Coming May 2022: Two new courses on Galatians!
Paul’s letter to the Galatians ranks among the earliest writings we have from the movement that became Christianity. It therefore brings into sharp focus key issues of theological debate within the early Jesus movement, including how this community saw themselves.
In this letter, Paul identifies a specific challenge to identity formation in the Messiah that is facing the church in Galatia. The particular question of whether Gentile converts needed to be circumcised, which is the direct impetus for Paul’s writing the letter, provides a basis from which Paul can expound a broader vision of membership in the Messiah community. Arguing against factions that would exclude Gentile converts failing to adopt Torah, Paul masterfully explores the logic of a New Age instantiated by Messiah Jesus, the new requirements for family belonging, and the reciprocal faithfulness of Jesus and believers which is the foundation of righteousness.
Across two courses (totaling 37 lectures), Prof. Wright walks students through Paul’s argument step by step, clarifying difficult translational matters, navigating the messy history of soteriology and interpretation since the Reformation, and clears a path back to the original concerns of the time to help us see afresh what Paul considered the heart of the New Age.