1 Corinthians 1-4: Reconstructing Its Social and Rhetorical Situation and Re-Reading It Cross-Culturally for Korean-Confucian Christians Today

This book investigates 1 Corinthians 1-4 from a rhetorical and social perspective and explores that a divisive culture of rhetorical and paternal elitism lies behind the schisms and problems identified in the letter. This culture appears to have been shaped to some extent by the legacy of Cicero. Pauls references to boasting and imitation indicate both his subversive use and his critique of this Greco-Roman wisdom. In the final chapter this analysis of wisdom traditions and their social consequences among first-century Corinthians leads to a critical reflection on similar dynamics among Korean Christians in twenty-first-century Korean-Confucian culture. In particular Korean Protestants are encouraged to take a more positive stance towards Confucian wisdom traditions (as exemplified by Toegyes legacy) and some insights are suggested into the ethics of imperial worship ancestral veneration and ethnic exclusivity. In this project of truly breathtaking scope Oh-Young Kwon brings together into mutually illuminating conversation the world of 1st century Corinth as addressed by Paul and contemporary Korean Confucian culture. As such it is a work of remarkable hermeneutical interest as well as a substantial contribution to the study of 1 Corinthians. --Brendan Byrne SJ Jesuit Theological College Victoria Australia Lucid attentively researched and carefully argued Oh-Young Kwons socio-rhetorical interpretation of 1 Corinthians 1-4 for Korean Confucian Christians is contextual biblical scholarship most apt for today. With a focus on the social manifestations of wisdom among the early Corinthian Christians this book enacts an important cross-cultural conversation that has implications beyond the Korean Confucian Christian context its author addresses. What a pleasure to read such work! --Anne Elvey Monash University Victoria Australia The value of intercultural exegesis is that many of our unacknowledged assumptions are brought to the surface in the unexpected twists and turns of the inevitable hermeneutical crosscurrents. This book is no exception. Oh-Young Kwon engages the wisdom traditions of his Confucian heritage the rhetorical influence of Cicero and the respective boasting of Paul and his Corinthian opponents and uncovers more than a little true wisdom about such issues as ethnic purity ancestor veneration and idol meat. --Keith Dyer Whitley College Melbourne Australia Oh-Young Kwon is Lecturer of New Testament at Alphacrucis College in Sydney Australia. He received his Doctor of Theology from the Melbourne College of Divinity.