{"product_id":"to-know-all-mysteries-c-andrew-ballard-9781978711105","title":"To Know All Mysteries: The Mystagogue Figure in Classical Antiquity and in Saint Paul's Letters to the Corinthians","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book examines the way that Paul presents himself as a guide into mysteries, a \"mystagogue,\" in 1-2 Corinthians. By describing himself as a type of mystagogue for the community, Paul was following a precedent in both Jewish and non-Jewish sources for invoking mystagogic language to engage in polemics with a rival. In opposition to the precedent, however, Paul understands the mystagogue to be a bi-partite figure--comprised of both foolishness and wisdom simultaneously. C. Andrew Ballard argues that ancient mystagogues were often described in two disparate ways: figures of power, and figures of weakness and foolishness. Paul synthesizes both aspects of the mystagogue in his self-presentation to the Corinthians. The figure of the mystagogue, as a wise-fool, was useful to Paul because it was descriptive not only of his own experience as a suffering yet authoritative apostle, but also of the experience of his deity, the suffering and glorified Christ. By presenting himself as both a powerful and foolish mystagogue, Paul could argue that he was a more authentic imitator of Christ than his opponents in Corinth, who boasted in self-exaltation instead of self-humility. In this way, Paul used the character of the mystagogue as a strategic rhetorical tool in his communication with the Corinthians.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e C. Andrew Ballard\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1978711107\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781978711105\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Fortress Academic\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 404\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.68lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.06d","brand":"C. Andrew Ballard","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44069249941759,"sku":"9781978711105","price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_568fb47d-9f3c-4efd-9023-6c021ee74dd6.jpg?v=1685423666","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/to-know-all-mysteries-c-andrew-ballard-9781978711105","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}