Abstract:
This thesis focuses on discussing the theology of the cross presented in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, specifically from the source text found in verses 18 to 25 of the first chapter, based on the discourse theory of dialogic bias. The theology of the cross is derived from the discourse found in the context of the Corpus Paulinum and its epistemology derives from the perspective on God's suffering, dramatized in the crucifixion of Jesus. The apostle to the Gentiles presents his version of the scandal that was for the Greco-Roman world the fundamental figure of the new religion that emerged at that time being a condemned to capital punishment by the Roman Empire on the cross, a condemnation reserved for individuals who practiced the worst crimes against the established social and political order. When approaching this theme, it is essential to consider it from a dialogic perspective, that is, taking into account a certain intertextual mode, however, markedly situated in the perspective of dialogicity according to Mikhail Bakhtin, in which community polyphony would allow that in everyday linguistic interactions the meanings of speech would materialize in terms of semantic valuation, therefore, creating and recreating the foundations of discourse. When individuals participate in a discourse, they relate symbolically, and metonymically, with the sacred at the same time they interact with each other, they interact with an alterity, with awareness of another consciousness. In this sense, the investigation is mediated by bibliographic research from a qualitative perspective, based on the biblical-theological analysis in dialogue with the polyphony present in the texts of Martin Luther and Edith Stein about the cross as a fundamental theme of modern theology. In order to do so, the most important texts by Luther and Stein on the subject were put into dialogic analysis, respectively the text prepared for the Heidelberg Debate (1518) and the text by Stein, The Science of the Cross. The research results are presented in six chapters arranged as follows: in the first chapter, the research problem and its context are presented; in the second chapter, the theoretical framework regarding the conceptual renovations about discourse throughout the 20th century is analyzed, with emphasis on the Bakhtinian theory of dialogism; in the third chapter an approach is made to the context and situation of the theology of the cross set out in the epistle to the Corinthians; in the fourth and fifth chapters, the source texts of Luther and Stein are analyzed, as well as how they approach the cross as a theological and philosophical theme; and finally, in the sixth chapter, it converges on the dialogism between Paul, Luther and Stein. The research shows, therefore, that the dialog of the cross is constituted as a discourse about the suffering of God, in the crucifixion of Jesus, which overcomes the divisions created by human wisdom and it is in divine solidarity in suffering together with human beings that universal fraternity becomes effective.
