Who’s the author?
All art is collaborative, but some art forms
are more collaborative than others. The critic Adam Gopnik suggested in a book
review that the primary artist is easier to identify in some art forms than
others.1 For instance, though there are actors, technicians, set
builders, lighting technicians and many other professionals involved in making
a movie, no one doubts that the director is more or less the author of the
film. In the same way, dance is created by the choreographer regardless of who
composed the music, wrote the plot or danced their heart out. Though there’s no
question that editors, printers and book binders have their part to play, it’s
self-evident that the person who wrote the book is clearly the author.
Gopnik points out that the primary artist in
the musical is tougher to identify because there’s a writer, a composer, a
choreographer, a lyricist and a director involved. Each can make a good case
for being the real author. And those collaborators don’t necessarily all get
along either; they may even question the value of others who are part of the
team.
The apostle Paul stayed in the Greek city
Corinth for a year and a half, during which time he and his friends Priscilla
and Aquila supported their ministry by practicing their craft of making and
repairing tents. The relationships he created there were deep and lasting,
resulting in at least two, and probably several more, letters.
But if the Corinthians had one problem, it
was in failing to appreciate the spiritual gifts of church members. In part,
that was because they failed to recognize who was the author of their life
together.
Setting the scene
Corinth, located at the isthmus of
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