Paul returns here to the topics he dealt with in 8:1–13. There he touched on two related items, eating meat from idol sacrifices and participating in pagan cultic banquets. At this point, however, Paul reverses the order of his discussion and takes up the Christians’ eating at the table in a pagan idol’s temple in 10:14–22 before returning to the issue of eating idol meat per se in 10:23–11:1. In the present verses Paul elaborates and makes even more explicit application of his warning to the Corinthians. The argument is a pastiche of images and metaphors that challenges the imagination of the readers, although Paul’s essential line of thought is unambiguous.

10:14 As he begins this new segment of reflections, one sees in Paul’s first word in this section, Therefore (or better, “On accoun…