" Especially to be noted is the intense social and even political character of many of the experiences of suffering listed in the catalogs. Paul and his communities were sometimes mocked and harassed, and occasionally worse, because their good news was seen as bad news, as threatening all that was peaceful, secure, and abundant about life in the empire under the benevolent eye of Caesar and the gods. To be a member of, or advocate for, an alter- culture grounded in an alter-cult could be dangerous business. "

― Michael J. Gorman , Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters