Food Offered to Idols in Roman Corinth (PDF)

John Fotopoulos investigates Paul's instructions concerning food offered to idols in 1 Cor. 8:1-11:1 and the possible contexts in which Corinthian Christians encountered sacrificial food, asserting that formal dining at a pagan temple precinct (8:1-10:22) was Paul's primary concern. A comprehensive archeological and social-historical examination of Corinthian temples and cults is undertaken to ascertain locations, attractions, and meanings for formal sacrificial food consumption. The author also employs ancient rhetorical theory to elucidate Paul's instructions, recognizing Corinthian positions quoted by Paul and demonstrating the coherence of Paul's argumentation which seeks to unite two Corinthian factions, the Weak and the Strong, divided over idol-food consumption. John Fotopoulos argues that Paul consistently rejected temple dining, in agreement with the Weak, because such dining actualized a partnership with pagan deities that made the Corinthians, in Paul's opinion, guilty of idolatry. However, Paul allowed the consumption of food purchased at the market (10:25-26) and food served at meals in pagan homes (10:27-11:1) only if the food was not known to be sacrificial food. Thus, Paul's instructions are meant to provide a way that the Corinthians could continue cordial social relations with pagans while also protecting against the idolatrous consumption of sacrificial food.

Born 1967; 1992 M.Div. at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology; 2000-2001 Loyola University Chicago Dissertation Fellow; 2001 Ph.D. at Loyola University Chicago; since 2001 Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana.