ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about rituals and about the negotiations that occur between groups and individuals in the Corinthian context reflected in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. It discusses Paul's role as well as highlight a fourth party implied in the text that has been left out of the triangulation among the "the weak", "the knowledgeable", and Paul. The largest misconception that ritual specialists attempt to correct is that ritual is static and that it means one thing to all the people who are participating in a ritual. At the center of scholarship surrounding ritual negotiation is the observation that ritual is centered in fluid, rather than static, social interactions. Negotiations in relation to rituals both are symptoms and generative of social conflict and the formation and maintenance of identity. Paul's overall argument in Corinthians 8–10 is based on his claim to authority and the ability to make demands of the Corinthian Jesus followers.
