This thesis argues that (1) Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 are coherent and consistent, and (2) that the apostle’s instructions does not express his departure from Judaism. For many years, scholars working on 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 have struggled to explain how these two chapters are connected and what Paul’s instructions within the two chapters are. I present a new reading of 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 where I argue that these chapters are connected in a coherent way and that Paul deals with two separate, yet connected, contexts in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. In 1 Corinthians 8, he instructs the Corinthian Christ followers that they can take part in the dinners that often followed an animal sacrifice in antiquity, as long as it does not present an issue to another Christ followers. The key reason for this is the social capital at stake, would they not partake in these dinners. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul tells the Christ followers that they cannot participate at the altar when animals are sacrificed. Doing so would be a violation against their exclusive relationship with the god of Israel and Jesus Christ. Many have read 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 as evidence for Paul’s departure from Judaism. I push back against this understanding by placing Paul’s instructions in the wider web of Jewish literature from the Second Temple period and the early rabbinic period. By comparing Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 to texts from these time periods, it becomes clear that Paul is part of an ongoing Jewish conversation about how someone could remain faithful to the god of Israel while living in a gentile society. / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy / In this thesis, I examine Paul’s instructions regarding various level of engagement in gentile cults in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. My thesis contributes to a new reading of these two chapters and I argue that 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 deal with two distinct, yet connected, issues. In the former chapter, Paul instructs Christ followers on how they should act when dining in temples dedicated to idols (something he in principle allows); in the latter, he instructs them to avoid all participation at the altar where the sacrifice takes place. By recognizing these two different contexts, Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 become more understandable, coherent, and consistent. In addition, I argue that Paul’s instructions should be read within the wider context of Second Temple Judaism and early rabbinic Judaism, and not as evidence that Paul left Judaism.

<p>In this study I situate socio-historically the adoption of the term <em>ekklēsia</em> as a permanent collective identity by early Christ-followers, particularly Pauline ones. I contribute to at least four areas of <em>ekklēsia</em> research. First, my examination of almost 1900 inscriptional occurrences of the word <em>ekklēsia</em> indicates a lack of evidence for a non-civic association self-identifying collectively as an <em>ekklēsia</em>. Second, I develop the preliminary observation by Runesson, Binder, and Olsson (2008) that <em>ekklēsia</em> can refer either to a gathering of Jews or to the self-designation of a Jewish community, i.e., that <em>ekklēsia</em> is one among several terms that can be translated into English as “synagogue.” This problematizes, from an institutional perspective, suggestions common in scholarship that Paul was “parting ways” with Judaism(s), ‘Jewishness,’ or Jewish organizational forms. Third, given both that non-Jewish Christ-followers could not be designated using the ethno-religious term “Israel” and that <em>ekklēsia</em> is a Jewish synagogue term, Paul’s designation of his multi-ethnic communities as <em>ekklēsiai</em> allowed gentiles qua gentiles to share with Torah observant Jews qua Jews in God’s salvation history with Israel. <em>Ekklēsia</em>, thus, does not indicate an inherently supersessionist identity for communities designated by this term. Fourth, Paul’s adoption of a political identity (civic <em>ekklēsia</em>) for his communities need not imply his promotion of counter-imperial civic ideology. Greek literary (e.g., Plutarch) and inscriptional evidence suggests that if an Imperial period non-civic group (e.g., voluntary association) self-designated as an <em>ekklēsia</em>, it could have been perceived as a positive, rather than as an anti-Roman, participant in society.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Orthodox Christianity came to the Banyore people of western Kenya in 1942. The Banyore are Bantu speaking people whose language belongs to the Luhya group of languages. The Banyore live near the Uganda border; they are thought to be related to the famous Uganda Kingdom of Bunyoro Kitara. The first Christian missionaries among the Banyore were Protestants who came from South Africa in 1905. . The Orthodox faith reached Bunyore in 1942, through a Kenyan missionary from central Kenya, Bishop George (Arthur) Gathuna, and Fr Obadiah from Uganda. The point of note here is that the first Orthodox Christian missionaries to introduce the Orthodox Christian faith to the Banyore people were Kenyans. I shall examine the relation between Orthodox Christianity and Banyore culture, and show how Orthodox Christianity, in dialogue with the Banyore people, became indigenised in Bunyore culture. Thus Orthodox Christians in Bunyore do not see Orthodoxy as something foreign, but as something that has become part of their own culture. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)

Orthodox Christianity came to the Banyore people of western Kenya in 1942. The Banyore are Bantu speaking people whose language belongs to the Luhya group of languages. The Banyore live near the Uganda border; they are thought to be related to the famous Uganda Kingdom of Bunyoro Kitara. The first Christian missionaries among the Banyore were Protestants who came from South Africa in 1905. . The Orthodox faith reached Bunyore in 1942, through a Kenyan missionary from central Kenya, Bishop George (Arthur) Gathuna, and Fr Obadiah from Uganda. The point of note here is that the first Orthodox Christian missionaries to introduce the Orthodox Christian faith to the Banyore people were Kenyans. I shall examine the relation between Orthodox Christianity and Banyore culture, and show how Orthodox Christianity, in dialogue with the Banyore people, became indigenised in Bunyore culture. Thus Orthodox Christians in Bunyore do not see Orthodoxy as something foreign, but as something that has become part of their own culture. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)