Conflict Over Wisdom

While wisdom was highly valued in the Hellenistic world, there is only one place in the New Testament that discusses the gospel in terms of wisdom: 1 Corinthians 1-4. Yet, instead of entering into a conciliating dialogue on wisdom, Paul confronts his readers with a conflict over wisdom. This study argues that the roots for this conflict are found in Scripture, especially in the prophetic books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, as the quotations indicate. Significant literary and theological relationships are brought to light by means of an intertextual approach.