69-

APOSTASY IN THE WILDERNESS:

PAULS MESSAGE TO THE CORINTHIANS IN A STATE OF
ESCHATOLOGICAL LIMINALITY
B.J.

George

Oropeza

Fox

University, 414 N. Meridain St

Newberg, OR 97132

to the subject of apostasy and pertheir

commonly
starting point either systematic
theological or traditio-historical methods. These approaches do not, of
course, exhaust the ways of interpreting apostasy, but they are currently
the most prominent. Significant contributions in this area have come
from the works of G.C. Berkouwer, Schuyler Brown, I. Howard Marshall and D.A. Carson. Judith Gundry Volfs Paul and Perseverance:
Staying in and Falling away is perhaps the most detailed study of this

Recent New Testament

severance

approaches

use as

kind.I
A few observations are worth discussion regarding Gundry Volfss
method. She examines perseverance and apostasy in a topical-exegetical fashion. This approach, she claims, illuminates parallel nuances and
contrasts between texts of shared topoi. She claims that although her

1. G.C. Berkouwer, Faith and Perseverance (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958);

S. Brown, Apostasy and Perseverance in the Theology of Luke (AnBib; Rome:
Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969); I.H. Marshall, Kept by the Power of God: A
Study of Perseverance and Falling Away (Library of Ecumenical Studies; London:
Epworth Press, 1969); I.H. Marshall, The Problem of Apostasy in New Testament
Theology, in Jesus the Saviour (London: SPCK, 1990), pp. 306-24; D.A. Carson,
Reflections on Christian Assurance, WTJ 54 (1992), pp. 1-29; J.M. Gundry Volf,
Paul and Perseverance: Staying in and Falling away (WUNT; Tübingen: J.C.B.
Mohr [Paul Siebeck]; Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990). For
other sources, see R.A. Peterson, Perseverance and Apostasy: A Bibliographic
Essay, Presbyterion 16 (1990), pp. 119-25.

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70

conclusions affirm the classical Reformed tradition, she is making a

2
scholarly attempt to understand what Paul is saying about this issues
What seems problematic about her approach is the arbitrary starting
point: her exegetical foundation when examining Pauls warning
passages rests on a classically Reformed understanding of election and
predestination. In the first section of her work, she argues (primarily
from Rom. 8.29-39) that Paul affirms unconditional election and final
perseverance for every individual believer. ~ The following sections are
then interpreted in light of Gods predetermined election of individuals
to final salvation, and passages that conflict with her starting point tend
to be reinterpreted in light of it. One example of this may be seen in 1
Cor. 10.12, which is set in a milieu where Paul uses the rebellions and
punishment of the Israelites in the wilderness as an example for the
Corinthians not to follow ( 10.1-11 ). Paul warns the congregation that
the individuals who think they stand must take heed or else they will
fall. Gundry Volf claims that, in this context, Paul is not discussing the
genuine forfeiture of election because Divine election stands (cf. Rom.
11.1, 2; 8.29, 30, 33)!4 She does not give proper recognition that 10.112 should be examined on its own merits in light of the situation in 1
Corinthians and not that of Romans. The Israelites journey in the
wilderness is closely related to Pauls foot-race metaphor in 9.24-27
which, in turn, is linked to a longer literary warning concerning meat
sacrificed to idols (8.1-11.1). There are unifying structures and
dynamics that may have conditioned both the Corinthian congregation
and Pauls response to their situation. Potential misperceptions related
to idolatry, baptism and eschatology are almost completely missing in
her evaluation of this passage.
Hence, there is good reason to re-examine the interpretation of 1 Cor.
10.12. But rather than pursue only systematic-theological or traditiohistorical inquiries, we may want to ask a different set of questions.
Who is Paul addressing in this passage? What social and ethical issues
are at stake? How might recent interpretative methods provide new

2. Gundry Volf, Perseverance, pp. 2-4.

3. Gundry Volf, Perseverance, pp. 7-82. Her work is divided into four sections : (1) Pauls view of perseverance; (2) Pauls view of apostasy in reference to
ethical failure; (3) Pauls view of unbelief; and (4) the question of whether Paul
thinks that he himself could fall away.
4. Gundry Volf, Perseverance, p. 126.

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71

insight when examining this passage? A number of methods may be

used, including approaches from social-scientific, anthropological and
rhetorical studies. I will be using Victor Turners notion of liminality as
an example of how a cultural-anthropological approach might illuminate this text. This paper is thus not only a critique of Judith Gundry
Voles exegetical approach, it also attempts to look at the eschatological
motif in 1 Cor. 10.1-12 in light of the phenomenon of threshold
experiences.
1. Victor Turners Liminality Phase
Victor Turner describes liminality as a transitional state and process
used to categorize cultural-religious phenomena. It appears in rites of
passage, pilgrimages, millennial groups, monasticism and so forth. The
liminal period is called by Turner the moment in and out of time.5 He
derived the concept from Arnold van Genneps rites of passage which
accompany every change of place, state, social position and age... All
rites of passage or &dquo;transition&dquo; are marked by three phases: separation,
margin (or limen, signifying &dquo;threshold&dquo;), and aggregation. The liminal stage is characterized by ambiguity, says Turner, Thus, liminality
is frequently likened to death, to being in the womb, to invisibility, to
darkness, to bisexuality, to the wilderness, and to an eclipse of the sun
or moon. The neophyte in the liminal stage is represented as possessing nothing and having no status. The neophytes self-control is tested
during the liminal stage, which is often considered dangerous or pollutant because it is not readily accessible to classification. An important
relational aspect of liminality is communitas, a phenomenon one experiences through comradeship, lowliness, sacredness and homogeneity
with other liminars who have broken down or reversed the hierarchi-

