Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes Quotes

“People with differences can work together if they have the same purpose. Paul wants all of them to think along the same lines, and to have a united purpose.”
― Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians

“The following high points are prominent in this brief homily.
1. Breaking into ethnic enclaves is unacceptable. Furthermore, loyalties to individuals is not an excuse for breaking the unity of the church. Their leaders are not adequate centers of primary loyalty.
2. No group in the church has the right to claim that they alone are loyal to Christ.
3. They are "called by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1:2) and in that name they can find their unity (1:10).
4. Baptism and the cross also call them together.
5. The question is not "Who is my leader?" but rather, "Who died for us?"
With the problem of this first essay stated boldly, Paul turns to the cross in the shadow of which their divisions can be eclipsed (1:17-2:2).”
― Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians

“The Corinthians are identified as “Those who were made holy” and who were “called out as saints [i.e., holy ones]” (1:2). They were getting drunk at Holy Communion and shouting insults at each other. One of them was sleeping with his mother-in-law. The prophets (preachers) were all talking at once in their worship services and some of the women were chatting and not listening to anyone. They had split into factions, and some thought that polished language was more important than historical realities like the cross. Others denied the resurrection. Yet Paul called them “saints.” Remarkable! Clearly, for Paul, “a saint” meant a person who had received the Holy Spirit and not a person who had reached some undefined stratospheric level of piety. The troublesome Corinthians were saints!”
― Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians