“The Two Tables of the Law and Paul’s Ethical Methodology in 1 Corinthians 6:12–20 and 10:23–11:1,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 75.2 (2013): 315–334

My first piece on Paul

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Abstract

Two passages in 1 Corinthians, 6:12–20 and 10:23–11:1, provide a unique glimpse into the inner workings of Paul’s ethics. In both texts, Paul begins by quoting an apparent community slogan that asserts the autonomous rights of the Corinthian believer. As he then addresses the issues of sexual relations with prostitutes (6:13–20) and the consumption of food offered to idols (10:24–11:1), Paul gradually and comprehensively reigns in this antinomian assertion, ironically conforming it to the two tables of the Mosiac law. While Paul may use Stoic-Cynic categories of ethical discourse and Greco-Roman rhetorical techniques to reason through these two issues, ultimately the ethos commended by these two passages is determined by the two tables, now Christologically informed and transformed.