Q. You say that Paul offers a new sort of prophetic rhetoric. New in both form and content, or simply new in that it is a rhetoric with Christian content? Can you explain what you mean a bit as we get going on this dialogue?
A. Although Paul’s facility with Greek and his upbringing in the diaspora acquaint him with good orators, many of his proofs would not have been persuasive outside the group because he speaks for God and begins with premises that only the in-group would accept. He tells about mysteries only known through revelation (1 Cor. 2; Rom. 11:25-26), sometimes commands his audience (1 Cor. 5:1-11), demonstrating an authority not found in ancient speeches, and even threatens them when they do not comply (1 Cor. 4:21; 2 Cor. 13). This, I think, is not a form of rhetoric that one finds in the handbooks.
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