. Primarily, it dealt with whether or not Corinthian believers could go to and attend festivals celebrating certain idols and pagan gods. Socially, they were almost expected to attend these events, as they were one of the primary ways that Corinthians maintained relationships. Many of the gentiles who had converted to Christianity continued to receive invitations to these types of events, and they had to now evaluate whether or not they would attend the pagan and idol festivals.
The idea of independence permeated every part of the Corinthian church. People in Corinthian society often came from very humble and small beginnings, as mentioned earlier in this essay. They were often prideful and very boastful on what they had accomplished both collectively, but mostly personally. Because most of their population came from such a low class in Roman society, they were proud of what they had become in Corinth. This attitude and lifestyle carried over into the life of the church in Corinth, and everyone wanted to be independent in their belief and leadership. Every member of the Corinthian church would follow their favorite leader, and abandon all others. This spirit also lead to many women wanting to have complete independence in the congregation, something that at the time was almost unheard of. Additionally, this need for pride and independence drove many people in the Corinthian congregation to loudly and proudly display and use their spiritual gifts in a way that flaunted and put themselves on display. They had no desire to build up or edify the church, only to make themselves seem more than their neighbor, and to seem higher up in giftings than someone else. These were just some of the few issues that made their way into the Corinthian church. When Paul finally was able to meet and spend time with the Corinthians, he knew the impact that their culture and society had on them. Traditions and habits are hard to break and change from, so that is why the Apostle Paul begins writing to the Corinthians. First in the letter that we now know as First Corinthians, and again Second Corinthians.
Now knowing the historical and cultural context of Corinth, we are able to understand more why eating meat that was possibly sacrificed was such an issue to the Corinthians. We are also able to understand the context of chapter 5 when we read about a case of incest in the church. If we do not do our proper research, these issues that are in 1 Corinthians seem to come out of nowhere, and surprise us enough to draw away from the deeper meaning of these scriptures.
Paul’s first visit to Corinth is written down in Acts 18:1-17,
“After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.”
When Paul meets Aquila and Priscilla he discovers that they are tentmakers like him, and have been driven out of Rome by Claudius. (B. n.d.) As was Paul’s typical practice, he would go to the Jews first and preach to them, thus his regular visit to the synagogue. His time preaching to the Jewish population was not that successful, and so he continued on and began to preach to the Gentiles instead (Lake 107). After some while preaching to the Gentiles, the Jewish people and leaders accused Paul of forcing people to worship God in ways that they believed were unjust, and so they had Paul brought before the Tribunal. The ruling was that their accusations were not correct, and Paul was allowed to stay in Corinth for a short while longer. After Corinth, Paul traveled to Ephesus where it is believed that he wrote his first letter to the Corinthians. This letter, which is no longer in existence, contained what is thought to be similar subjects as 1 Corinthians. First Corinthians is also most likely assumed to be a response to a letter sent to Paul by the church in Corinth after his time spent there.
In First Corinthians, we see issues of division, sexual immorality, and issues of independence with further dividing of the Church. We can probably safely assume due to some literary clues in First Corinthians, that the members of the Corinthian Church did not listen to Paul’s advice in his previous letter. We see the best example of this in 1 Corinthians 5:9.
“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people”. As far as the issue of divergence and independence goes, we see many examples throughout this letter. One primary example is 1 Corinthians 11:11, “ Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.”
Knowing the historical and cultural context allows us to be opened up to the true context of these passages now. They do not seem like random subjects or rules applied to the Corinthians. Paul writes them about sexual immorality because it was rampant any permeated every part of their culture and life. He writes about independence from one another not only for the issue of sexual promiscuity, but also so that the Corinthian church would stay united as one, and not break off into small and prideful groups. He saw the economic and cultural power of Corinth, and knew that if he could demonstrate God’s teaching there, that it would be expanded through the land, and be taken farther along. He knew that people would flock to Corinth for cultural, social, economic, and entertainment purposes, which gave his message a distinct advantage of having prominence there. People would come for one reason, but possibly hear about this movement of people who were going the opposite way of the standard practice in the city.
What is the message that Paul has for us today? We are obviously not the Corinthian church, but we do in fact share many things in common with the city of Corinth. Primarily, our abuse of sex and pleasure. In western society today, the sexualization of society is at an all-time high. We have traditions and practices that almost resemble some of the Corinthian ways, and we are almost aloof to it, because it is so widely accepted in today’s time. When we allow these practices to become accepted in our society, they influence our lives and our churches in negative ways. Additionally, we live in a time where independence reigns supreme above all else. Some independence can be healthy, but in our world independence quickly turns into selfishness, which only leads us down the path of destruction. Finally, we see a need in our local churches, just like the Corinthians, for direct leadership and administration. We quickly lose our way, and have a need for people to be bold in the guidance and wisdom in the local church. Paul was a master at this, and was able to develop deep and influential relationships with local people, while at the same time writing them and providing harsh direction and correction.
Just like the Corinthians, we need to hear Paul’s message. It is a message that not only corrects and guides, but encourages and supports. He wanted the Corinthian church to succeed not because he wanted a large church, but because he knew the tremendous healing and restorative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He saw the cultural and social influence that Corinth had, and wanted it to be known for Christ, instead of the sexual promiscuity and idolatry that occurred there. He saw the passion of the people who were devoted to the church and its message, and wanted them to succeed in the influence of their culture and people. If we read 1 Corinthians today, we receive just as much knowledge and guidance as the leaders in Corinth did. We cannot dismiss the timeless teaching and wisdom contained in this letter. We must always be on watch to see how our culture and society influences our churches, and be careful that we are still following the example of Christ and not the world. If we continue to turn our face towards Christ and his word, we have only goodness to gain. This is the lesson that the Corinthians learned. The pleasure, selfishness, and independence ultimately with never measure up to the goodness and fullness of Christ. When we learn and recognize that same lesson, our churches, families, and lives will be changed for good. Not only for our good, but the good of God’s kingdom, and all of his people. Paul wants people to see God not abandoning his creation, but renewing it instead (Wright 29). We must choose to see God’s work in our world as such, and join in on the renewal that is occurring in our churches and in our world.
RAJGOPAL