The Church Without Ascetics: The Lack of an Ascetic Group in Corinth

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the last century, many interpreters have argued that there was an influential ascetic faction in the Corinthian church. Many have pointed to the apparent slogan of such a group in 1 Cor 7:1, which is said to represent the opinion of a group who rejected sex or marriage on theological grounds. Some have pointed to the slogan about the resurrection of the dead in 1 Cor 15:12 and concluded that the same group is evident there, expressing a preference for the disembodied soul over a future embodied existence. This article freshly examines 1 Cor 7 and 15 and concludes that the hypothesis of an ascetic faction in the Corinthian church is exegetically unnecessary and unpersuasive. Specifically, 1 Cor 7:1 is seen to present Paul’s own position, in a way that is designed to provoke and correct detractors in Corinth. It is conceded that 1 Cor 15 does seem to suggest a Corinthian assumption of a disembodied afterlife; but it is demonstrated that the Corinthians held no preference for such a state. This article argues that it is time for the “ascetic hypothesis” to be dismissed.