5. V. Turner, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure (Ithaca, NY:

Cornell University Press, 1969), p 96; cf. V. Turner, Process, Performance and
Pilgrimage: A Study in Comparative Symbology (New Delhi: Concept Publishing,
1979), p. 16.
6. Turner, Ritual, p. 94; cf. A. van Gennep, The Rites of Passage (London:
Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1960), pp. vii, 11.
7. Turner, Ritual, p. 95.
8. Turner, Ritual, p. 109; cf. M. Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis
of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966),
pp. 96-97.

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72
cal barriers of the structured society.9 Accordingly, the liminal stage is
unstructured or prestructured.
Turners liminality is also found in the phenomenon of pilgrimage.
Here the liminal stage is marked by a release from mundane obligations
and structure. Pilgrimages may be short-term, long-term or permanent.
Transients are pilgrims who renounce world and home. They may have
a character of separation or initiation in which the liminal period is
much longer than certain rites of passage. Turner observes that certain
Buddhists, Hindus and mediaeval palmers spent their entire life on
pilgrimages. He maintains that monasticism is an example of a permanent liminality. For Turner, Benedictine monasticism shares a
number of liminal features with the Mukanda (circumcision) of the
Ndembu, even though one is a form of permanent liminality while the
other is not. Monks, hippies, nomads, millennial groups and court
jesters are all examples of people who live in a state of long-term
liminality.&dquo; Turner observes that this aspect may also be extended to
art and literary forms. The main characters in Bunyans Pilgrinis
Progress, Chaucers Canterbury Tales, and 2001: A Space Odyssey
embark upon extended liminal quests.~2
Turners studies point us to a couple of important corollaries. First,
such anthropological models are concerned with the observation of
cultural patterns that exist among various cultures, past and present.
Turner developed his studies by consolidating numerous culturalreligious systems including the major religious bodies such as Islam,
Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and so forth. 13 The model of liminality
presents a mapping on how many cultures operate, though it does not
prescribe how those cultures must operate. Hence, liminality is a
in Christian Culture:
Basil Blackwell, 1978), p. 250.
10. V. Turner, Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human
Society (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1974), pp. 182, 285; Turner and
Turner, Image, pp. 2, 250; Turner, Process, Performance, pp. 21-22.
11. Turner, Ritual, pp. 107-13.
12. Turner, Dramas, p. 182. Turner also writes that one should not limit the
combination of potential liminal patterns, for liminality is an experimental region
of culture, where new elements and new combining rules may be introduced

9.

V. Turner and E. Turner,

Image and Pilgrimage

Anthropological Perspectives (Oxford:

(Process, Performance, pp. 21-23; cf.

Image, p. 2).
13. Turner, Dramas, pp. 166, 182; V. Turner, The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of
Ndembu Ritual (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1967), pp. 102-103; cf. van
Gennep, Rites, pp. 88-93.

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73
that helps classify the process of change. Second, the
Christian life may also be seen as being in a state of marginality. Turner
writes, &dquo;The Christian is a stranger to the world, a pilgrim, a traveller,
with no place to rest his head&dquo;. Transition has here become a permanent
condition. 14 Turners observation of communitas shares characteristics
in common with a number of enthusiastic religious groups in history.S
A number of New Testament scholars have recognized the importance of Turners concepts, including Wayne Meeks, Mark McVann
and A.J.M. Wedderburn.~ Wedderburns use of Turner stems from his
argument against the idea that Christian baptism as a participation in
Christs death and resurrection originated in the initiation rites of the
mystery religions.&dquo; Parallels between early Christian and mystery
initiations may have emerged instead from similar presuppositions:
both would fall under the rubric of rites of passage from a death event
to a kind of transformation, and both drew it from the general stock of
ideas of their time, and indeed of most other times as well. This was an
imagery that was current then in their environment as it has been and is
in a multitude of other cultures. 18 Wedderburn maintains that Pauls
reversing of societal values marking the new era (e.g., Gal. 3.28)
resembles the liminal existence described by cultural anthropologists.
He suggests that early Christian initiation, as described by Paul, appears
to set the converts in a state of liminality in which they must live out
the remainder of their earthly existence. 19
Wedderburns suggestions seem correct. The structures of Pauls
thoughts may have been influenced by the resource of ideas on liminality observed in many cultures, including the traditions of the ancient
Israelites-traditions with which Paul was no doubt familiar. The

general pattern

14. Turner, Ritual, p. 107.

15. E.g., M. Heyd, The Reaction to Enthusiasm in the 17th Century: From
Antistructure to Structure, Religion 15 (1985), pp. 279-89.
16. W. Meeks, The First Urban Christians: The Social Word of the Apostle
Paul (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983), pp. 88-89, 156-57; A.J.M.
Wedderburn, Baptism and Resurrection: Studies in Pauline Theology against its
Greco-Roman Background (WUNT; Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1987),
pp. 380-92; M. Mc Vann, Baptism, Miracles, and Boundary Jumping in Mark,
BTB 21 (1991), pp. 151-57; M. McVann, One of the Prophets: Matthews Testing
Narrative as a Rite of Passage, BTB 23 (1993), pp. 14-20.
17. Wedderburn, Baptism, p. 3.
18. Wedderburn, Baptism, p. 391, cf. pp. 380-82.
19. Wedderburn, Baptism, pp. 386-87, 392.

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74
Hebrew scriptures seem to contain rites of passage similar to many
other cultures, including rites related to birth, circumcision and death.

The Nazarite vow is another example of liminality (Num. 6). The

vow was marked by the Nazarites uncut hair and abstinence from
wine. Samson and perhaps Elijah are two examples (2 Kgs 1.8; Lk.
1.17). John the Baptist, who lived in the wilderness, seems to be
another example of the marginal Nazarite existence (Lk. 1.13-17, 80;
3.2-4; Mk 1.2-8). His ministry may be seen as bringing others into an
initiation process with a new status in view (Mt. 3.1-12; Lk. 3.1-18).
All three are characterized as living on a special diet, residing in the
wilderness and having Gods spirit (Judg. 15; 1 Kgs 19; Lk. 3.1-6).~
After his baptism, Christs role functioned in a similar way. As a
liminal prophet, he enters the wilderness to fast and be tempted of the
devil before he makes his public appearances in the power of Gods
spirit (Mt. 4.1-11; Lk. 4.1-14). He stressed a lifestyle comparable to a
state of perpetual marginality (Mk 10.28-31; Lk. 9.57-62). These
appear to be prime examples of what Turner calls the marginal
existence.
The Hebrew heroes are further examples of lives that are marked by
long-term odysseys. They have experienced a separation from the old
20.

Compare also the Nazarites with the nomadic Rechabites (Jer. 35).

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75
life and

their way to the new one. Edmund Leach compares

as three examples of liminars who left a
Land of Suffering to enter a Wilderness phase, and then make it to a
Land of Plenty. 21 Other prominent examples include Jacob, who fled
from Esau before his name was changed to Israel, and David, who fled
from Saul before becoming king of Israel. Differently, Lots wife is a
negative reminder of perpetual liminality in the wilderness: she became
a pillar of salt between Sodom and the hills of Zoar when she looked
back at the destruction of her former residency
Robert Cohn considers the wilderness in Torah traditions as a buffer
zone between Israel and Egypt. He concludes that it was during the
Israelites wilderness trek that the conceptions of liminality and
communitas affected the social and religious values of the people in a
revolutionary way. The wilderness narrative may reflect the historic
situation of a new religious movement which found its cultivation
betwixt and between the structure of Egypt and Canaan. Cohn suggests that liminal categories may contribute to appreciating the actual
social process of historic Israel. 23 The values Israel experienced in the
wilderness continued to reassert themselves in the following eras so that
during the later Israelite exile the reactualization of liminality drew
people to the wilderness story as a paradigm of their own experience...
The narrative thus became a repository for traditions expressing the
ambiguities of liminality, the possibilities of communitas, and the limiting values of structure. 2 The Israelites learned behavioural lessons
about patience, faith and humility from these examples. Transition
periods became a means to test and build the character necessary for a
new status. Thus, we have noted that the ancient Hebrew and Christian
traditions contain examples similar to the ritual process, and they also
describe various examples of perpetual or long-term marginality.
With such a rich tradition of liminal patterns, it seems unlikely that
Paul would not have made a connection between transitional episodes
are on

Abraham, Joseph and Moses

21. E. Leach, Why Did Moses Have a Sister?, in E. Leach and D.A. Aycock
(eds.), Structuralist Interpretations of Biblical Myth (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1983), p. 44.
22. Cf. D.A. Aycock, The Fate of Lots Wife: Structural Mediation in Biblical
Mythology, in Leach and Aycock (eds.), Structuralist Interpretations, pp. 116-17.
23. R.L. Cohn, The Shape of Sacred Space (American Academy of Religion
Studies in Religion; Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1981), pp. 20-21, cf. pp. 3, 22.
24. Cohn, Shape, p. 23.

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76
and the Israelite or Christian communitys existence. Paul himself is
said to have taken a type of Nazarite vow (Acts 18.18). We might even
assume that Paul himself experienced a similar period of marginality
after he went to Arabia, or when he escaped Jerusalem and went to
Tarsus, living in an obscure state for a number of years (Gal. 1.17-21;
cf. Acts 9.30; 11.25). In 1 Cor. 10.1-12, Paul may have in mind the
liminal journey of the two communities when he depicts Israels
baptism and their journey through the desert. Behind his narrative
might underlie an assumption in common with many cultures-a liminal or marginal process which Paul wishes to convey to the Corinthians
who are encouraged to share certain traits with marginal groups, traits
such as separation, healing, renewal and a form of egalitarianism (I
Cor. 1.26-28; 11.17-34; 12-14; cf. 4.7-16). A similar concept of liminality which we have surveyed may very well exist at a subconcious
level in the mind of Paul. Israels episode in the wilderness would be an
example for him of a lifetime journey and liminal state beginning with
Israels separation from Egypt and ending with their inheritance of the
promised land. A further study of this process seems warranted.

