Grown Up Religion: Polemic and Pastoral Practice in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

Paul’s argument against his opponents in Galatians has frequently been used to support division amongst Christians, sometimes with catastrophic results. Can this angry polemical letter be of any use for pastoral practice today? Building on a critique of J. L. Martyn’s interpretation of Galatians and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Expository times 2015-12, Vol.127 (3), p.105-113
Main Author: Carson, Marion L. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Paul’s argument against his opponents in Galatians has frequently been used to support division amongst Christians, sometimes with catastrophic results. Can this angry polemical letter be of any use for pastoral practice today? Building on a critique of J. L. Martyn’s interpretation of Galatians and drawing on ideas from the psychology of religion, this article suggests that if Paul is seen as tackling a case of “immature religion”, we can be guided by his argument, without emulating his divisive approach.
ISSN:0014-5246
1745-5308
DOI:10.1177/0014524614535155