Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Corinthians 12
In this chapter, we see lines such as "Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but many (1 Corinthians 12.14, NRSV)" and "But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there be no dissension within the body (1 Corinthians 12.24-25, NRSV)." These lines represent part of Paul's metaphor of the human body. In this metaphor, Paul gives greater credence to the perceived inferior parts of the body rather than the apparent greater parts. He uses this metaphor to represent the societal paradigm in which he lived. Doing this, he opens up his parish to the greater part of the population; he opens it up to the lower classes, which is the most populous class. He also, though, insults the upper class calling them "the same (1 Corinthians 12.25, NRSV)" as the lower class. He does this for the only reason that could make sense. He does this to increase the attractiveness to the most populous class of society, while making his religion about equality; in doing this, Paul is making a statement about other religions and his own. He is differentiating his religion as one of equality no matter what: including socio-economic class. He is promoting the lower classes by stating, "giving the greater honor to the inferior member (1 Corinthians 12.24, NRSV)", but my question is: is Paul being passive-aggressive here? Is he insulting the perceived level of the higher classes, while at the same time making his religion more attractive to the lower class? If he is doing this, Paul is extremely cunning and manipulative in the way he uses his propaganda techniques.
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I think this approach is very smart and tactical on Paul's part because the people in the lowest class are probably the most vulnerable. Because they are the lowest of the low, and the most abused and unfortunate class, they are probably searching for something to believe in, so hat their suffering may be validated. Paul is offering them this validation through faith in Christ by saying that although they suffer on earth, they will inherit God's kingdom and be rewarded in Heaven. This was a good way to gain followers and welcome the lower classes into the new faith.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure Paul is being passive aggressive as much as he is just trying to do his job as far as getting the word out. I think he feels like the "inferior" people will be more attracted to the idea of religion and a God more than the upper class with to begin with so he just appeals to them. The lower class people would find more solace in religion because their lives tend to be harder than someone who has everything they could ever want.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maggie, I'm not completely convinced he is being "passive aggressive." I think Paul is attempting to do what he has been called upon to do: spread Christianity. Paul is making his faith seem much more appealing and practical than the other faiths at the time, which makes it more attractive to the lower classes. He is being more so strategic than I'd say passive aggressive. He is attracting the people that are going to be most likely to become his followers. His religion presents the idea of salvation, and life after death, to a class that his been inflicted with countless sufferings.
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