Abstract
An ancient proponent of a minority culture met the challenge of sustaining commit ment to the group through a number of distinct uses of honor discourse. The first half of this article establishes a method for analyzing the rhetorical impact of honor discourse in a text from the Graeco-Roman period and its potential for sustaining group values and commitment; the second half shows the method at work in 1 Thessalonians. Paul insulates the readers from concern for the opinion and approval of the non-believing world by censuring outsiders as unreliable guides to honorable behavior: society's censure of the believers thus should carry no weight. Paul directs their ambitions to the eternal honor to be gained by securing God's approval. The group members are called to reinforce one another's commitment to those distinctive Christian values that will result in honor on the last day.
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