[B-Greek] "monon" - I Cor. 15:19

George F Somsel gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Wed Mar 28 17:43:25 EDT 2007


No, that won't work.
 
george
gfsomsel
_________



----- Original Message ----
From: David A. Green <jer2329 at preteristcosmos.com>
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 5:20:10 PM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] "monon" - I Cor. 15:19


Paul's argument seems invalid to me if "monon" modifies the adverbial
prepositional phrase "in this life."  If Paul was saying that believers were
pitiable because they hoped in Christ "in this life only," then he would be
implying that, in order not to be pitiable, Christians must continue to hope
in Christ "in the next life" too.  But that doesn't make sense.  Their hope
was _fulfilled_ in the next life.  One does not continue to "hope" for
something that is "seen" after "this life." (Rom. 8:24)  It doesn't seem to
me that there is anything "pitiable" about hoping in Christ "in this life
only."  Also, Paul did not add the qualifier, "...if the dead do not rise."
He did not say, "If in this life only we hoped in Christ then we are
pitiable _if the dead do not rise_."

And Paul's argument seems invalid to me again if "monon" modifies the verb
"hoped."  What is wrong with "only hoping" in Christ?  Again, Paul did not
add the qualifier, "...if the dead do not rise."  He did not say, "If we
have 'only hope' in Christ then we are to be pitied _if the dead do not
rise_."  He said only that "placing only our hope in Christ is pitiable".
That doesn't make sense.  Or at the very least, it seems that it would be a
very awkwardly articulated argument.

These considerations are what make me wonder if the context leads us to this
translation/interpretation: 

"If in this life we alone [i.e., we Christians alone and not "the dead" of
the O.T.] have hoped in Christ, then we are of all men most to be pitied
[because if "the dead" had no hope in Christ in this life, then neither do
we]."

Dave


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