This dissertation investigates the theopolitical background ofthe imagery Paul employs in 1 Corinthians 15, particularly in his proclamation of the story ofChrist's parousia and the defeat of Death. It suggests that the apostle appropriated many ofthe images that comprise this story from the ideology ofthe Roman Empire, and that the manner in which he co-opted them illustrates his critical response to that ideology. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul redeploys significant imperial titles (e.g., Kuptos), actions (~o:atAEUE1v), and events ( rro:povolex, viKfl) to frame the gospel narrative that connects Christ's resurrection, arrival and rule (15:20-28) to his final subjugation ofdeath (5058). Re-read in light ofthe images' meanings as prescribed by Rome and as re-appropriated by Paul, these passages reveal a clash of rival soteriological narratives: Paul's "master story," his gospel of salvation won through the resurrection ofhis crucified lord, contests the salvific claims of the imperial discourse, the "story of mastery" as dictated by Rome. The Pauline soteriology that emerges from this engagement can enrich postmodem understandings ofwhat it means to be "saved." The study opens with an assessment of the contemporary (mis)use ofPauline christological and soteriological terms, which seem obscure or arcane when unmoored from their original, sociopolitical milieux. This first chapter proposes that ifthese obscure images are understood as initially embedded in the context of Roman theopolitics, then their meanings should be reappraised in that setting and again as Paul redeploys them. This entails a repositioning ofthe study of the images, first with respect to the narrativalsoteriological relationships they imply (chapter two), then to previous assessments of the texts where Paul reassembles them (three). Chapter four develops a socio-rhetorical model of the hermeneutical obstacles to reading 1 Corinthians through first-century Corinthian eyes and ears, and then addresses the central theopolitical imagery in Rome's story. Chapter five's exegesis finds that the anticipated dismantling of every power, including Death, foregrounds the empire as Death's proximate ally. This and other findings resolve into an exegetically founded Pauline soteriology (chapter six) that calls postmodem theopolitical allegiances into question. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Thesis advisor: Thomas D. Stegman / Thesis advisor: Christopher R. Matthews / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Orientador: Heloisa Helena Baldy dos Reis / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação Física / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T00:31:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Martins_MarianaZuaneti_M.pdf: 1213830 bytes, checksum: 4bce2c8eef22948cfdf7626aacd45293 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar a Democracia Corinthiana no contexto social brasileiro, buscando compreender a relação que os jogadores desenvolveram na gestão do clube corintiano, no período de 1981 a 1985, conhecido como Democracia Corinthiana, de modo a buscar a gênese da ideia dos jogadores como trabalhadores. Chegamos a uma questão essencial: a luz do movimento social geral daquele contexto socioistórico, em que medida o avanço da organização empresarial do Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - o processo de modernização que se desenrolava - se relacionava com as possibilidades de participação empreendidas pelos jogadores na Democracia Corinthiana, bem como quais são os limites e as possibilidades desse meio de gestão? Analisamos os plurais sentidos de democracia que se desenvolveram entre os principais sujeitos do movimento corintiano, de modo a entender o grau de espontaneidade e diferenças de envolvimento, bem como de entendimento, fizeram parte dessa criação histórica. Como parte disso, evidenciamos os sentidos e possibilidades que a participação teve para os jogadores, de modo a circundar a cultura política que se desenvolveu entre os mesmos, envolvendo reflexões sobre o grau de autonomia e de conscientização. Com isso, procuramos compreender como a Democracia Corinthiana concretamente avançou para além do interior do departamento de futebol do clube para influenciar o restante da categoria, forjando uma configuração de trabalhadores da bola. A pesquisa foi realizada por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e entrevistas com dois integrantes da Democracia Corinthiana. Esta pesquisa evidenciou a pluralidade de significados e representações da participação dos jogadores nesse movimento, percebendo diferentes formas de se inserir nele e de constituir a cidadania do jogador de futebol / Abstract: The objective of this research was to analyze the Corinthians Democracy movement in the Brazilian social context, seeking comprehension of the relation developed among the players during the management of the club from 1981 to 1985, period known as the Corinthians Democracy, in order to bring the genesis of the idea of the players as workers. There was an essential question: on the general social movement of that social and historical context, to what extent the progress of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista as an enterprise - in the modernization process then taking place - was related to the possibilities of participation undertaken by the Corinthians Democracy players, as well as which were the limits and possibilities of that management? The plural meanings of democracy that evolved among the main individuals of the Corinthians movement were analyzed in order to understand how spontaneous or integrated, or even how the people that took part of this historic creation understood it. As part of the process, the meanings and possibilities of the participation for the players were analyzed in order to expose the political culture developed among them, including reflections about the extent of autonomy or conscience. Thus we intended to comprehend how the Corinthians Democracy actually developed outside the club's inner football department in order to influence the rest of this worker's class, emulating a configuration of the football workers as a whole. The survey was conducted by bibliographic and documental researches, as well as two members of the Corinthians Democracy were interviewed. This research showed the plurality of the significances and the representations created of the players' participation in this movement, realizing different ways of political participation and of citizenship constitution from the football players / Mestrado / Educação Fisica e Sociedade / Mestre em Educação Física

