A Critical Comparison of Contemporary Coptic, Korean and Western Scholarly Perspectives on Singleness and Divorce in 1 Corinthians 7 and Related Biblical Texts
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A CRITICAL COMPARISON OF CONTEMPORARY COPTIC, KOREAN AND WESTERN SCHOLARLY PERSPECTIVES ON SINGLENESS AND DIVORCE IN 1 CORINTHIANS 7 AND RELATED BIBLICAL TEXTS A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Master of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2014 SOON YI BYUN School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Table of Contents Contents 2 Abstract 5 Declaration 6 Copyright 7 Acknowledgements 8 1 INTRODUCTION 9 1.1 Background to the study 9 1.2 Aim, scope and academic contribution of the thesis 12 1.3 History of Scholarship 16 1.3.1 Previous studies of reception in general and of the Bible in particular 16 1.3.2 Previous studies of reception of the New Testament texts on singleness, 21 marriage, divorce and remarriage, especially 1 Corinthians 7 a. R. Hays on reception of divorce texts 21 b. U. Luz on reception of Matthean divorce texts 23 c. A. Thiselton on reception of 1 Corinthians 7 25 d. Víctor M.M. Vásquez on the comment of Thiselton about the 27 history of study of reception e. D. Instone-Brewer on reception of divorce texts 29 1.3.3 Previous studies of Korean biblical scholarship (regarding the Bible in 33 general and/or the singleness, marriage, divorce and remarriage texts in the Bible) 1. 3.4 Previous studies of Coptic biblical scholarship (regarding the Bible in 39 general and/or the singleness, marriage, divorce and remarriage texts in the Bible) 1.4 Methodology 42 2 THE COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH (EGYPT) 44 2.1 Introduction 44 2 2.2 Celibacy 44 2.2.1 Context of Orthodox Church practice 46 2.2.2 Reading the Bible on celibacy 49 2.3 Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage 57 2.3.1 The context of history and the current situation of the Coptic 57 Orthodox Church a. Muslim(Sunni) divorce law in Egypt 57 b. Coptic Orthodox Christian divorce Law in Egypt 59 c. The consequences of the application of Coptic 64 divorce law in Egypt i. The ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court against the 64 Coptic divorce law in May 2010 ii. The response to SAC’s verdict of May 2010 amongst 67 Coptic Christians iii. The overwhelming reversal of SAC’s verdict in July 2010 70 and the response amongst Coptic Christians d. The current situation in family law in Egypt 71 2.3.2 Reading the Bible on marriage 73 2.3.3 Reading the Bible on divorce 81 2.3.4 Reading the Bible on remarriage 87 2.4 Conclusion 101 3 THE KOREAN CHRISTIAN TRADITION (PROTESTANT) 107 3.1 Introduction 107 3.2 Celibacy 112 3.2.1 Interpretation of singleness by Korean Protestant scholars 112 3.3 Marriage 119 3.3.1 Interpretation of marriage by Korean Protestant scholars 119 3.4 Divorce 126 3.4.1 Interpretation of divorce by Korean Protestant scholars 126 a. Divorce amongst believers 129 b. Divorce in a mixed marriage 134 3 3.4.2 Conclusion 140 3.5 Remarriage 144 3.5.1 Interpretation of remarriage by Korean Protestant scholars 144 3.6 Conclusion 151 4 WESTERN CHRISTIANITY 152 4.1 Singleness 153 4.1.1 Interpretation of singleness by Western Christian scholars 153 4.1.2 The meaning of “distress” in the context of 1 Corinthians 7 162 4.2 Divorce 168 4.2.1 Interpretation of divorce by Western Christian scholars 168 a. Divorce customs in 1st Century Greco-Roman and Jewish Culture 168 b. Divorce amongst believers 172 c. Divorce in a mixed marriage 178 4.3 Conclusion 182 5 CONCLUSION 183 5.1 Comparison between the Coptic Orthodox, Western and 184 Korean Protestant Christianity (Singleness) 5.2 Comparison between the Coptic Orthodox, Western and 186 Korean Protestant Christianity (Marriage) 5.3 Comparison between the Coptic Orthodox, Western and 187 Korean Protestant Christianity (Divorce) 5.4 Comparison between the Coptic Orthodox, Western and 189 Korean Protestant Christianity (Remarriage) 5.5 Personal observation 190 BIBLIOGRAPHY 197 (Word count 74,350) 4 Abstract This study takes as case studies the traditions of three major Christian communities, the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox church, the Korean Protestant church and the Western Christianity (including Western scholars from both Protestant and Roman Catholic backgrounds.) In doing so I examine the marked discrepancies in their interpretation of Scripture and the likely factors that might have influenced their various readings and subsequent applications regarding four issues – singleness, marriage, divorce and remarriage. I will begin by exploring the relevant scholarly literature, namely: previous studies of reception in general and of the Bible in particular, previous studies of reception of the New Testament texts (especially 1 Corinthians 7); previous studies of Korean and Coptic churches concerning the Bible in general and biblical texts on these four topics. I will examine how the contemporary reading of Coptic Orthodox Christianity about divorce and remarriage issues is likely to be affected by various aspects including the biblical interpretation of the Church Fathers as well as the unique social, religious and political circumstances of the Coptic Church as a minority group in a Muslim country. I will also look into elements of influence in Korean scholarship, where the interpretation of modern Korean Protestant scholars of biblical texts on divorce and remarriage might be influenced by the long-standing cultural influence of Confucianism, fundamentalism and liberal theology. Likewise, I plan to inspect the factors that may possibly affect the reading of modern biblical scholars of Western Christianity about the related biblical passages on singleness and divorce, including the individual circumstances, religious and social background, denominational situation, theological approach (e.g. evangelical, liberal or feminist), cultural view and gender of various scholars. I will also argue that the factors which might affect the ways that modern biblical scholars of Western Christianity read the related biblical texts on singleness and divorce include the views of two Greek philosophical groups (Cynics and Stoics), two Jewish sects (Philo’s group and the Essenes), Church Fathers and apocalyptical literature, as well as Roman cults. Such a different approach of Western scholars is due to their scholarly discussion with an attempt to understand the original text through historical and critical method, unlike the approach of the two previous church groups. A final chapter will draw conclusions by evaluating each tradition in terms of their understanding and practice of these issues. In addition, the way that Paul honoured the rights of women in those areas in the first century will be briefly mentioned. 5 Declaration No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. 6 Copyright Statement i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copyright or related rights in it (the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any reproductions of copyright works in the thesis, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=487), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, The University Library’s regulations (see http://www.manchester.ac.uk/library/aboutus/regulations) and in The University’s policy on Presentation of Theses. 7 Acknowledgement I give my heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Peter Oakes and co-supervisors, Dr. Todd Klutz and Dr. Andrew Crome for their kind help and patience at the completion of a long- term chapter of theological studies in my life. I am grateful to my mentors, Chris and Naomi Harrison, for their being a constant source of prayer and encouragement. Also, I am thankful to my family and friends in Korea and UK, who have confidence in me. I also appreciate Andrew Graystone who has graciously helped in discussing my English. My greatest appreciation is for my late grandmother, Mal Bun Hwang (in Korean 황 말분), who passed way in 2010 at the age of 98. She had raised me with her unconditional love and taught me through her sacrificial life how to serve others. Thus, I hope that I will be able to use my studies faithfully and wisely to serve others all over the world in the future. 8 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study The institution of marriage can be considered as one of the most established of the many structures to have been formed in society since human beings first existed on the earth. However, as a consequence of the dysfunctional exercise of matrimony, there have also been numerous occurrences of divorce and remarriage.