The Pauline ekklesia as Third Space

Abstract

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Recent studies in the field of human geography have developed new insights into the value and function of space in social interaction. Scholars such as Henri Lefebvre, Edward Soja, and David Harvey have proposed the concept of third space to designate how a person or a group can (re)imagine spaces with new values, images, or meanings. Both those who function as agents of control and those who are marginalized can conceive of certain spaces as enclosing specific values and meanings, either to retain control or to challenge the status quo. This process occurs by means of discourses, rituals, practices, social ceremonies, performances, etc. Individuals or groups can challenge the social order and the power dynamics in a society either by imagining spaces where it is possible to execute new routines or by acting differently in those places. The corpus paulinum has plenty of allusions to spaces that are (re)imagined such that hegemonic values are replaced with new ones. References to the physical or social body (sōma), the temple (naos), the household (oikos), the assembly (ekklēsia), etc., frequently evoke this third dimension of space because Paul imagines them in new ways. This contribution investigates the relationships that Paul establishes between the concepts of sōma, naos, and ekklēsia in r Cor. I-6 to create a new understanding of the believers as a group. Exploiting the double sense of "body" (physical and social), Paul seems to conceive the ekklēsia as a temple where believers worship God through their ethical behaviour the way they treat the social body. In doing so, these believers are also challenging the broader society that maintains its values and structure by means of civic worship.