Rhetoric Reconsidered : Paul's Rhetorical Invention in Early Christian Discourse

The author identifies a constellation of Christ-centered topoi including the authority of Christ's words and tradition, the salvific works of Christ, union with Christ, affiliation to the Christ community, sin against Christ, the triumphant rule of Christ, hope in Christ for the afterlife, and the Lordship of Christ as a threat.

In this groundbreaking study, the author introduces and applies "Christ Rhetoric" (CR), a systematic framework for analyzing Paul's distinctive argumentative strategies in 1 Corinthians. Building upon Greco-Roman rhetorical foundations, this work demonstrates how Paul's approach both draws from and strategically deviates from classical rhetoric to create a distinctively Christian form of persuasion. This work demonstrates how Paul employs a Christ-centered approach to persuade his readers through specialized Christian topoi, narrative elements, and "mediate rhetoric." The author identifies a constellation of Christ-centered topoi including the authority of Christ's words and tradition, the salvific works of Christ, union with Christ, affiliation to the Christ community, sin against Christ, the triumphant rule of Christ, hope in Christ for the afterlife, and the Lordship of Christ as a threat. Through detailed analysis of 1 Corinthians 15:1-34, the study reveals how Paul consistently appeals to these topoi in his attempt to change the behavior and belief of the Corinthian Christians. Employing interdisciplinary approaches including historical criticism, empire criticism, social identity theory, and narrative analysis, the work demonstrates how Paul replaces imperial imagery with Christ-centered alternatives, constructs community boundaries, and portrays death as Christ's personal enemy. The work defines the framework and then applies it to 1 Corinthians, providing valuable new insights into Paul's argumentative strategy, theological reasoning, and ethical exhortation, while establishing a framework applicable to other Pauline texts. By demonstrating that Christ was central not only to Paul's theology but also to his argumentative strategy, this work makes a significant contribution to our understanding of New Testament rhetoric and Pauline studies.