2. Israels

Separ-ation from Egypt and Liminality in

the Wildemess

In the macro-context of 1 Cor. 10.12 Paul gives instruction to the

Corinthian congregation regarding the validity of eating meat sacrificed
to idols (8.1-11.1 ). Some members of the congregation were apparently
justifying their eating of idol meat (the strong or yvcal group) while
other members (the weak) found this offensive (8.7). In the pericope
of 10.1-13, Paul advances the illustration of eating in the presence of
the golden calf in the wilderness (10.7) and the perception that some of
his readers think they are standing as opposed to falling (10.12).
Hence, it is likely that those he is addressing in 10.12 are primarily
individuals from the strong group.
With the liminal process in view, separation is emphasized in 10.1-4,
liminality in 10.5-11 a, and problems regarding aggregation in 10.11 b12.~ Paul seems to counter a Corinthian misperception that some status
25. W.A. Meeks suggests that 1 Cor. 10 was a Christian midrash composed
its present form in the Corinthian setting. The central source behind Pauls
passage is the quotation from Exod. 32.6 (cf.1 Cor. 10.7). The phrase sat down to
eat and drink suggests the spiritual food in 1 Cor. 10.1-4, and the phrase rose up to

prior to

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77

accompanied baptism ( 10.2).26 Some members in the congregation had become overconfident and ethically careless. The
boundary demarcating their previous from present existence was so
complete that behaviour could hardly be thought of as undermining
their transference. They thought it harmless to eat idol meat in a cultic
setting (10.6-7, 9; cf. 10.16-22), have sex with prostitutes (10.8; cf.
6.12-20) or participate in discordant activities, such as going against
Pauls instructions (10.10; cf. 1.10-16; 3.1-3; 4.1-20). Yet Paul, using
the example of Israel in the wilderness, warns them that their sense of
security provides no guarantee against falling away. In fact, if they persist in these vices, divine rejection awaits them. After such a stem
warning, he encourages them with a word of perseverance (10.13).27
of immunity

Baptism as an Initiation-Separation Rite

Israels baptism into Moses is Pauls way of drawing out a parallel
between Moses and Christ (10.2). The phrase into Moses (Eig r6v
MoyuoTiv) not only resembles baptism into Christ (Eig Xpta1:v) in
Gal. 3.27 but also in the name (Eig r6 6vopa) in 1 Cor. 1.13 where
Paul rhetorically asks the Corinthians if they were baptized in his own
name. The latter construction is, no doubt, an allusion to baptism in the
play relates to the five vices which follow in 10.6-10 (W.A. Meeks, "And Rose up
to Play": Midrash and Paraenesis in 1 Corinthians 10.1-22, JSNT 16 [1982], pp.
64-78). G.D. Collier argues instead that Num. 11, along with Exod. 32.6, is the
main text of the passage. The former is the midrashic basis of the passage with
lusting after evil things (1Cor. 10.6) as the main theme (G.D. Collier, "That we
Might not Crave Evil": The Structure and Argument of 1 Corinthians 10.1-13,
JSNT 55 [1994], pp. 55-75). Collier seems correct regarding the Leitmotiv of the
passage. Nevertheless, G.D. Fee argues that if the text existed as a prior midrash, it
has been so thoroughly adapted by Paul as to make its prior existence almost irrelevant (G.D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians [NICNT; Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans, 1987], p. 442).

26. Cf. A. Schlatter, Die

Korintherbriefe: Ausgelegt fiir Bibelleser

(Erläuterungen
Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag, 1974), pp. 120-21;
H. Conzelmann, I Corinthians (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975), p.
168; B. Witherington III, Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical
Commentary on I and 2 Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), p. 220.
27. But Paul gives no guarantee of perseverance in 10.13. C.K. Barrett astutely
writes, The way out [of temptation] is for those who seek it, not for those who (like
the Corinthians) are, where idolatry is concerned, looking for the way in (A
Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians [BNTC; London: Adam &
Charles Black, 2nd edn 1971 (1968)], p. 229).
zum

Neuen Testament;

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78
a tradition that is placed by Luke in the mouth of Paul
Rom. 6.3). Paul uses Moses name as a means of
cf.
(Acts 19.3-5;
extracting the analogous implication of the Corinthian congregationss
baptism into Christ. All the Israelites who participate in Moses baptism intimates all the Corinthians who are baptized into (Ei) the body
of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12.13). As in 12.13, the element of baptism in 10.2
is the Spirit. 2X Paul thus argues that Israels initiation is similar to that of
the Corinthians. Both are delivered from a hostile environment, and the
signs of that deliverance involved water and Spirit.
Richard Hanson lists four common initiation patterns found in
ancient Christian, Jewish and Graeco-Roman religions: (1) a death to
ones former status or existence and a rebirth into a better existence; (2)
a transformation process based on separation and incorporation into a
new state; (3) a participation in the sacred history of the community;
and (4) the rite itself effects a transition-the act is more than symbolic.
Hanson claims that these patterns account for why Paul considers baptism as a negation of the past (cf. 1 Cor. 6.9-11 a), inauguration into
Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 6.l lb), and anticipation of bodily resurrection (cf.
1 Cor. 6.12-20).29 In varying degrees these patterns appear in our text.
First, Paul implies that the Israelites escaped from their former existence as slaves in Egypt to a better life with Yahweh. The Corinthians
also departed from their former status of dependency on former vices (I
Cor. 6.9-11; 12.2). Second, Paul establishes that the cloud and sea separated Israel from their former existence. As all the Israelites were
identified with Moses through their baptism in the cloud and sea, so
the Corinthian initiation consisted of a baptism in water and Spirit
wherein all the initiands were identified with Christ. The Corinthians all
belong to Christ and had become members of the elect and consolidated
body of Christ. Like Turners communitns, Paul conveys a strong sense
of homogeneity and separation from the host society. Third, Paul
describes the Corinthians as participating in a sacred history once possessed only by the Israelites whom he refers to as our fathers (oi
name

