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  • From: "moon-ryul jung" <moon AT saint.soongsil.ac.kr>
  • To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Gal 4:8-10 (To Mark Nanos)
  • Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 21:32:57 -0400


> >[Moon]
> >
> >Let me ask some clarifying questions:
> >Q1:
> >Do you mean that some of the Galatians considered complying with the
> >Jewish norm and some with the Roman norm, to avoid the social
> >pressure/persecution from the pagan society? If so
>
> [Mark]
>
> No. Both norms were at work, and in agreement that the world was
> divided, as far as Jewish identity is concerned, into those who are
> not Jewish, and those who are Jewish. So according to both Jewish and
> pagan norms it would be expected of pagans to behave paganly in the
> pagan sphere of life, and Jewishly if and when guests in the Jewish
> sphere. But these addressees were claiming to no longer be pagans,
> yet not to have become Jews/proselytes. But there is no category for
> such identity claims on either Jewish or Greco-Roman terms,

hence
> pressure to comply/conform with the prevailing norms in one direction
> or the other, remaining pagan friends of the Jewish and pagan
> communities, or becoming members by way of proselyte conversion.
[Moon]
If they did not have become full members of the Jewish community, they
would have been under the pressure to comply with both prevailing norms.
But my question is whether they got circumcised to be full members of
the Jewish community or they participated in pagan practices after being
"rejected" by the Jewish community. They would not have done both.
Your interpretation, therefore, seems to imply that some of them
complied with the criteria of Jewish identity, and those who
did not accept it complied with the criteria of Roman identity,
AFTER having considered both options.

Having said it, a question arises in my mind.
They considered the status of being children of Abraham
blessing from God. So, if they had to choose between being children of
Abraham
by getting circumcised and returing to pagan practices, they would have
chosen the former. So your case of mainline denominations versus
charismatic movements
does not reflect the Galatian situation very well. In this case, the
people involved could readiy go back to their former denomination, knowing
that
it is also a legitimate community to which they can belong. But in the
case of
Galatians, the pagan community was not a legitimate community to go back
to,
because the community "did not know God and were not known by God".

Supposing that your reconstruction of the Galatian situation is correct,
i.e. they were under social pressure to comply with Jewish and Roman
norms, it
leads me to think that for them becoming Jews by getting circumcised would
have been a far better choice. Can you explain why some of them considered
going back to pagan practices?

regards,

Moon

Moon-Ryul Jung
Associate Professor
Dept of Media Technology
Sogang University,
Seoul, Korea




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