‘Οὐ κατ’ ἐπιταγὴν λέγω.’ Paul’s Fundraising Appeal in 2 Corinthians 8:7-12 and Implications for the Church Today

Jones Otisi Kalu ORCID iD & Ezichi A. Ituma ORCID iD

Issue: Vol.8  No.3 March 2022 Issue  Article 1 pp.59-67
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2022831  |   Published online 3rd March 2022.
© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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At a time when Christian preachers employ all forms of gimmicks to persuade people to give, examining Paul’s model of appeal in the collection for the saints, particularly 2 Corinthians 8:7–12, would prove helpful. Paul avows that he is not commanding the Corinthians and takes pains to demonstrate that. This paper, therefore, employed a lexico-grammatical method of exegesis to explore Paul’s preferred approach and what it portends for the church’s rhetoric at fundraising towards ensuring results, on one hand, and integrity, on the other hand. It discovered that for Paul and Christian giving in general, sounding authoritative while calling for funds would inadvertently compromise the ethics of freewill giving, which is at the core of Christian generosity. Rather an appeal to the people’s gracious endowments, the earnestness of their love, free will and proportionate giving would be more fruitful and girded with integrity; the kind of giving acceptable to God.

Keywords: Corinthians, Freewill Giving, Fundraising, Paul’s Collection, Proportionate Giving

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Jones Otisi Kalu is currently a Lecturer at Hugh Goldie Theological Institution, Arochukwu-Nigeria. He is also a PhD Candidate at the Department of Religion and Cultural Studies (Biblical Studies/New Testament), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

Ezichi A. Ituma is an Associate Professor of New Testament Studies at the Department of Religion and Cultural Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

Kalu J.O. & Ituma E.A. “‘Οὐ κατ’ ἐπιταγὴν λέγω.’ Paul’s Fundraising Appeal in 2 Corinthians 8:7-12 and Implications for the Church Today,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 8 no.2 (2022): 59-67.  https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2022831

© 2022 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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