In addressing such perceived objections, Paul compares his preaching with other forms of oratory. This comparison is implicit throughout 1:18–31, where he contrasts the ‘wisdom of the world’ (1:20) and the ‘wisdom’ that Greeks seek (1:22) with the message he preaches, that is, ‘Christ crucified’ (1:23). A contrast between Paul’s preaching and the rhetoric the Corinthians prized is strongly implicit in 1:17–25 and comes closer to the surface in 2:1–5, where Paul comments directly on his own ‘rhetorical’ (or perhaps better, ‘anti-rhetorical’) method:
