The polemical Epistle to the Galatians has some of the most explosive and harsh rhetoric in all Pauline epistles. Paul’s writing clearly indicates that he is troubled by the situation in Galatia. Along with the other Pauline epistles, with the possible exception of Romans (Goodacre, 2016b), Paul’s Letter to the Galatians is occasional. That is, Paul is responding to specific problems within the Galatian community (Goodacre, 2016a). The actual occasion of Galatians is as follows: Paul is writing to dissuade Gentile Galatian Christians from adopting another gospel that calls for male circumcision and adherence to Jewish Law (New Revised Standard Version, Galatians. 5:2-3). Paul, the Galatian Christians, and his theological opponents make up …show more content…
As shown above, the occasional nature of the Galatian Epistle provides a window into Paul’s intentions as well as early Christianity. However, only Paul’s epistle remains. John Barclay, a scholar of the New Testament, explains a critical method used to counteract this predicament called mirror reading. Mirror reading utilizes extant polemical text, in this case Galatians, “as a mirror in which we can see reflected the people and the arguments under attack” (Barclay, 1987, pp. 73–74). While Barclay considers mirror reading an “essential” tool in studying Galatians, he also emphasizes that the method is “extremely problematic” (Barclay, 1987, p. 74). He identifies three general problems that limit the mirror-reading of Galatians: Paul officially writes the epistle to the Galatians and not his opponents; the epistle is very argumentative and not like a “rational conversation”; and, the inability to fully know the linguistic impact of statements on the Galatian community (Barclay, 1987, pp. 74–77). Other scholars like Mark Goodacre and Graham Stanton agree with Barclay by highlighting the uncertainty of when Paul is directly refuting opponents’ claims or simply utilizing rhetoric (Goodacre, 2016a; Stanton, 2001, p. 152). In addition to the importance of these limiting factors when mirror-reading Galatians, they are also important when reading the epistle more …show more content…
Evidence of their pagan origin comes from when Paul is questioning why they are “turn[ing] back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits” (Gal. 4:9). These people originally welcomed Paul into their midst while he was injured and accepted his gospel (Gal. 4:13-14). These two pieces of information, in turn, explain that they are Christian Gentiles. Yet despite Paul bringing them to Christ through his gospel, they are “quickly deserting” him (Gal. 1:6). Luke Johnson also amalgamates details from the epistle to from the Galatian identity. In addition to my description of the Galatians, Johnson writes that the Galatian community “did not have a mature grasp of this identity ‘in Christ,’” while also noting that Paul most likely introduced them to the Torah (Johnson, 2010, p. 291). Johnson’s idea of the community’s immaturity seems well founded because of their lack of conviction by “quickly deserting” (Gal. 1:6) the gospel and Paul’s infantilizing tone when calling them his “little children” (Gal. 4:19). The support for Paul first introducing the Torah to these people is more troublesome. Johnson’s support verses, (Gal. 3:2; 4:21; 5:4) simply explain that the Galatians did not receive the Spirit of Christ through the Law. On top of the lack of textual evidence, Richard
The book Studies in Galatians was a very fine read. The book written by Tom Wacaster was very well put together. I felt like he did a fine job gathering good help to really bring home some of the main points out of this book. Well-organized verse by verse is bought to the attention of the reader in a simple format. I really like the fact that he shared the ideas of others and did not hesitate to let the reader know that who was saying what. From the very beginning, Mr. Waycaster let you know in the introduction a very pinpointed direction and sent you on your way. The introduction seem to be a bit long but after I looked at it upon completion of reading I appreciated it more so than when I read it. When you take second look, it made me understand the reading better.
It is the reader and his or her interpretive community who attempts to impose a unified reading on a given text. Such readers may, and probably will, claim that the unity they find is in the text, but this claim is only a mask for the creative process actually going on. Even the most carefully designed text can not be unified; only the reader's attempted taming of it. Therefore, an attempt to use seams and shifts in the biblical text to discover its textual precursors is based on a fundamentally faulty assumption that one might recover a stage of the text that lacked such fractures (Carr 23-4).
