In order to understand Paul and his concerns and behaviors, the first act is to read his letters. We offer this introduction as a “pre-reading,” however, since without such an explicit pre-reading readers invariably supply a pre-reading of their own. Long before any words are read people actually begin their reading, just as people who converse with others begin their conversation before any words are spoken. People who engage in a conversation learn to “read the situation” through stereotypes provided