of Jesus,

28. In 10.2 the cloud is more than a metaphor for divine protection (cf. Num.
14.14); it echoes Isa. 63.9-14 and Num. 11.25 where the cloud of divine presence in
the wilderness is associated with Gods Spirit. On the relationship between the
Spirit and cloud in 10.2, see J. Luzarraga, Las tradiciones de la nube en la biblia y
en el judaismo primitivo (AnBib; Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1973), pp. 234-45.
29. R. Hanson, Moses in the Typology of St. Paul, Theology 48 (1945), pp.
174-77.

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79
cf. Gal. 3.6-7). Finally, Paul wishes to communithe Corinthians that the Israelites baptism into Moses is a kind
of initiation similar to their own conversion experience. He does this to
set up a stark contrast beginning in 10.5.
The similarities between religious initiation patterns and those of the
Israelites and Corinthians suggest that a separation rite is taking place
in 10.1-2. The separation is then reinforced by the continual eating of
Gods supernatural provision in 10.3-4. Israel was fed with manna and
water from the rock until entering the promised land; the Corinthians
are spiritually nourished through the Lords Supper until Christ returns
( 10.16-17; 11.26). Both groups experience a new sense of spirituality.
Paul would thus consider baptism as separation which ushers the
baptisand into a state of marginality. Paul Gardner rightly observes that
Israels baptism in the cloud and sea was one of separation and group
identification... The comparison between the old and new [group] is
&dquo;covenantal&dquo;. The Israelites were identified as Gods covenant community, separated by cloud and sea. For the new covenant people the
word &dquo;baptism&dquo; epitomised that process.3

~aip~5 11~t(-OV) ( 10.1;

cate to

Wilderness as Signifyifig Liminality

Paul turns the tide in 10.5. Despite Israels initiation-separation and
consumption of miraculous sustenance, God rejected many of them in
the wilderness. Israel became Gods elect son through their shared
experience (Hos. 11.1; Exod. 4.22; Deut. 1.31; cf. 4.34; 32.8-10), but
through their apostasies, many of them forfeited the privileges of their
election.&dquo; Paul emphasizes the elect solidarity of communitas by using
all five times in 10.1-4; in 10.5-11 he uses some four times to address
those members who are conducting themselves in a way contrary to that
30. P.D. Gardner, The Gifts of God and the Authentication of a Christian: An
Exegetical Study of I Corinthians 8-11:1 (Lanham, MD: University Press of
America, 1994), p. 120.
31. Similarly, with reference to the wilderness rebellion in Ps. 77[78] (which
Paul seems to echo in 10.9 [cf. Ps. 77[78].18-19; Num. 21.5]), George Coats writes
that rejection amounts to a reversing of Israels election (Rebellion in the
Wilderness: The Murmuring Motif in the Wilderness Traditions of the Old
Testament [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1968], pp, 220, 251). On 10.5 see W.L.
Willis, Idol Meat in Corinth: The Pauline Argument in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10
(SBLDS; Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985), p. 143; W. Schrage, Der erste Brief an
die Korinther: I Kor 6,12-11, 16 (EKKNT; Zürich: Benzinger Verlag; NeukirchenVluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1995), p. 396.

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80
communitas. These sub-groups threaten the solidarity of the whole by
reintroducing vices that are associated with the practices of the uninitiated outsiders who belong to the host society. The Israelites commit
idolatry and sexual immorality, test the Lord, and murmur. Hence, God

destroys them (10.7-10).

