"But We Have this Treasure in Clay Jars:" Interpreting the Pauline Paradox in the Postcolonial Context of Corinth

Abstract

Scholarly research on 2 Corinthians 4 emphasizes the abiding faith, hope, strength, and courage to be found in the text, as Paul describes his attitude towards the salvific divine power of God in the face of struggles and afflictions. This project argues that by reading Corinth as a postcolonial context the text shows the debilitating presence of imperial power over the subjects and objects within it. Just as colonial power remains both visible and invisible in the formation and the maintenance of the Nigerian state, so does the Roman imperial power remain a present and shadowed entity in the reading of 2 Corinthians 4. Therefore, my project asks, “How do different groups in Corinth, and in contemporary postcolonial contexts navigate agency, belonging, subjectivity, and hierarchical relationships within complex systems of collective resource distribution and identity formation?” I discuss how Paul's encouragement and inspiration for faith and practice among the Corinthians is divided between sustaining hope and reapplying existing imperial methods of organization which allow for the survival of those within the empire. The paradoxes these ambivalent reactions construct are at once liberating and revitalizing as well as constricting and exclusive. For the many within the context of Corinth and in contemporary times, it becomes apparent that sustaining life is dependent on substantial contributions towards obtaining power, authority, and legitimacy. I employ African biblical hermeneutics, postcolonial feminism, rhetorical and materialist criticism as intersecting methods of interpretation. These emphasize the imperial and textual context of the reading of 2 Corinthians 4, in addition to the socioeconomic experiences of those within the text and those within the Nigerian context. I conclude that this project has insightful implications for future studies as it may help to inform the ethical stance of interpreters against socioeconomic and political policies which sustain, displace, and deny the full humanity of the disowned, the poor, the displaced, and the exploited.