as analyzed by Sheila Rangslinger

1 Corinthians Highlights

• 1:7-8 Paul tells the Corinthians to be good until "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." So he expected Jesus to return within their lifetimes. And he did. See series here.
• 1:10 JW issue, we pass.
• 1:14-16 Poor Paul is confused. First he says that he baptized no one. Well, except for Crispus and Gaius. And maybe Stephanus and his household. He can't remember if he did it to anyone else. Poor SAB is uneducated about Greco-Roman rhetoric. See here.
• 1:19 Paul says God will destroy wisdom and understanding, even though Proverbs (4:7) says God greatly values these attributes. See here.
• 1:21 God saves fools and is pleased with their foolishness. SAB still doesn't grasp Greco-Roman rhetoric.
• 1:27 God has "chosen the foolish things of the world." Ditto.
• 2:2-5 If you are to be a good Christian you must try to know nothing. Another SAB exegetical mystery.
• 2:8 Paul says the "princes of this world" crucified Jesus. But according to the gospels, there were no princes involved with Jesus' execution. See here.
• 2:15 If you want to be "spiritual" then you must disobey Jesus (Mt.7:1) and judge everyone and everything. See here.
• 3:17 If you defile the temple of God (your body), then God will destroy you. I don't know how you could defile your own body, but if you manage to do it somehow, God will kill you. Try smoking, cutting it ritually....we are sure SAB has many ideas.
• 3:18-19 Christians who want to be wise must become fools. But then they'll have a problem since fools shall not stand in the sight of God (Ps.5:5). Still not getting Greco-Roman rhetoric.
• 4:10 Christians are "fools for Christ's sake" and therefore shall not stand in the sight of God (Ps.5:5). Ditto.
• 4:16 Paul establishes his own cult by telling others to follow him. The word means "imitators" and is no different than any moral teacher telling his students to follow his example.
• 5:1-5 Paul, judging from rumors alone, Rumors? It is something reported commonly, not a rumor. complains that there are fornicators among his followers in Corinth; he is even worried that some have had sex with their fathers' wives. He says that those who have done these things should be expelled from their community and that they will later be sent to hell. Yes, and what? Is SAB interested in following their example?
• 5:3, 12-13, 6:2-3 Paul, contrary to the admonition of Jesus against judging (Mt.7:1, Lk.6:37), judges others and advises his followers to do likewise. See above.
• 5:5 Pauls delivers someone's body to Satan so that his flesh can be destroyed and his soul saved. Mere argument by outrage.
• 5:9-13 JW issue, we pass.
• 5:11 Ditto.
• 6:1,5 Three in a row for the JWs.
• 6:6-7 A believer should not sue another believer in court. That's true. Maybe he likes it, hard to tell.
• 6:9-11 Paul lists ten things that will keep you out of heaven, including homosexuality and being "effeminate." Still waiting for a defense of the core principle implied here that homosexuality is not a sin.
• 6:12 Everything is lawful to Paul, and he submits himself to no law. SAB's still not informed of rhetoric. Paul is in the first aspect quoting back a Corinthian party slogan, then refuting it.
• 6:15-16 Paul asks if he should "take the members of Christ, and make them members of an harlot?" He further asks, "Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body?" I didn't know that. Obviously not. SAB also has problems with ancient methods of didactic teaching, which included "stating the obvious". It still needs to be done even today.
• 7:1-2 Paul would prefer that no one marry. but he says "to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife." Yes, and what's the problem?
• 7:3 Husbands and wives should be kind to each other. He likes it.
• 7:5 Paul wishes that men and woman would abstain from sex, but tells them to "come together" to avoid being tempted by Satan. Yes, and the problem, again, is what?
• 7:7 Paul's advice not to marry is contrary to that given in Gen.2:18 and Pr.18:22. See here.
• 7:9 Finally, after discouraging marriage for eight verses, Paul concedes that "it is better to marry than to burn." See above -- context of advice matters.
• 7:12 "But to the rest speak I, not the Lord." Really? So this stuff is in scripture but is not inspired by God? See here.
• 7:15 Paul contradicts Jesus by allowing divorce when the 'unbelieving' partner chooses to leave. See here.
• 7:18 Paul says those who are circumcised should "not become uncircumcised." (It's pretty hard to undo.) Not for the Jews of the Hellenistic age, who found ways to undo it in appearance. SAB could stand to study the Maccabbean era.
• 7:21 Slaves should not desire their freedom. See here.
• 7:25 "Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment." So this is just Paul's opinion and is not divinely inspired scripture? See above.
• 7:27 Paul advises (contrary to Pr.18:22) those that are "loosed from a wife" not to get married again. What is Proverbs? See here.
• 7:29 Paul, like Jesus and the other New Testament writers, expects the end to come soon. "The time is short." So there's no time for sex, anyway, since the world will be ending soon. We know how SAB wouldn't want to miss sex. See top entry link.
• 8:1 Love is a good thing. He likes it.
• 8:6 How many gods are there? See here.
• 8:13 Do as Paul says, not as he does. Don't eat meat. In context, meat sacrificed to idols, which is not much of a problem today.
• 9:1 In an apparent reference to his supposed encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul asks, "Have I not seen Jesus?" Well, if we can believe Acts, he didn't. That account says he was blinded and saw no one (Acts 9:8). Um, it says, after the experience was over he was blinded and saw no one.