Moreover, Gods rejection

of the majority of Israelites occurs in the

In
the
Hebrew
( 10.5b).
scriptures the wilderness (7r7n) is
often associated with images of unprotection, barrenness, banishment,
and destruction (Gen. 21.14-21; Deut. 1.19; 32.10; Ps. 106[107].4-9;
Jer. 17.5-6; 1 Kgs 19.3-8; Job. 6.18; 12.24). Wild animals and demons
were thought to reside in the desert (Isa. 13.21-22; 34.9-15; Job 24.5;
Lam. 4.3; Lev. 16.10-22; cf. Tob. 8.3; 1 En. 10.4). Shemaryahu Talmon
argues that the older Israelite traditions originally and essentially consider the desert as a place of punishment and an unavoidable transitory
stage to obtain Israels ideal place as an organized society in its own
land. The desert as a transitional period in the epoch of Israels exodus
prepares it for the ultimate transfer from social and spiritual chaos to
an integrated social and spiritual order. The &dquo;trek in the desert&dquo; motif
represents on the historical and eschatological level what &dquo;creatio ex
nihilo&dquo;, the transfer from chaos to cosmos, signifies on the cosmic
level (Gen. 1.2; cf. Ps. 68.7-10; 74.13-14).32
Likewise, early Christian traditions portray the wilderness as a place
that endangers the body (e.g., Heb. 11.38) and as an abode where wild
animals and demons live (Mk 1.12-14; Mt. 12.43; Lk. 8.29; Rev. 18.2).
Paul most definitely thinks of the desert in similar imagery because the
desert is where he himself suffered physical hardship (2 Cor. 11.26).
His view of the wilderness in 1 Cor. 10.1-12 may be seen as the
archetype of marginality. The result of the journey for the Israelites is
that many of them never make it to the promised land. Despite their
successful initiation, they fail the transitional phase of the ordeal.
Dangers in the desert overtake them as God sends plagues, serpents and
a destructive spirit to destroy them on their liminal journey (10.5-10).
wilderness

32. S. Talmon, The "Desert Motif in the Bible and in Qumran Literature, in
A. Altmann (ed.), Biblical Motifs : Origins and Transformations (Philip W. Lown
Institute of Advanced Judaic Studies-Studies and Texts; Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press, 1966),

p. 37, cf. pp. 31-36; cf. U. Mauser, Christ in the

Wilderness: The Wilderness Theme in the Second Gospel and its Basis in the
Biblical Tradition (London: SCM Press, 1963), pp. 37, 43-44.

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81

3. The Liminal Eschaton

stressing Israels separation and their subsequent apostasies and

punishments, Paul drives home to the Corinthians the point of comparison. The things that happened to Israel in the wilderness are
prefigurations for the Corinthians ( 10.11; cf. v. 6). z; He then adds that
the Corinthians stand at the climax of redemptive history ( 10.11 b). The
location of the Israelites journey was in the wilderness, but the Corinthians journey is located in the matrix of the ends of the ages. 34
Israels wilderness trek is seen in this regard as one of a number of
previous ages or epochs that finds its fulfilment in the present age
inaugurated through the Christ event (cf. 1 Thess. 5.1-2). This reading
is supported by the apocalyptic traditions which divide their history into
several eras. Daniels images of beasts and Enochs Apocalypse of
Weeks are two examples (Dan. 2.31-45; 7.3-28; 8.3-27; 1 Erz. 91.12-17;
93.1-10).-15
In a similar way Paul does not necessarily consider eschatological
history as one epoch; rather, he sees it fulfilled in several stages ( Cor.
After

15.23-28). Two considerations follow from this. First, the ends of the

ages (ia tll r - v ai6)v(ov finds its fullest meaning in an eschatological context. Second, Paul is speaking from the vantage point of the
beginning of a new era looking at the end or fulfilment of an old one.
Pauls eschatological perspective of the Corinthians present state
reflects an apocalyptic pattern of an overlap of two ages in which he
affixes the resurrection of Christ as a definitive sign of the impending
kingdom ( Cor. 15.20-28; Rom. 1.4). The blessings of the kingdom are
experienced in this age ( Cor. 4.20; 1 Thess. 2.12; Rom. 14.17), but
the full benefits and inheritance is yet to come ( Cor. 13.9-12; 15.24,
50; cf. 2 Thess. 1.4-5). The ungodly of the present age, however, are
33. More precisely, in 10.11, they are hypothetical prefigurations (cf. A.J.
Bandstra, Interpretation in 1 Corinthians 10:1-11, CTJ6 [1971], pp. 15-16).

Though scholars explain the plural in various ways, I find the most satisfying interpretation to be the aim[s] of the ages. For various discussions on this
verse, see J.M. Court, Paul and the Apocalyptic Pattern, in M.D. Hooker and S.G.
34.

Wilson (eds.), Paul and Paulinism (London: SPCK, 1982), pp. 62-63; M.L. Soards,
Paul: Apostle and Apocalyptic Visionary, BTB 16 (1986), p. 149; G. Delling,
TDNT, VIII, p. 54.
τ&eacgr;o&sfgr;...,
35. For other examples, see J.J. Collins, Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls
(London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1997), pp. 38-57.

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82
wrath and will perish with the age ( Cor. 1.18; Rom.
The
Christians
are delivered from the present evil age (Gal.
1.18-32).
1.4; cf. Phil. 2.15) and from the coming wrath ( Thess. 1.9-10; 5.9; cf.
Rom. 5.9). If the tension of now and not yet covers salvific aspects
in Paul, then salvation in the present age is not fully realized but is both
a present and future reality ( Cor. 1.18; 3.15; 5.5; 9.22; 10.33; Rom.
8.24; 13.11; 1 Thess. 5.8; cf. Rom. 5.9-10; 9.27; 10.9).
In I Cor. 10.11, then, Paul views Israels journey as prefiguring the
eschatological venture of Christians in a transitional era. Paul is implying that the journey of Israel in the wilderness prefigures the Corinthians now eschatological journey to the not yet kingdom. They
have experienced an eschatological salvation through their initiation
(10.1-2) but its culmination lies in their future. This creates the dynamic
tension emanating from the Corinthian situation. The Christian ought to
run his or her life in the present so as to attain the future life expressed
in imagery of completing a race ( Cor. 9.24-27) and completing a
journey ( Cor. 10.1-11 ). If faith is seen not only as a commitment to
Christ but also as the ability to sustain the tension of the present status
of now and not yet, then Paul believes that the Corinthian congregation must live out that tension in perseverance until the end of their
natural lives.36 A persistent failure to do so would result in the forfeiture
of the future life. In such a case. the Corinthian member would thus
perish with the corrupt and transient world and not attain that final
future salvation in the age of incorruption. This could happen to the
Corinthians despite their genuine initiation, election and membership in
the body of Christ (cf. 10.1-4). Divine rejection of some of the members
may have been viewed by Paul in terms of expulsion from the body of

