Abstract

Most studies of 1 Corinthians 15 have concentrated on the identity of the so-called opponents and the beliefs regarding the after-life that led them to challenge the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. In contrast, by concentrating on the themes of polarity and change in 1 Corinthians 15:35--57, this study argues that Paul uses a didactic argument of accommodation and correction in an attempt to convince the Corinthians that there is a resurrection of the dead. Rather than confronting them as opponents, Paul treats them as uninformed students who are in need of further instruction. Drawing on dialectical techniques and pedagogical models, Paul accommodates the dissenters' views regarding polarity and corrects their false conclusion with the idea of change. ;Given the nature and scope of Paul's argument, it is quite likely that certain members of the Corinthian community had challenged the doctrine of the resurrection because they believed it violated the strictures of their cosmological thinking, a view that was probably philosophical in origin and reflected their pre-Christian worldview. In accommodating their worldview, Paul demonstrates in verses 39--49 that the resurrection can be comprehensible within a cosmological system where the celestial and terrestrial realms are understood as opposites. In verses 39--44a, he demonstrates that the resurrection is compatible with the spatial aspects of this cosmology. In verses 44b--49, he shows that this polar cosmology also allows for the temporal succession of opposites and ultimately an eschatological resurrection. ;Again drawing on didactic models, Paul corrects the false conclusion of the Corinthians dissenters in verses 50--53 with the idea of change. In verse 50, he calls attention to the metaphysical and physical incompatibility between the celestial and terrestrial realms. In verses 51--52, he shows that the resurrection complies with the metaphysical strictures of this polar cosmology because the body that is raised will be changed into a form appropriate for a celestial habitation. Paul then demonstrates in verse 53 that this transformation in the resurrection is necessitated by the metaphysical strictures involved in being raised from one cosmic realm of existence to the other