This thesis investigates the conflict which existed in Corinth around the mid-first
century C.E concerning Christian involvement in cultic meals. Following a brief
introduction, the state of scholarship is surveyed in Chapter 1 and it becomes apparent that
the general emphasis has been either on detailed exegesis of Paul's teaching in 1 Cor.8-10
or on Greek/Oriental cultic meal evidence from Classical and Hellenistic times. Little
attention has been paid to the actual nature and dynamics of the sacrificial food issue itself
or to the Corinthians' own perceptions of such cultic events.
Chapter Two deals with a contemporary case study of cultic meals among the
Torajanese people of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Using literary evidence and detailed oral
interviews, it emerges that among Christians, there exists a wide range of individual
viewpoints regarding the nature and perceived significance of images, sacrifices and
communal meals. This spectrum of opinion finds its root in the existence of genuine
ambiguities, boundary definition problems and conceptual differences regarding the nature
of divinity and humanity. The result has been the emergence of a large number of different
perspectives on the validity of Christian attendance at, and participation in, such cultic
festivals.
In Chapter Three, archaeological evidence and reports are assessed in order to
suggest which cults were operative in mid first century C.E. Corinth and which might
therefore have been the objects of Paul's attention in I Cor.8-10. The unresolved issue of
Greek/Roman continuity is considered.
Chapter Four and Five present detailed primary source materials concerning
images, sacrifices and communal meals, with emphasis on the cults of Demeter/Kore,
Asclepius, Isis/Sarapis, cults of the dead and with special attention being given to Imperial
Cult. Study of cultic terminology, cultic practice and the perceived significance of cultic
phenomena yields evidence of ambiguities, boundary delimitation issues and conceptual
variations regarding the natures of the divine and the human.
Finally in Chapter Six, detailed exegesis of sections of 1 Cor. 8-10 takes account of
this Greco-Roman background research. The unity of 1 Cor.8-10 is defended, but the
long-held hypotheses of Gnosticism and Sacramental Communion are criticized. The
issue of sacrificial food was complicated and triggered a broad range of genuine individual
perspectives. Confronted by such a complex dilemma, involving valid viewpoints on all
sides, the apostle deals firmly with the issue of eating in 8: 1-13 but sets his clearest
boundary marker in 10: 14-22 where he forbids involvement by believers in actual pagan
sacrificial acts. These two sections of the text are thus in basic harmony, and are not in
conflict. The plethora of feasible individual interpretations and viewpoints compels Paul to
dwell continuously on general principles which are designed to lead his readers away from
entrenched individual positions and towards concern for the Christian community. The
complex dynamic of sacrificial food, and the consequent controversy involved in trying to
define 'idolatry', makes it an ongoing, and largely intractable, problem for many churches
today.