Who is the “Weaker Brother”?
4th May 2005
In a previous post, I reflected on the issue of food offered to idols that Paul deals with in I Corinthians 8. In this passage, Paul says food that have been part of a religious ritual is actually spiritually neutral and there is no consequence whether a Christian eats or not eat such food.
However, even though we know this, Paul says, we must act circumspectly because of the "weaker brother." Traditionally, this passage is used to teach that there are different Christians with different consciences and we ought to be aware of the weaker brothers (and sisters) among us and behave accordingly. In this post, I’d like to question this assumption, examining who the "weaker brother" is. In a further post, I will examine the practice of being careful that we do not stumble those who are weak.
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