Not with Eloquent Wisdom: Democratic Ekklēsia Discourse in 1 Corinthians 1–4

Abstract

For the most part, scholars have disregarded the influence of the democratic, civic ekklēsia on Paul’s discussion over speech and wisdom in 1 Cor. 1–4. Yet the notion of the civic ekklēsia served as a source of practice, identity and democratic discourse in the early Roman Empire. Moreover, speech proved to be a critical topos of democratic rhetoric, a topos structuring the nature of citizen participation and leadership in the ekklēsia context. Reading 1 Cor. 1–4 in light of ekklēsia discourse provides new insights into Paul’s rhetoric as designed to establish his authority by negotiating with a community that understood itself as a powerful, democratic assembly.