Online Journal Article: "I Write These Things Not To Shame You" JETS 60/1 (2017): 105–24

https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-1/JETS_60-1_105-124_Lau.pdf

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https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-1/JETS_60-1_105-124_Lau.pdf

From the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS)

Abstract: Paul’s denial that he intends to shame his readers in 1 Cor 4:14 is puzzling. The
catalog of afflictions in 4:8–13, with its sarcasm, appears designed to shame. Moreover, Paul
explicitly writes in two other places (6:5; 15:34) that he intends to shame them. Through an
exegetical investigation of 4:14 within the larger context of 1 Corinthians 1–4 and a comparison of Paul’s rhetoric of shame with other Greco-Roman moralists, this article argues that Paul does intend to shame his readers in 4:14. More importantly, 4:14 functions as the paradigm for understanding Paul’s rhetoric of shame in 1 Corinthians, a rhetoric in which Paul uses shame as a pedagogical tool for transforming the minds of his readers into the mind of Christ.
Key Words: Paul, 1 Corinthians, shame, mind of Christ, moral formation, ethics