All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.  All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.  1 Corinthians 6:12

Lawful – Brian Rosner makes an off-hand remark about this passage that deserves considerably more attention.  He says, “Apparently some Corinthians were eating in pagan temples and using the prostitutes on offer on such occasions and defending both behaviors with the slogan, ‘all things are lawful for me’.”[1] Rosner is the senior lecturer in New Testament at Moore Theological College.  He is a well-respected scholar.  What he says here is startling.  This remark catches us off-guard because it alters completely the context of Paul’s statement.  What it suggests is that Paul really needed to add some quotation marks.  Of course, those aren’t available in Greek so sometimes, but not always, Paul indicates that he is citing a straw man or his opponents or someone else.  But on some occasions Paul doesn’t bother to tell us who is speaking.  Since he is writing to people who would know what was said, he simply repeats the comment.  These occasions are the most perplexing.  That’s when we have to rely on the context.

We know that this occurs because we find the same citation without quotation marks in Galatians when the text concerning the silence of women says, “as the law says.”  But, of course, the law doesn’t say this.  It can’t be found anywhere in Hebrew Scriptures.  So, obviously, Paul is not telling us that this is what he thinks.  He is citing his detractors.  We’re just missing the quotation marks.

Rosner’s point is that Paul’s context here is all about members of the assembly who are still incorporating common pagan practices into their lives.  Paul has just referred to these pagan practices, among which were temple prostitution and pagan festivals (which were usually an excuse for orgies).  What Rosner suggests is that this famous phrase, “All things are lawful for me,” is not Paul’s words but rather the words of those he is debating.

Oh, my!  Take a deep breath.  Recall the agonizing theological machinations we all went through while we tried to explain these words within the context of a Torah-observant morality, or even within the higher ethical expectations of Christian holiness.  Remember how difficult it was to walk the razor’s edge between moral imperatives and ethical choice.  Imagine how that would have changed if we just added the quotation marks.

Rosner’s comment makes a lot of sense.  Paul is Torah-observant.  He says so.  Torah observance does not make all things lawful.  In fact, there are a lot of things that are expressly forbidden.  Changing the translation to “all things possible” doesn’t help much.  While the Greek verb, exesti, can be translated “what is possible,” the implication is morally or legally possible or permitted.  But clearly not all things are permitted, morally possible or endorsed by the Torah.  The only way we can make sense of this statement as Paul’s own words is to claim that Paul adopted a view of grace that set aside all the requirements of the Torah and therefore, the Torah no longer instructed him.  But this is impossible.  Paul never set aside the Torah.  It was his guide to every facet of life.  As Heschel would say, “A Jew without Torah is obsolete.”  And Paul was certainly a Jew.

This means that the words, “all things are permitted, lawful, possible” makes no sense whatsoever as Paul’s view of the world.  These are words that describe that man who wishes an excuse for his behavior.

All we needed were the quotation marks.

Do you feel better now?

Topical Index:  exesti, permitted, lawful, possible, 1 Corinthians 6:12