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The problem of this dissertation is Paul's weakness in II Corinthians 10-13 as the polemical issue upon which the legitimacy of his apostleship depended. In this investigation, the Pauline polemic is regarded as the basic perspective from which both Corinthian theology and Pauline theological motifs are to be examined. The approach taken to the problem, therefore, is distinguished from attempts to reconstruct Corinthian theology as well as from motif-research in Pauline theology. "Weakness" in II Corinthians 10-13 was the term which the Corinthians used for the purpose of characterizing Paul's apostleship, and only in this sense did it become a polemical issue. This characterization of Paul originated from his missionary stance which was expressed in his words and conduct. Though his opponents in Corinth highly esteemed pneumatic demonstrations, it is not likely that Paul was regarded as weak because of his inability to perform them. His claim of equality with the so-called superlative apostles is supported with his reminder to the Corinthians of his previous ministry. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

The Christian congregation in Corinth found Paul’s “weak” presentation of the gospel and his approach to ministry to be scandalous. Recently arrived “apostles” reinforced and accentuated attitudes the congregation had already imbibed from contemporary Corinthian culture. As a result many in the congregation were less than satisfied with Paul’s manner of speech, his apparent lack of “charismatic” qualities, his refusal to accept money from them, his lack of commendatory letters, and his lifestyle that was characterised by suffering, affliction, opposition and weakness. However, Paul’s criteria for evaluating ministry, and by implication God’s criteria, were significantly different from those of the Corinthian congregation. Key verses such as 2 Cor 1:9; 3:5; 4:7; 6:7; 12:9 and 13:4 indicate that Paul maintained that Christian life and ministry generally, and apostolic ministry in particular, must be carried out through divine power, not human power. His apostolic ministry was valid because it was exercised as God’s representative, in God’s presence (2:17), with God as judge (5:10) and as a result of God’s mercy (4:1), not as a result of his own power, authority, eloquence or charismatic presence. The theological underpinning for Paul’s approach to ministry is found in 13:4 where Christ who “was crucified as a result of weakness, but lives as a result of God’s power” is the model for Paul who “shares in his weakness”, but in ministry to the Corinthians, also “lives as a result of God’s power”. Paul’s model for ministry was one of dependence on God. This is most clearly demonstrated in the “affliction” he experienced in Asia where he despaired of life itself, but in the process learned to rely on “God who raises the dead”. Thus his suffering, weakness and affliction, far from being disqualifiers for ministry, were in fact, demonstrations of his authenticity as a minister whose competency came from God and not from himself (3:6).

This thesis takes as its subject Paul’s use of sarcasm, using 2 Corinthians 10–13 as a case study. While there has been some work done on the related subject of irony in the Pauline corpus, scholarship has not addressed the issue of sarcasm specifically. For this reason, not only is a dedicated work on sarcasm useful for its own sake, but it also has the potential to nuance previous work on irony, as it can be difficult to generalize when dealing with such a broad rhetorical category. Due to the paucity of previous work on sarcasm – or related subjects – in Paul, the second major contribution of the study will be methodological. The goal of this discussion is to generate a working definition of sarcasm and to develop techniques for sarcasm recognition in ancient texts. To this end, I will survey ancient and modern thought on sarcasm so as to benefit from the insights of contemporary research while grounding the work in categories relevant to a Pauline context. Following the question of method, the final task will be an analysis of 2 Cor 10–13. Here the aim is threefold: to identify and analyze sarcastic statements, to address instances where the presence of sarcasm can contribute to the discussion of exegetical issues, and finally, to draw broader conclusions about the rhetorical effects of Paul’s use of sarcasm. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / This thesis analyzes Paul’s use of sarcasm in 2 Corinthians 10–13. To this end, the first two chapters seek to answer the questions: What is sarcasm? And, how do we find sarcasm in ancient texts far removed from our own culture? We approach these questions by surveying both ancient and modern thought on sarcasm. The goal at this point is to draw as straight a line as possible from classical to contemporary discussions, so that our analysis of Paul can benefit the insights of recent work while remaining grounded in terms current to Paul’s day. With this background, it is then possible to address Paul’s use of sarcasm in 2 Corinthians 10–13. The primary aims of this chapter are to identify sarcastic statements and analyze how they contribute to Paul’s overall argumentation. Additionally, instances where our analysis can contribute to scholarly debates over certain passages are also addressed.

