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corpus-paul - Re: Social context of Galatian's suffering

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  • From: Ray Pickett <rpickett AT unidial.com>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Social context of Galatian's suffering
  • Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 23:28:55 +0000


Mark D. Nanos wrote:

> This is an interesting text. It can certainly be taken, as you do, to mean
> that their suffereing was somehow related to the price paid for leaving
> paganism in terms of social mechanisms, formal or informal. Surely some
> social disruption of an undesirable nature would accompany their move.
> Although I would think that they left it not for Christianity, but, at this
> point, for a Jewish subgroup believing in Christ.

Mark, my language is careless here. "Christianity" is obviously an
anchronism. On the other hand, I am wondering in what sense a community
founded by someone who says that he "died to the law", doesn't think
gentiles members should have to do "works of law", and doesn't even
appeal to the law as a moral guide could be considered "Jewish"? I
realize that Paul is angry and may be overstating his case, but do you
think his reiteration of his gospel in this letter is all that different
from his initial preaching in Galatia?

I take your point that the gentile believers in Galatia were involved
with Jews when Paul wrote the letter, and that some of them had been
convinced that it would be a good thing to be circumcised. What I am
having a difficult time imagining is how Paul infiltrated Jewish
communities in Anatolia and preached a gospel to God-fearing gentiles
that essentially undermined Jewish identity, and then these gentiles
continued to stay involved with the Jews and eventually came around to
thinking that they should complete the ritual process of proselyte
conversion. Is this the scenerio you have in mind? If not, how do you
think the situation evolved in those Galatian churches.

To my way of thinking, Paul's gospel seems to be aimed at gentile
idolaters from the git-go. I assume he is interacting with the
synagogues in the various cities, and so certainly some god-fearers
would have been pleased to discover that they could belong to the people
of God without being circumcised. Honestly, I had never thought about
the possiblity that the preponderance of gentile believers had first
turned from paganism to Judaism, then from Judaism to this particular
Jewish sect. I certainly think this is worth pondering some more. But I
need to have a better grasp of how Jewish communities would have even
tolerated Paul's gospel and mission as I find it expressed in Galatians.
Perhaps I am just inferring an erroneous picture from what you are
suggesting.

> But it may be taken to suggest that they are now suffering in a Jewish
> environement for their expectations and claims of equality, as though they
> had acquired proselyte status without having yet done so.

This is also an interesting interpretation that I hadn't thought about.
However, if Paul was referring to their present suffering in a Jewish
environment, wouldn't he most likely have used a present tense instead
of an aorist (EPATHETE)? I am reading v. 4 in conjunction with the
reference in v. 1 to Paul's recounting of his preaching, or graphic
exhibition (PROEGRAPHE - aorist) of Christ having been crucified, and
also with v. 5, which recalls them having received the Spirit when they
heard it. In other words, the context of this reference to their
suffering seems to be their initial hearing of Paul's gospel and the
ensuing consequences, not the current situation.

> It is not clear to me that the reference to their having been pagans in 4:8
> means that they converted directly from paganism to faith in Christ. This
> identity could have been the object of polemical (here ironically twisted)
> comments from a Jewish perspective (like Paul's) forever, like a
> "freed-person," i.e., former slave, regardless of the passing of time and
> experiences. It does seem to clarify that he is addressing non-Jewish
> people, former pagans, but it does not rule out that they were already in
> some way associated with a Jewish community there, "righteous gentiles."

Having done my dissertation on the Corinthian correspondence, I
appreciate Paul's capacity for irony and even sarcasm. But it seems most
natural to me to read 4:8-10 as referring to folks who have transitioned
from paganism to faith in Christ. 4:19 suggests to me that Paul sees
himself as the father/mother of this community of believers. Given his
concern in 1 Cor. with not building on another's foundation, I have a
hard imagining that Paul's mission strategy in this region is
essentially to "steal" gentile proselytes from the Jewish communities.
Is that what you imagine to be the case? If not, then it seems that he
was cultivating a gentile audience in these cities, then after he forms
a community there is an attempt to connect with Jewish communities.

Enough for tonight. The conversation is very helpful.

Best wishes,
Ray Pickett




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