Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Corinthians

A bold new reading of 1 Corinthians in light of Greco-Roman philosophy

The First Letter to the Corinthians begins with Paul admonishing his addressees over their internal division and reliance on human wisdom. But what exactly occasioned Paul’s warning? Many New Testament scholars have asserted that Paul disapproved of the Corinthians’ infatuation with rhetoric. Yet careful exegesis of the epistle problematizes this consensus.

Timothy A. Brookins unsettles common assumptions about the Corinthian conflict in this innovative monograph. His close reading of 1 Corinthians 1–4 presents evidence that the Corinthian problem had roots in Stoicism. The wisdom that Paul deprecates is not sophistry, he argues, but a Stoic-inspired understanding of natural hierarchy, in which the wise put themselves above believers they considered spiritually underdeveloped. In effect, Paul’s followers saw themselves as a philosophical school in rivalry with other Christians, engendering divisions in the church.

Combining scriptural exegesis and investigation of Greco-Roman philosophical culture, Brookins reconstructs the social sphere of Corinth that Paul addresses in his letter. His skillful analysis provides much-needed clarity on the context of a major epistle and on Pauline theology more broadly.