Abstract
This chapter aims to shed a new light on Paul’s exhortation for “anyone unwilling to work” in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 in consideration of the three worlds related to the text (the world behind the text, the world within the text, and the world in front of the text). These worlds confirm that both the Roman society including the Thessalonian church and Korean society face the financial crisis and “anyone unwilling to work” has an option to choose not to work on account of the economic support from the church. As the early church focused on economic independence, solidarity, and substitutional system to overcome the imperial power, our church also needs to provide such an option and support to solve the problems caused by our capitalistic system. It is questionable to conclude that Paul’s exhortation is given to object to laziness and the basic income. Instead, the worlds related to 2 Thessalonians 3:10 encourage Christians to reflect upon the meaning and function of the basic income for the sake of the precariat who cannot be unwilling to work.
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Notes
- 1.
The results of the “Basic Income Perception Survey of Christians” were conducted by a joint research team as part of the “Interdisciplinary Research on Basic Income Theology and Social Sciences” conducted in 2020 with support from the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea for general joint research support. Commissioned by Korea Research Co., Ltd., from June 15 to June 30, 2021, the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) method was conducted for 1,000 adult men and women nationwide.
- 2.
Check the answers to questions 19–1 and 19–2 of the “Basic Income Perception Survey of Christians” contained in the appendix of this book. p. 241.
- 3.
Yong-Han Chung. “Biblical Proposal for the Discussion of Basic Income-Focused on the Jubilee Year in the Synoptic Gospels and the Kingdom Movement.” 「Theological Forum」91 (2019): 251–279.
- 4.
For a study that attempted biblical insight into a multicultural society with a similar methodology, refer to the following. Yong-Han Chung, “A Holistic Reading and Theological Theme of Colossians for a Multicultural Society.” 「Theological Forum」 77 (2014): 269–296.
- 5.
Paul Ricoeur, Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning (Fort Worth: Texas Christian University, 1976), 80–95.
- 6.
For an analysis of the three worlds related to the text of the Bible, see the following. W. Randolf Tate, Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991).
- 7.
Sandra M. Schneiders, The Revelatory Text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1999), 97–179.
- 8.
Domestic systematic theologians like Youn Chul-Ho also emphasize the establishment of a holistic biblical hermeneutics that considers three worlds. However, the directing point he proposes is different from this study, which is aimed at “socially participatory hermeneutics” in that it is “theological-spiritual hermeneutics.” Youn Chul-Ho. “A Holistic Approach to Post-Modern Biblical Hermeneutics after Ricoeur-Focused on Sandra M. Schneider.” 「Jangshin Nondan」21 (2004/6), 210–211.
- 9.
Adolf Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East; the New Testament Illustrated by Recently Discovered Texts of the Graeco-Roman World, New and completely rev. ed. (New York: George H. Doran company, 1927). Justin Meggitt's discussion that newly supported Deissmann's argument has the weakness that it simplified Roman society into the rich and the poor, but it is meaningful in that it begins an in-depth discussion on the poverty that the Pauline community faced. Justin J. Meggitt, Paul, Poverty and Survival, Studies of the New Testament and Its World (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998).
- 10.
Gerd Theissen, The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982); Wayne A. Meeks, The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983); Abraham J. Malherbe, Social Aspects of Early Christianity, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983); Bruce J. Malina, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1981).
- 11.
According to the report in Acts, high-ranking eunuchs from Ethiopia, Roman centurion Cornelius, Manaen, a brother of Herod the tetrarch, Lydia, a dealer of purple cloth, and Dionysius, a member of Areopagus, appear as high-ranking political and economic leaders who accepted the gospel in the early church.
- 12.
Steven J. Friesen, “Poverty in Pauline Studies: Beyond the So-Called New Consensus,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 26, no. 3 (2004), 341.
- 13.
Walter Scheidel and Steven J. Friesen, “The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire,” Journal of Roman Studies 99 (2009), 61–91.
- 14.
Bruce W. Longenecker, Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty, and the Greco-Roman World (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 2010).
- 15.
Guy D. R. Sanders, “Landlords and Tenants: Sharecroppers and Subsistence Farming in Corinthians Historical Context,” in Corinth in Contrast: Studies in Inequality, ed. by Steven J. Friesen, Sarah A. James, and Daniel N. Schowalter (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 121–124. It is questionable whether American scholars’ recent interest in the middle class and their social experiences are reflected in the context of the first century.
- 16.
Peter Brown, Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2012), 1–44.
- 17.
For an evaluation of Brown's work, see Suh Won-Mo, “Economic Thoughts of the Ancient Fathers of the Church.” Public Theology and Church Research Center edition『God's Economy I』 (Seongnam: Book Korea, 2013), 91–92.
- 18.
Choi Jae-Duk introduces the conclusion that even in ancient Greece, there was no relief system for the poor who were not citizens. Choi Jae-Duk, “Economic Thoughts of the New Testament─The First Century A.D. Palestinian Relief System and Primitive Christian Relief Activities.” Public Theology and Church Research Center edition, 『God’s Economy I』 (Seongnam: Book Korea, 2013), 62–63.
- 19.
Rich people who donated were praised as “lovers of the city,” not “lovers of the poor.” Suh Won-Mo, “Economic Thoughts of the Ancient Fathers of the Church” (2013), 97.
- 20.
Anneliese Parkin, “‘You Do Him No Service’: An Exploration of Pagan Almsgiving,” in Poverty in the Roman World. Edited by M. Atkins and R. Osborn (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 60–82. According to Kim Kyoung-Jin, the Roman Empire in the first century had a policy to reduce even the amount of free grain distributed only to citizens. The needs of the poorest, who would have been desperate for free meals, were not taken into account. Kim Kyoung-Jin, 『Discipleship and Stewardship in Luke Theology (Seoul: Solomon, 2007), 361–362.
- 21.
Martin Hengel, Property and Riches in the Early Church: Aspects of a Social History of Early Christianity (London: S.C.M. Press, 1974), 42–46.
- 22.
Julian, Letter 22. ed. W. C. Wright. The Works of the Emperor Julian, Loeb Classical Library (London: Heinemann/New York: Putnam, 1953), I: 58–70.
- 23.
Karl P. Donfried, “The Imperial Cults of Thessalonica and Political Conflict in 1 Thessalonians.” In Paul and Empire, edited by Richard A. Horsley (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1997), 217–218.
- 24.
Ibid., 218–219.
- 25.
From the first century CE, many coins commemorating emperors have also been unearthed in Thessalonica.
- 26.
It is highly likely that Paul's report (2 Corinthians 11:8–9) gave a false impression to the “anyone unwilling to work” about the fundraising of his church (the church in Thessalonica).
- 27.
The tradition of Jesus reflected in 1 Corinthians 9:14 is related to Matthew 10:10 and Luke 10:7–8.
- 28.
Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 20, 51, 101, Suetonius, Life of Claudius, 18.2, Tacitus, Annals, 12.43.
- 29.
It is reminiscent of the manna given in Israel's wilderness days, and the logic is that everyone will have equal abundance (2 Corinthians 8:13–15). Cho Gwang-Ho, 『Economic Ethics of the Early Church and Later Development』(Seoul: Handeul, 2019), 59–64. As contents Paul emphasized through fundraising, Cho Gwang-Ho points to spontaneity, the principle of mutual exchange, the principle of compensation, and the spirit of competition in good faith between churches.
- 30.
Lim Sung-Uk and Yong-Han Chung, “The Economic Definition in the Acts of Apostles: Focusing on Women in Multiple Cultures.”「Theological Forum」99 (2020): 39–70.
- 31.
Cho Gwang-Ho, 『Economic Ethics of the Early Church and Later Development』, 66.
- 32.
Kim Pan-Im explains Paul’s fundraising work with an economic meaning to make up for the lack of believers economically, a religious meaning for both donors and recipients of the fundraising to give thanks and glory to God, and a social meaning to form solidarity between donors and recipients. Kim Pan-Im, “Economic Principles Appeared in Paul’s Tentmaker Missionary Work and Fundraising Campaign.” Edited by New Testament Society of Korea, 『Economic Ethics of the New Testament』 (Seoul: Handeul, 1998), 258.
- 33.
2 Thessalonians cannot be regarded as Paul's personal letter, as it contains many examples of words that Paul did not use in other epistles and even words used with different meanings. Helmut Koester, Introduction to the New Testament: History and Literature of Early Christianity. 2nd ed. (New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2000), 248.
- 34.
Helmut Koester, “Imperial Ideology and Paul's Eschatology in I Thessalonians.” In Richard A. Horsley (ed.), Paul and Empire (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1997), 161–163.
- 35.
Karl P. Donfried, “The Imperial Cults of Thessalonica and Political Conflict in 1 Thessalonians” (1997), 222–223.
- 36.
2 Thessalonians warns against being deceived by the claim that “the day of the Lord has come” (ἐνέστηκεν) (2 Thessalonians 2:2).
- 37.
‘ἐσθιέτω’ in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 is a third-person imperative, and it can be seen that it was given to all members of the church, not just “those who are unwilling to work.”
- 38.
Various discussions have been proposed as to the reasons for those to have become unwilling to work. Gaventa argues that this is because they did not think that manual labor was suitable for those who were set free in Christ, and Best argues that it was because they thought that only intellectual labor was suitable for free men. Beverly R. Gaventa, First and Second Thessalonians (Louisville: John Know, 1998), 59; Ernest Best, The First and Second Letter to the Thessalonians (London: A&C Black, 1972), 338.
- 39.
The life of high-wage workers is no different. They are also experiencing another dimension of conflict and alienation due to high-intensity work and the accompanying fatigue while giving up leisure and human relationships.
- 40.
Jeremy Rifkin, The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era. (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995), 3–14.
- 41.
In the question of “Basic Income Perception Survey of Christians,” which asked people to choose multiple reasons for opposing basic income, 62.4 and 57.2% said that they encourage laziness and waste money, respectively. The reasons that the Bible teaches “that only the socially underprivileged” and “that anyone unwilling to work should not eat” accounted for 46.1 and 43.9%, respectively.
- 42.
According to the “Basic Income Perception Survey of Christians,” 86.2% of respondents said that they had no experience of preaching, explaining, or discussing basic income in their church (50.6% not at all, 35.6% hardly).
- 43.
Other principles include cash payments, regular payments, individual payments, payments independent of income, and payments regardless of work status.
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Brown, Peter. Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2012.
Cho, Gwang-Ho.『Economic Ethics of the Early Church and Later Development』Seoul: Handeul Publishing House, 2019.
Choi, Jae-Duk. “Economic Thoughts of the New Testament ─ The First Century A.D. Palestinian Relief System and Primitive Christian Relief Activities.” Public Theology and Church Research Center edition, God's Economy I』Seongnam: Book Korea, 2013, 61–88.
Chung, Yong-Han. “Biblical Proposal for the Discussion of Basic Income ─ Focused on the Jubilee Year in the Synoptic Gospels and the Kingdom Movement.” 「Theological Forum」 91 (2019): 251–279.
Chung, Yong-Han. “A Holistic Reading and Theological Theme of Colossians for a Multicultural Society.” 「Theological Forum」77 (2014): 269–296.
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Scheidel, Walter, and Friesen, Steven J. “The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire.” The Journal of Roman Studies 99 (2009): 61–91.
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Chung, YH. (2023). A Reflection for “Anyone Unwilling to Work” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) from the Perspective of Basic Income. In: Chung, MH. (eds) Basic Income in Korea and Beyond. Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09202-2_3
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