Paul and Conflict Resolution

This book is a literary and historical exegesis of Paul's apostolic paradigm in 1 Corinthians 9. The author argues that chapter 9 is part and parcel of Paul's unified arguments of 1 Corinthians 8-10, which are written to mediate in a dispute over food offered to idols. The questions of how the dispute emerged, how Paul arranges his arguments in the three chapters, and what role 1 Corinthians 9 has in the overall discourse are addressed carefully in the book. Moreover, the question of why Paul and his coworkers did not receive financial support from his audience, which was contrary to the practice of the other missionaries and the normal workforce of the time, and of why he uses such a practice as an example to be imitated by those insisting on their right to eat food offered to idols, are dealt with judiciously. Based on his exegesis of 1 Corinthians 9, the author furthermore attempts to see the relevance of 1 Corinthians 9 for dispute resolution today, taking the conflict within his own church as an example.