St. Paul's Theology of Proclamation

The question posed by this study is: what is the relationship between Paul's view of preaching and his underlying theological assumptions? The one passage in Paul's epistles which directly addresses this question is 1 Corinthians 1-4, and Dr Litfin demonstrates in his book the rhetorical background of the problems reflected here. Beginning in Athens in the fifth century BC, the first section of the study traces the relevant rhetorical threads through the contributions of the Sophists, Plato, Isocrates, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, and the lesser writers of the first century AD. The result is a clear picture of the nature and importance of rhetoric in first-century Corinth. This historical material is then used to shed light both on the problems Paul faced in Corinth and his responses to these questions as recorded in 1 Corinthians 1-4. A clear contrast emerges between Paul's stated modus operandi as a preacher and that of the first-century rhetor.