Imagine someone coming to our intercultural church for the first time, from a place in the world where there is one ethnic group speaking one language. That person would probably ask the question, “How did this happen?”
To help the person understand, we would provide the context, the history and circumstances that created a multi-cultural city with an intercultural church family: the history of exploration, the first settlements of foreigners, starting in about 1860, and the patterns of immigration over the past century.
When we read 1 Corinthians 8, we ask, “What context would lead a church in Corinth to write to Paul about food offered to idols?” And, what does it mean for us today? If we understand the context, we’ll find that Paul’s answers are more relevant for us than we might assume at first glance.