Chairs: Dr David Horrell and Dr Peter Oakes
Session 1:
'Identifying the ownership of cup and the table of daimonia, 1 Corinthians 10:20'
No abstract available.
'The Roots of a Libertine Slogan in 1 Cor 6.18'
Taking as its starting point Jerome Murphy-O’Connor’s thesis that 1 Cor 6:18b (“every sin that a person commits is outside the body”) represents a Corinthian slogan, this essay suggests that a social, cultural, and religious milieu existed at Corinth from which the Corinthians could have easily constructed a slogan similar to that which Murphy-O’Connor envisions. Available evidence suggests that this slogan was forged, in part, by the convergence of at least two major tributaries: (1) a non-Christian or Hellenistic stream (including eclectic, popular philosophy and incipient “Gnosticism”), and (2) a Christian or Jesuanic current, flowing most probably from Paul.
Session 2:
'Naming Ourselves and Naming Others in the Corinthian letters'
The way a group names or labels itself gives us some indication of their sense of identity. Similarly, the terms used by a group for those who are not members of the group tells us a good deal about the group’s identity, and about the boundaries of the group. In this paper, two of the terms Paul uses as labels or self-designations for group members in 1 Corinthians will be discussed – oi( a#gioi (“the saints” or “holy one”) and oi( pisteu&ontej (“the believers”). I will look at the background and usage of these terms, and what they tell us about the identity of the group. I will then discuss the terms that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians for those who are not members of the group –“the outsiders” (oi( e1cw and oi( i0diw~tai), “the unbelievers” (oi( a1pistoi) and “the unrighteous” (oi( a!dikoi). What these terms tell us about the group’s attitude to those who are not “in” the group, about the group’s sense of identity and about its construction of group boundaries will be noted. Finally, the fact that language for “outsiders” emerges so strongly in 1 Corinthians will be discussed.
'Letter Carriers in Personal Letters among the Papyri and Pauline epistolary communication strategy'
This paper discusses the roles assigned to named letter carriers in around 40 personal letters among the Greek papyri. The role of named letter carriers in Paul's epistolary communication strategy is discussed in the light of this papyrological evidence and in critical interaction with recent work by Stirewalt and Richards.
Session 3 (Joint with Paul Seminar):
Edward Adams, Robert Dutch, David Horrell, Peter Oakes, Jorunn Økland.
Books to be discussed are:
E Adams and D Horrell (eds) Christianity at Corinth (WJK, 2004), reviewed by Jorunn Økland
R Dutch, The Educated Elite in 1 Corinthians (Continuum/T&T Clark International , 2005), reviewed by Edward Adams
J Økland, Women in Their Place (Continuum/T&T Clark International, 2004), reviewed by Peter Oakes