Thesis advisor: Matthew Monnig / Thesis advisor: Thomas Stegman / Early Christian meal making practices have received considerable attention in recent decades, especially considering recent sociological discoveries around the Greco-Roman Banquet structure in first century Mediterranean cultures. Biblical meal making, such as St. Paul's account of the Lord's Supper in 1 Cor 11:23-35, have garnered new attention considering these insights. In current scholarship, the dominant model for analyzing meal practices - such as the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians - is through the sociological model which reads Christian meals almost exclusively in conversation with this Greco-Roman banquet culture. Paul's meaning and understanding of the meal is understood through what would be intelligible within this wider first century meal making culture. Too often, Paul's Jewish background is not given propper attention in explicating his meaning of the Lord's Supper. This thesis argues that it is Paul's Jewish background and theological worldview that are the primary sites of meaning to discern his understanding of the Lord's Supper. Thus, the methodology best suited to "decode" Paul's meaning is the theory intertexuality, especially as developed by Richard Hays. Using this methodology of intertextuality, this thesis reads Paul's language in 1 Cor 10-11 through the conversation that develops from these OT echoes. What is heard, regarding the Lord's Supper, is that Paul understands it to be a cultic act of worship and sacrifice. As a cultic act, the elements of the meal - the bread and wine - are sacred in themselves and mediate the divine presence to the community. The community themselves shares in the divine presence through the meal, and thus the Lord's Supper ought to be understood as an act of cultic theosis in Paul's Corinthian Community. / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

In response to the argument that Paul seeks to dominate his audience through his discourse, I join the current conversation about Paul and power by exploring language and power in the Pauline Epistles. By analyzing Paul's use of power embodied in his use of language, I argue that Paul seeks to empower the Corinthians to think and act according to Jesus Christ's cruciform authority. I work within a postmodern hermeneutical paradigm of diversity. My study acknowledges the personal interest and subjectivity of any interpreter but seeks to avoid subordinating the notion of understanding to that of self-interest. Thus, it approaches the topic as a dialogue with the author-other Paul and, at the same time, a conversation with other interpreters of Paul. To achieve a dialogic interpretation, I begin by reflecting on my social location and personal interests concerning power and authority and then complete the circle by reflecting theologically on using power in my context. At the core of the dissertation, I appropriate a socio-linguistic approach to analyze, first, the power structure embedded in Paul's discourse and, second, the influence enacted via Paul' s discourse- i.e., power in words and power via words. I present my argument in this way owing to my conviction that social structure and power relationships shape linguistic behaviour, and conversely, discursive practices influence social (and personal) formation. After a thorough analysis and comparative study of 1 and 2 Corinthians, I critically evaluate Paul's use of power, engaging in dialogue with diverse perspectives on various power-related issues, and theologically reflect on ethics of power. Overall, Paul represents himself as a leader authorized and empowered by God and also as a steward accountable to his Lord Jesus Christ. Although he shows little interest in changing unjust social structures, his discourse indicates an effort to foster a culture of empowering less privileged members within Christian communities. When handling unjust criticisms against him, he stands firm to defend his apostleship and mission. But I suggest that his defense should not be regarded as selfish but as a means to a better end, namely, the protection and upbuilding of the community. Moreover, Paul represents himself as having long-term responsibility to care for the congregations he (and his team) has planted without necessarily seeking permanent control over them. In conclusion, I argue that given his social context, Paul, as God's accountable steward, seeks not to dominate the Corinthians but to empower them to mature in their understanding and to conduct themselves appropriately under the cruciform authority of Jesus Christ.

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