Another Tuesday Time Travel…
“So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air.” – 1 Corinthians 9:26
Paul, discussing his willingness to yield certain rights for the sake of winning people to Christ, uses athletic imagery to illustrate his point. So what does it mean to land your punches in Paul’s world?
Notice the statue above resembles a Greek man (curly beard and hair), though it likely originated in the 1st BC. During Roman times, boxing gloves included a metal piece over the knuckles which made for a heavy, brutal glove called a caestus. Missing an opponent was extremely dangerous, but not so bad as receiving a blow. Notice (below) the wounds inflicted on the boxer:
What implications does this have for Paul’s use of the metaphor in the context of 1 Corinthians 9?
[…] Mann at for the Sake of Truth wrote a post Ancient Boxing and the Apostle Paul which is just a sample of the many posts he writes on New Testament […]
[…] in the Ring(well they probably didn't use the squared circle like they do today). The below from:Ancient Boxing and the Apostle Paul – Joshua L. Mann Notice the statue (below) resembles a Greek man (curly beard and hair), though it likely […]