Knowledge Puffs Up, But Love Builds Up
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (1 Cor. 8:1 NRS) Did you notice in today’s reading from Paul, it almost sounds like the Corinthians communicate via Twitter? It’s as if Paul’s letter to them is full of echoes of their own tweets: “all of us possess knowledge,” “no idol in the world really exists,” “there is no God but one,” “food will not bring us close to God.” The disciples in Corinth are trying to justify their actions with little sound bites. What actions exactly are they justifying? It was a common pagan practice at that time to sacrifice an animal to some deity or another, burn a bit of it in offering on the altar, and either sell the rest of the animal in the marketplace or use the meat at a festival or social event. Because of this, Corinthian Christians who ate meat could be eating food that was sacrificed to an idol. There were many disciples in Corinth who were not going to let that stop them from enjoying a nice steak or cause them to turn down an invitation t