Synopses & Reviews
This guide introduces students (of all levels and in both secular and seminary contexts) to the key issues and scholarly ideas that have informed study of Galatians. In addition to classic scholarly positions Oakes summarises and interacts with the new wave of Galatians scholars from the past ten years, who have explored a range of ideas very different from the previous main lines of enquiry. Oakes also interacts with Galatians-related aspects of the recent heated debates around 'Justification Theory' and the 'Faith of Christ'.
Oakes uses his particular expertise to consistently examine issues in the question of how they relate to mid-first-century house churches, understood as groups living within the context of the socio-economic structures of small town life in the eastern Roman empire.
Synopsis
Oakes and Boakye rethink Galatians by examining the text as a vision for the lives of its hearers. They show how, in tackling the difficulties that he faces in Galatia, Paul offers a vision of what the Galatians are in their relationship with the living Christ. This offers a new understanding of the concept of unity in diversity expressed in Gal 3:28.
The authors develop their views over six chapters. First, Oakes maps a route from the letter to a focus on its Galatian hearers and on Paul's vision for their identity and existence. In the next chapter, Oakes uses the Christology of Galatians as a way to support the idea of pistis as current relationship with the living Christ. Boakye then offers three chapters analysing the letter's scriptural quotations and ideas about salvation and law. Boakye sees a key dynamic at work in Galatians as being a movement from death to life, as prophesied metaphorically by Ezekiel and as made literal for Paul in his encounter with the resurrected Christ, trust in whom becomes the route to life. Life becomes a key category for evaluating law. Boakye also draws Galatians close to Romans 4 in seeing in both texts the promise of the birth of Isaac, with Paul closely tying that to the resurrection of Jesus. Oakes then argues that the letter has a thematic concern for unity in diversity. In the first instance this is between Jews and gentiles but, in principle, it is between any other socially significant pair of groups.
About the Author
Peter Oakes is Greenwood Lecturer in the New Testament at The University of Manchester, UK.
Table of Contents
1.Introduction
2. Finding a context for studying Galatians
3. The structure of Galatians
4. Paul and the autobiographical sections of Galatians
5. Salvation in Galatians
6. Scripture and Law in Galatians
7. Unity, freedom and ethics
8. Conclusions
Bibliography
Index of texts
Index of subjects & scholars