Fool's Gold

Abstract

They've got a name for the winners of the world, I want a name when I lose They call Alabama the Crimson Tide, Call me deacon blues The title of this study is deliberately ambiguous. “Fool's gold” is known to be false gold; gold for fools, gold that fools. However, with an emphasis on gold rather than on fool, “fool's gold” means gold from a fool, my intended meaning. I am deliberately ambiguous, however, because, for his readers, Paul's use of the word “fool” is just plain folly; they miss the point, and cannot get beyond the plain meaning. Furthermore, Paul himself was ambiguous in his self-portrayal as fool. In one breath he says “Let no one take me for a fool.” In another he states just the opposite: “we are fools for Christ” and “God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom.” He also states, “you should become fools so that you may become wise (2 Cor 11:16, 17; 1 Cor 4:10; 1 Cor 1:25; 1 Cor 3:18). Paul reinforces his self-description of “fool” for Christ (4:9) with ancient Greek theater imagery. Most notable is: “spectacle” ( theatron); “be imitators” ( mimetai — the verbal form of the mime); and “fool” ( môros, or “moron”) — a bit part, low class actor in the mime. Through theater imagery, Paul weaves together theological, sociological, and political themes that lie at the heart of his missiological engagement with the world. Paul's nuances of ‘fool’ reveal the secret of humility and suffering in the context of discipleship. His assertion, “imitate me” in the “ways of the Lord” (4:16.17), speaks to issues that divide the Corinthian community: imitate me, the low class fool, the team player, rather than the wise of the world that set themselves above others. Paul's use of ‘fool’ is examined in 1 Corinthians 4, satirically, ironically, historically, theologically, and missiologically. This opens up windows to the contemporary emerging church and its inverted nature as a contrast to traditional church structures and hierarchies.