Exclusion and Judgment in Fellowship Meals

The Socio-historical Background of 1 Corinthians 11:17–34

Jamir

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781498233385
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This book seeks to demonstrate that the fellowship meal traditions in the ancient world form the background against which the Lord's Supper must be understood. Likewise, the basis of Paul's response to the situation in Corinth and his theology of the Lord's Supper is to be found in the fellowship meal traditions.The book begins with a study of fellowship meal traditions in the Greco-Roman and Jewish societies. The roles and functions of the fellowship meal in these cultures indicate that the fellowship meal was an important institution and it played a pivotal role in the functioning of their societies. One important observation is that judgment was an integral part of the fellowship meal traditions and it made such meal practices all the more significant in ancient cultures.Based on the fellowship meal practices, the study reveals that social-economic factors were only part of the problem in Corinth. Different ideologies and theologies were the underlying reason behind the divisions in the church. Paul's response to the problem reveals that he upheld the fellowship meal traditions. The link between sickness and death and the abuse of the Lord's Supper is a testament to that. The concept of judgment in the Lord's Supper, while based on the fellowship meal traditions, has been redefined in the light of the Gospel tradition.

Chapter 1

Fellowship Meals

Practices in the Ancient World

Introduction

In this chapter we shall look at fellowship meals in their different settings in the Greco-Roman societies and in the Jewish context. It will highlight the importance of the fellowship meals, the different customs and practices that are relevant to the study of the Lord’s Supper in the Corinthian context. The specific roles and functions of the fellowship meals in the different traditions will be discussed later in chapter 2.

Fellowship Meals in the Ancient World

The importance and significance of sharing food among ancient people can be found throughout the extant ancient literature. The practice of fellowship meals appears to be a common trend in the ancient world. The Homeric poems illustrate a number of features of early archaic social life, and in particular the central role of feasting (Od. 1.225–226; 9.5–10).1 Fellowship meals were usually associated with social or religious events and celebrations in the family or community.2

Social scientific studies on meals have shed a lot of light on the role they played in the communities. Mary Douglas who has done extensive anthropological studies on the subject has given an insightful view and explanation on the matter.3 Her views are clearly expressed in this statement:

If food is treated as a social code, the messages it encodes will be found in the pattern of social relations being expressed. The message is about different degrees of hierarchy, inclusion and exclusion, boundaries and transactions across the boundaries. Like sex, the taking of food has a social component, as well as a biological one.4

Meal practices thus reflect society and culture on a microcosmic level. Discussing ritual purity and food laws in different cultures, she illustrates that dining together was simply not an act of satisfying one’s hunger, but it goes well beyond that: “One cannot share the food prepared by people without sharing in their nature.”5 Food in itself constitutes a “code” which carries different social messages and is associated with different social events. Jack Goody shows some concrete examples in certain cultures in this regard:

In looking at the cuisines of the Eurasian societies, we noted a set of specific characteristics: 1. The link between cuisine and “class,” with social groups being characterized by different styles of life. 2. The contradictions, tensions, and conflicts connected with this differentiation. The various forms, include the contradictions between ideologies of equality . . . and ideologies of hierarchy . . . as well as the conflict, at the individual as well as the group level, between fasting acknowledged as “good” and feasting as “pleasurable.”6

So through the ages the practice had become laden with social meaning and significance. Hence food becomes an embodiment of human interaction and relations. Once food is shared the bond between the participants is regarded in a realistic way. Thus in many ancient cultures when meals were shared even with strangers, it implied that the host was willing to protect and defend the guest in case of danger with his life. This prevails even today in certain societies.7 Accordingly, food was considered as a means of creating special bond and community ties among the participants and carried with it a number of obligations. In this regard Robertson Smith observes:

The value of the Arabic evidence is that it supplies proof that the bond of food is valid in and of itself, that religion may be called in to conform and strengthen it, but that the essence of the thing lies in the physical act of eating together.8

Fellowship Meals in the Greco-Roman Milieu

The importance of fellowship meals in the Greco-Roman world cannot be overstated.9 This is seen in the symposia traditions of the different clubs or associations which were central to life in the city-states in the Greco-Roman world.10 One major indication of the importance of the fellowship meal is seen in its extensive coverage and focus by the Greek and Roman authors. Among many, some of the prominent authors are Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle, Lucian, Plutarch, Athenaeus, Catullus, Horace, Cicero, the younger Pliny, Petronius, Aulus Gellius and Macrobius who have written significantly on the subject. Architectural designs of houses an...

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Fellowship Meals
• Chapter 2: Fellowship Meals
• Chapter 3: Fellowship Meals in Corinth
• Chapter 4: Judgment at the Lord’s Supper in Corinth
• Final Conclusion
• Bibliography