Exegesis of Galatians 5:1-6

Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 2.2 (2012): 105-110, 2012

ST. DOMINIC'S MAJOR SEMINARY LECTURE NOTES A. A study of Paul's first letter to the Galatians St. Paul's Letter to the Churches in Galatia is often considered the most Pauline of all Pauline writing. According to Raymond Brown, it is one single piece in which anger probably caused Paul to say what he really thought. As such, it has a prophetic slant like that of Amos. Paul opted to talk straight and radically challenge the Galatians. 1.0. The Historical Background 1.1. Galatia: 2.0. Some Key Literary Features of the Letter 2.1. Authorship: In terms of authorship, Galatians is generally considered to be genuinely Pauline. Very few scholars have any serious doubt that St. Paul is the author behind this writing. 2.2. Date: Just as the location of the Galatian churches is under dispute, so too the time and place of writing can be determined only with probability. Since the majority favour the view that Paul is writing to the Churches in the north, it also seems probable that he wrote this letter shortly after his second visit to them (Acts 18:23), while at Ephesus

Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2010

2018

Composed for reformed pagans and Gentile proselytizers, Paul’s letter to the Galatians is different in a myriad of ways, contrasting deeply from his other epistles. Galatians is the only epistle written to a group of churches, presumably in South Galatia since only cities in that territory are directly mentioned. Additionally, Paul recognizes a co-sender in the “brothers and sisters who join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia” (1:2). In it, Paul seeks to defend the true gospel of Jesus Christ and refute legalism, warning Christians against the adoption of Judaism or Mosaic law as a predicate for their new identity. However, most early Christians were in fact Jews. The apostles were Jews. Jesus was born and died a Jew. Christianity seemed to itself fit naturally into the wider narrative of Judaism, even as a secondary branch. Instead, the anti-Messianic movement depicted best in the book of Galatians seemed to create a purely Pauline religion rather than an extension of Judaism itself, claiming that almost any adherence to Mosaic law negated one’s faith in God’s truest expression of Christ Jesus; as Christianity placed divine authority on Christ instead of the Torah as it was revealed to Moses.

CARIBBEAN JOURNAL OF EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY, 2019

A rhetorical overview against the backdrop of Pauline Biography