In this week's epistle lesson, Paul continues to deal with a series of specific questions the Corinthian church has posed to him. He prefaces each of these responses with a characteristic phrase, peri de, "now concerning." Previous questions concerned marriage (7:1), the married state versus that of singleness (7:26) and the issue of meat offered to idols (8:1). Having addressed those, Paul now moves on to the topic of manifestations of the Spirit in this Christian community.

It may be hard to imagine just what circumstances could lead the Corinthians to query Paul about the spiritual pedigree of those who curse Jesus' name. But Paul's first comment in verse 2 starkly reminds contemporary readers just how diverse and deeply pagan was the environment in which the early Christians lived and …