Cahill sees Scripture as having three dimensions, which she defines as “the specific texts on the issue at hand, specific texts on related issues, and general biblical themes or patterns” (64). For specific texts, she mentions Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, the Romans, and Timothy. Citing the historical and social contexts of the Old Testament texts, she dismisses them as not easily applicable to modern society (65). When she considers Paul, she questions whether his lists of sins translate well into modern moral discourse because of Paul’s primary concern with idolatry and because of the Greek model of homosexuality, which greatly differs from modern homosexual relationships that resemble marriage (65). Though she does not specifically state it, implicit in these references to historical context is doubt about the Spirit-inspired nature of the Scriptures. In questioning the ability of the Scriptu...
In Sarah Ruden’s book, Paul Among the People, Ruden strives to disprove modern society’s common belief that the apostle Paul was a man strongly against women and homosexuality. She makes the claim that he was actually fighting for more equality and love than what Roman society allowed in Paul’s time and even before his time. Ruden compares the words Paul wrote around the middle of 50 A.D. and into the early 60 A.D.’s against other popular literary works of the Roman first and second century B.C.in an effort to challenge contemporary negative thoughts regarding Paul. Despite the negative opinions that a majority of modern society hold about the apostle, Sarah Ruden does a remarkable job of refuting the claims that Paul was a misogynist homophobe by putting Paul in perspective inside the society that he lived in. She claims that Paul was offering equality and a better life for the people of his time. By doing this, Ruden attests that Paul was not the negative man that most people believe but that he actually fought for more equality and compassion than what he is given credit for by most people today.
E: Because they will love their neighbor and because they know that if they know if they take too much from one person, then another person might do the same to them (Galatians 5:14-16). In my understanding of the Pauline letter to the Galatians, as Christians, we should not follow the Jewish law because Jesus has replaced the teachings. And, whoever wants to be in the right standing before God should measure themselves through the teachings of Jesus, and not the Jewish Law.
Aquinas, St. Thomas. COMMENTARY on SAINT PAUL'S EPISTLE to the GALATIANS. Trans. F. R. Larcher. Albany: Magi Books, 1996.
In the Galatian letter, Paul offers a stern rebuke to the Christians there for accepting false teachings. In fact, they had turned aside to what he describes as a “different gospel” (Gal. 1:6-10). Undoubtedly, this “different gospel” sounded good. But was it really good? Most certainly not! We live in a deceitful world, and Satan seeks to find ways to infiltrate a Christian’s life and lead him/her astray. Chimney corner Scriptures are merely one avenue he might
...e his circumcision and explains that the physical act of circumcision is not enough, that faith is more important. He places importance on the word being for the Jews first and the gentiles second; because of the Abrahamic covenant. In conclusion, it is apparent that Paul’s letters (that which were written so long ago) still hold meaning for us as Christians today. We should approach them with the back knowledge that the early Christian suffered greatly to get us where we are today, and we should thank God for these divine works that keep us going on the right path to righteousness.(Romans 1-8)
...e to the study of the bible instead of all the doubts that was created by the other criticism. To them all the odd parts and repeated phrases or parts all add to a strikingly beautiful tale. They see the bible as a literary masterpiece in which the authors used gorgeous imagery to strike at the heart of the reader to show them God’s greatness. In essence rhetorical critics want you to see the big picture instead of all the little side pictures. The J story of Genesis as well at times the P story is filled with imagery that is meant to show God’s power.
N.T Wright (2008) stated that “When we read the scriptures as Christians, we read it precisely as people of the new covenant and of the new creation” (p.281). In this statement, the author reveals a paradigm of scriptural interpretation that exists for him as a Christian, theologian, and profession and Bishop. When one surveys the entirety of modern Christendom, one finds a variety of methods and perspectives on biblical interpretation, and indeed on the how one defines the meaning in the parables of Jesus. Capon (2002) and Snodgrass (2008) offer differing perspectives on how one should approach the scriptures and how the true sense of meaning should be extracted. This paper will serve as a brief examination of the methodologies presented by these two authors. Let us begin, with an
An awareness of the historical-cultural background of Paul’s letter to Philemon will aid in interpretation of the text. The information gleamed should allow for a greater contextual appreciation. With this knowledge in hand, the reader can grasp a deeper understanding of the theological teachings of the book of Philemon.
Harris, Stephen. Understanding The Bible. 6 ed. New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2002. Print.
Talbert, Charles H. Ephesians and Colossians. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007The New Interpreter's Bible: General Articles and Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections for Each Book of the Bible, Including the Apocryphal deuterocanonical Books. Vol. XI. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©1994-2004.
...pse." In Current Issues in New Testament Interpretation, edited by W. Klaasen and G.F. Snyder, 23-37. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1962.
Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.