subject to Gods

ChriSt.17
In

Paul maintains that those Corinthians who do not make it

completion of their course will not attain the fully realized salvation expressed in the imagery of the Israelites rest in the promised land
(cf. Num. 14.23-24, 30-35; Deut. 1.35; 12.9-10). For Israel, apostasy in
the wilderness resulted in death (10.5-10). For the Corinthians, Paul is
essence,

to the

36. On this point, see J.C. Beker, Paul the Apostle: The Triumph of God in Life
and Thought (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980), p. 356. On Pauls dualistic perspective, see also D.N. Howell, Pauline Eschatological Dualism and its Resulting
Tensions, Trinity Journal NS 14 (1993), pp. 3-24.
37. For a similar argument in 1 Cor. 5, see D.B. Martin, The Corinthian Body
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), pp. 168-69.

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83
which results in eschatological death. The
Corinthian members who commit vices are in danger of divine rejection
and the forfeiture of their place in the eschatological kingdom ( Cor.
10.5; 6.9-11; Gal. 5.19-21).
The upshot of all this is that Paul may be merging the ideas of two
eras and two statuses using the spatial imagery of a lifetime trek. The
liminar embarks on a journey from one location but has not arrived at
the other. The neophyte has been separated from his or her previous
state but has not completely arrived at the new. Hence, the Corinthians
are sojourners betwixt and between eras. They also exist at the
threshold of a new status of final salvation and glorification. But as in a
rite of passage,&dquo; if the Corinthian member fails to pass the test in the
liminal phase, he or she could die in the process or be ostracized from
the community. The initiands cannot receive the anticipated new
identity unless they complete the transitional stage. In liminal quests,
arriving at the completion or the aggregation is necessary, and this
aspect is the implicit goal in Pauls wilderness rhetoric. Half finished
projects are not conducive to a final state of holiness and wholeness (cf.
Deut. 20.6-7)..19
Perhaps the strong Corinthians saw themselves as eschatologically
realized ( Cor. 4.7-8; 1 Cor. 13.8-12). Since the Spirit belonged to the
eschatological age, the abundance of spiritual manifestations the Corinthians experienced would have easily registered in their minds that the
kingdom was now fully realized.&dquo; In essence, there were those in
Corinth who collapsed the liminal and aggregative stages. They perceived that life in the now eschaton was already more or less com-

warning against apostasy,

and the new status was already achieved. This suggests again a
moral laxity on their part: If we are already spiritually complete, why
does it matter if we eat idol meats in idol settings? Paul tries to correct
their misperception by suggesting that the Corinthians have not
arrived-the aggregative stage remains in the not yet future! As such,
their present spirituality provides no guarantees against the dangers
resulting from their playing with vices. Israel was also spiritual, but

pleted,

38. Cf. Douglas, Purity, p. 96; C. Olson, The Theology and

Eliade: A Search for the Centre (London: Macmillan Academic &

1992), p. 115.
39. Cf. Douglas, Purity, pp. 51-52.
40. Cf. A.J. Thiselton, Realized Eschatology
pp. 510-26.

at

Philosophy of
Professional,

Corinth, NTS 24 (1977-78),

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84
many of the Israelites were destroyed when they committed such
things. The Corinthian members must therefore persevere to the completion of their course, or they will not receive the full realization of
their spiritual status.

4. Apostasy in
The

State

of Liminality

of 10.1-11 almost compels a particular interpretation

for 10.12. Here Paul warns the Corinthians to beware, or else some of
them who think they stand will fall (niniw)-like Israel in the wilderness. The fall in this verse does not merely indicate a falling into a
state of sin. Some in Corinth were already committing the vices in
10.6-10 (cf. 1.10-17; 5.1-5; 6.12-20; 8.9-13; 10.21-22 etc.). Nor does it
suggest an appearance of falling, as Gundry Volf maintains. She argues
that in this verse the one whom Paul addresses may not be a genuine
Christian: the person only seems to stand (6 80KCOV ~or6tvat); hence,
in reference to mjrcco, she thinks that Paul is saying, Let the one who
appears to be saved by virtue of being a partaker of the Lords Supper
beware that she does not behave like a non-Christian (in committing
idolatry) and fall under judgement, thereby disproving her Christian
profession!41 But there are some crucial elements that make this interpretation untenable: (1) Paul begins 10.1-12 with the metaphors of
salvation through the concepts of election, initiation in the Spirit and
water, and grace (10.1-4). That all the Israelites shared these same
(r6 avio) divine privileges indicates the genuine nature of these experiences. Paul posits a common election that was experienced by all. (2)
Paul calls the Israelites our fathers, thus transferring the salvific language of this passage to the Corinthians whom he believes are genuine
Christians (e.g., 10.1, 6, 11; cf. 1.1-9; 4.15; 6.6, 11; 12.13). (3) Pauls
binary use of stand and fall elsewhere reinforces an interpretation
that a genuine standing in grace/faith and a real danger of falling away
is at stake (cf. Gal. 5.1, 4; Rom. 11.20-22).
Pauls use of stand (ar6Tavat) in 10.12 points back to the divine
privileges found in 10.1-4 which some in Corinth understood in terms
of eschatological security. Here it implies ones standing in a salvific
relationship in Christ with the blessings of spiritual privileges in the
eschatological now and not yet. Apostasy or ninrw would be the
opposite of this. Paul is thus warning the Corinthian members against a

interpretation

41.

Gundry Volf, Perseverance, p.

127.

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85

danger of falling away from Christ. The individual who stands in a

genuine relationship with Christ is the same one who is in danger of
being rejected by God in the eschatological now. Which form of
rejection awaits the apostate? For the Israelites in 10.8, ni1ttro implies
divine judgment resulting in physical death. But Paul means more than
this for the Corinthians in 10.12: he implies an eschatological death.
The fall of the Corinthians would prevent them from entering the not
yet eschaton and kingdom of God.
We may notice in this context that Pauls language moves from all
(10.1-4) and some (10.5-10) to third person singulars in 10.12.
Contrary to Gundry Volfs starting point, then, it is precisely the individual who is in danger of falling away. Israel as an elect people (all)
were not destroyed, only some. As such, Paul affirms the election and
final perseverance of the people of God as a collective whole similar to
the wilderness and prophetic traditions that maintain that God preserves
a remnant of Gods people (e.g., Num. 14.23-24, 29-32; Deut. 4.25-31;
Isa. 1.9). If Pauls theology on this issue is consistent throughout his
letters, then it is plausible to suggest that individual Christians could
take comfort in final perseverance only as they remain identified as
real

members of Gods elect community.12 If such is the case, then there is

really no contradiction between final perseverance and genuine apostasy. The tension is between individuals and the collective community.
Regarding final perseverance, Paul may not believe that everything that
is true of the whole community (or body of Christ) is necessarily true of
every genuine member of that community-genuine members could
fall away.

Conclusion
We have uncovered fresh insight from Pauls message in light of Victor
Turners notion of liminality. First, this approach supports the notion
that apostasy is a threat to genuine elect members of the community of
God in 1 Cor. 10.12 by emphasizing that the congregations existence is
in a state of transition. The Corinthians baptism into Christ separated
them into a process betwixt and between their former pre-initiated
status and a higher future status (1 Cor. 10.1-4; cf. 12.13; 11.26). The
42. Hence, the Christian community as a whole in Rom. 8.28-39 (i.e., those
who love God) is elect, predestined and will persevere to final salvation. Individuals
could also claim these things for themselves as long as they belong to that

community.

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86

epoch of the Israelites in the wilderness is an example of a longterm

journey, and Paul intends the Corinthians to see themselves in a similar
way for their own eschatological journey. They have not yet arrived at
their promised land ( Cor. 10.5-11; cf. 15.22-28). In the present age,
they must persevere through the tension of liminality until the culmination of the eschaton because their new status will not be fully realized
until the end. The Christian life for Paul is set on the margins of society
in an ambiguous state of life and death, and apostasy in the current disposition means exclusion from the future one. This perspective is contrary to Gundry Volfs approach which tends to mitigate the danger of
falling away in this passage by arguing from other texts that every
genuine Christian is unconditionally elect and will persevere to final
salvation.

Second, the notion of apostasy itself is thrown into a sharper relief

through liminality. In the context of 1 Cor. 10.12, apostasy indicates the
condition of a person who belongs to the marginal community
of God but persists in the activities of outsiders: the non-initiated
societal members who belong to the corrupt and dissipating present age.
For the strong members of the Corinthian congregation (whom Paul is
primarily addressing in this passage), this would mean their participation in the vices associated with their pre-converted status. The result of
apostasy in the transitional state is to be cut off from commul1itas and
the body of Christ, and hence never to arrive at the anticipated state of

potential

aggregation.
ABSTRACT

interpretative approaches have coloured the conclusions of some recent

scholarly works on the subject of apostasy. Judith Gundry Volfstopical-exegetical
method is one example. This article argues that the content of Pauls description of

Certain

the Israelites in the wilderness focuses upon the notions of apostasy and eschatology. As a point of departure, a cultural anthropological approach is used to
illuminate 1 Cor. 10.1-12. Paul presupposes a Jewish apocalyptic understanding of
eschatology in the language of the Israelites journey through the wilderness, and
the apostles perspective is compared with the liminal processes of pilgrimages and
rites of passage as discussed by cultural anthropologist Victor Turner. In light of
this perspective, Paul is warning the Corinthian congregation that, although they
had been initiated into the body of Christ through a separation process that was
prefigured in Israels exodus, many of them may be in danger of committing apostasy during their liminal stage before reaching the aggregative goal of their lifelong

journey.

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