Abstract
It is disputed whether the conflicts in the Corinthian congregationwere influenced by social factors or not. This article begins by discussing the socialstatus of Paul, which may have shaped his outlook, and Paul’s statementson the congregation as a whole. The main part analyses two conflicts concerning Christian and pagan cultic meals. Taking seriously the criticism of J.J. Meggitt in his book Paul, Poverty, and Survival (1998) it makes a case for the sociological explanation of the group conflicts visible at the Lord’ssupper (1 Cor. 11.17-34) and the controversy about idol meat (1 Cor 8.1-10.33), reworking old arguments concerning meal habits and adding some new arguments based, for example, on the social function of the macellum.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.