But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
By foolish, weak, and lowly he referred to people's opinion. Real folly is not lack of verbal skills but absence of faith, weakness and lowly birth are not poverty but impiety and vicious habits. The God of all, at any rate, overcame the learned through the unlearned, and the rich through the poor, and through fishermen he snared the world. If from the outset he had chosen those equipped with wealth and taking pride in rhetorical skill, and made them preachers, not only their adversaries but also the preachers themselves would have come to harm, thinking they prevailed over error through their own power.
By foolish, weak, and lowly he referred to people's opinion. Real folly is not lack of verbal skills but absence of faith, weakness and lowly birth are not poverty but impiety and vicious habits. The God of all, at any rate, overcame the learned through the unlearned, and the rich through the poor, and through fishermen he snared the world. If from the outset he had chosen those equipped with wealth and taking pride in rhetorical skill, and made them preachers, not only their adversaries but also the preachers themselves would have come to harm, thinking they prevailed over error through their own power.
Theodoret of Cyrus, "The First Letter to the Corinthians" on 1 Corinthians 1:27-29
No comments:
Post a Comment