1 CORINTHIANS 8:10 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;”
For if someone with weak faith sees you—you who have this knowledge—eating in an idol's temple, won't that person be emboldened to eat what was sacrificed to idols? — The scenario: a weak believer observes a strong one eating in an eidōleion (idol's temple, shrine). The weak person, lacking the gnōsis to dismiss the association, may be oikodomiēsetai (encouraged, strengthened) to eat, acting against conscience. This action becomes morally poisonous, not because food is defiled but because the weaker one violates their own moral-spiritual integrity by following suit.
Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 8:10
“For if a man see you who hast knowledge, sitting at meat in an idol's temple, will not his conscience if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?” After having said, “Take heed lest this your liberty become a stumbling-block,” he explains how and in what manner it becomes so: and he continually employs the term “weakness,” that the mischief may not be thought to arise from the nature of the thing, nor demons appear formidable. As thus: “At present,” says…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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