• 9:9-10 Paul quotes Dt.25:4, "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn." That sounds like a nice humane law. Until Paul explains it, that is. He asks, "Does God care about oxen?", and then answers his own rhetorical question by saying, "Hell no. The law is for our sakes." According to Paul, God doesn't give a d*mn about animals. We'd like to see where the "hell no" appears in the passage. Paul says it is written "altogether" for our sakes -- i.e., it is not restricted to oxen, but expounds a general principle of provision.
• 10:7 Don't be an idolater. If you do, God will make you sit down to eat and then rise up to play. And the problem is, what?
• 10:8 Paul claims that God killed 23,000 in a plague for worshipping Aaron's golden calf, but Numbers (25:9) says that he killed 24,000. See here.
• 10:9 If you tempt Christ (How could you tempt Christ?), then you will die from snakebites. See here, otherwise just outrage.
• 10:10 If you murmur, then you'll be destroyed by the destroyer (God). Just outrage.
• 10:11 Paul says that the end of the world will come during his lifetime. See link, top entry.
• 10:20 Gentiles sacrifice to devils. If you have gentile friends, then you are friends with devils. Another SAB exegetical mystery. "Fellowship" means partaking of, as one would do if one participated in such a sacrifice in those days.
• 10:23 Everything is lawful to Paul. See above.
• 10:25 Paul says you can eat anything you like, contrary to the laws given in Dt.14:7-8. See principles here.
• 10:33 In Galatians (1:10) Paul says, "If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." In this verse he says, "I please all men in all things." Therefore Paul is not the servant of Christ. See here.
• 11:3 Paul says "the head of the woman is the man," meaning that the women are to be subordinate to men. See here.
• 11:3 According to Paul, Jesus is subordinate to God; therefore, Jesus cannot be God. But this contradicts many verses implying that Jesus is God. See here.
• 11:5-6 Women must cover their heads in church. See link above.
• 11:7-9 Men are made in "the image and glory of God," but not women; they are "the glory" of men. Paul concludes that women are made from and for men. Ditto.
• 11:14 It is unnatural and shameful for a man to have long hair. See here.
• 11:26 JW issue, we pass.
• 11:27, 29 Those that "eateth and drinketh unworthily" will go to hell. Mere outrage, but the word actually means judgment.
• 11:30 Those who eat and drink unworthily often get sick and die. Outrage only.
• 12:31 Paul says that we should break the tenth commandment (Ex.20:17, Dt.5:21) by coveting "earnestly the best gifts." See here.
• 13:4-6 Some nice thoughts about charity. He likes it.
• 13:7 Contrary to the advise given in Proverbs (14:15) and First Thessalonians (5:21), Paul recommends that we believe everything. See here.
• 13:11 Paul says we should "put away childish things" (like believing in the bible?) Like SAB commentary? , yet Jesus said one must become childish in order to go to heaven (Mt.18:3, Mk.10:15, Lk.18:37). SAB as usual fails to distinguish between coming as a child (as Jesus said) and remaining one.
• 14:8-9 Speak clearly. Too bad the whole Bible doesn't follow this principle. Too bad SAB isn't willing to educate himself.
• 14:20 Unlike Jesus, who told his followers to become like little children (Mt.18:3, Mk.10:15, Lk.18:17), Paul tells his followers to "be not children in understanding." See above.
• 14:33 Paul says that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. But Exodus (15:3) says that God "is a man of war." See here.
• 14:34-35 Women are commanded by Paul to be silent in church and to be obedient to men. He further says that "if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in church." See above.
• 14:38 Paul says that the ignorant should stay ignorant. SAB also fails to recognize sarcasm: "If that's the way you want it..."
• 14:39 The tenth commandment forbids coveting (Ex.20:17, Dt.5:21), but Paul highly recommends it. See above.
• 15:3-4 These verses claim that the scriptures prophesied that Jesus would suffer, die, and be resurrected from the dead. But where are the prophecies that are referred to here? Hosea 6:2 perhaps? But this verse refers to the people living at the time (hence "us") and therefore cannot be fulfilled by the the death and resurrection of Jesus. See principles here.
• 15:5 Paul claims that Jesus was first seen by Cephas and then by all twelve apostles (including Judas) after Judas' suicide and before Jesus' resurrection. It should be noted that this was before Matthias was selected to replace Judas. See here.
• 15:6 Paul claims that Jesus appeared to more than five hundred believers before his ascension. But Acts (1:15) says that after the ascension the number of believers "were about a hundred and twenty." That's the number in the room. Where does it say that was the entire set of all believers?
• 15:8 In an apparent reference to his encounter on the road to Damascus, Paul says, "And last of all he was seen by me." But Acts (9:5) says he saw no one because he was blinded. See above.
• 15:14, 17 Paul says, "If Christ be not raised from the dead, your faith is in vain." But many were raised from the dead before Jesus. So what's the big deal. See here.
• 15:16 "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised." But many bible verses say that there is no afterlife. See here.
• 15:29 SAB breaks from baiting JWs to bait Mormons. Guess on what subject.
• 15:36 Paul calls people fools, thereby making himself eligible for "hell fire" (according to the words of Jesus in Mt.5:22). See here.
• 15:36 Paul shows his ignorance (and God's) of biology by saying that only dead seeds will germinate. Actually, a seed must be alive to germinate. SAB shows his provinicialism, see here.
• 15:52 Paul says the dead will "be raised incorruptible." But many Old Testament passages disagree. See above.
• 16:14 Do all things with love. He likes it.
• 16:22 Romans 12:14 says, "Bless, and curse not." But in this verse Paul curses those who don't love Jesus and says that they are to be "anathema" (damned). So how should we treat our enemies? See here.