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Item Open Access Transformation in love in Paul s letter to the Galatians(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) De Villiers, Pieter G. R.English: Paul’s Letter to the Galatians is known as a bitter defence of his “true” gospel of faith against opponents who wish to impose their “false” gospel of works on the faith community. This focus on the faith-works controversy has not been conducive to attempts to read it in terms of the notion of love. This article seeks to reconsider this position and to spell out the special role of love in the letter and its transformative nature. In a first section, the approach to the theme is explained. After a discussion of the polemical nature of the letter, the article analyses Paul’s presentation of divine love in the letter as the origin of God’s salvific and transformative action and of love as a divine characteristic, and how divine love marks the identity of the believing community. The significance of love in the ethos and ethics of the faith community is spelled out.Item Open Access The relation between freedom, love, spirit and flesh in Galatians 5: 13(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) Kirchschlaeger, Peter G.English: In the Letter of Paul to the Galatian churches the concepts “freedom,” “love,” “Spirit” and “flesh” are important: the semantic dimension of the letter and the theology of the letter strongly depend on these key concepts. Simultaneously, there is a complex relation and interaction between the four concepts. Hence an analysis of the above terms in Galatians 5:13 can contribute to the understanding of the letter. To achieve such understanding, the textual context and the structure of the text are discussed in order to establish a summarising exegesis of 5:1-24, with the focus on an analysis of these terms. This summarising exegesis then forms the basis for a reflection on the relation between “freedom,” “love,” “Spirit” and “flesh” in 5:13.Item Open Access The reception of Galatians 2:20 in the Patristic period and in the Reformation(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) Van de Beek, A.English: This article explores the reception of Galatians 2:20 in the Patristic period, and in the Reformation by Luther and Calvin. As it turns out, the interpretation of the verse does not fit into popular notions of their theological traditions. Authors from traditions as different as the Alexandrians and the Antiochians, or Eastern and Western, do not interpret this verse as expected, when taking into account the theological framework in which later generations placed the communities wherein the former exegetes lived. This is especially striking when comparing Luther and Calvin. The result is an exhortation for further research in reception history. It might well fundamentally challenge frameworks of historical research.Item Open Access What happened to the Galatian Christians? Paul s legacy in Southern Galatia(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) Breytenbach, CilliersEnglish: Paul’s Letter to the Galatians points to the influence of his missionary attempts in Galatia. By reconstructing the missionary journeys of Paul and his company in Asia Minor the author argues once again for the south Galatian hypothesis, according to which the apostle travelled through the south of the province of Galatia, i.e. southern Pisidia and Lycaonia, and never entered the region of Galatia proper in the north of the province. Supporting material comes from the epigraphic evidence of the apostle’s name in the first four centuries. Nowhere else in the world of early Christianity the name Παῦλος was used with such a high frequency as in those regions where the apostle founded the first congregations in the south of the province Galatia and in the Phrygian-Galatian borderland.Item Open Access About Galatians, apocalyptic and the switching of paradigms(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) Loubser, Gys M. H.English: The article indicates that although apocalyptic is probably not the hermeneutical key par excellence to Pauline theology, it does lie at the heart of Pauline theology and should be thoroughly accounted for in Galatians. Paul employs apocalyptic in Galatians to stress the radical soteriological and ethical change brought about by the advent of Christ and his Spirit. He wished to reframe his readers’ thought world, making abundant use of apocalyptic innuendo carried by terminology akin to Jewish apocalyptic theology and piety. Written against the background of modern day Christianity still grappling with law and the old paradigm two thousand years into new creation, this article hopes to share some of Paul’s vigour toward understanding the time we live in as post-law.Item Open Access Tendencies in the interpretation of Galatians 3: 28 since 1990(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) Tolmie, D. FrancoisEnglish: A recent investigation of research published on the Letter to the Galatians has shown that 3:28 is the individual verse in the letter that receives the most attention from scholars. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to offer an overview of tendencies in the research pertaining to this verse since 1990. The overview is structured in terms of the following categories: Translation, grammar, origin, Paul’s views expressed in this verse, new interpretative approaches, the verse viewed in terms of other Pauline/Biblical texts/perspectives from the world of the New Testament, the Wirkungsgeschichte of the verse, and the implications of the verse for church and society.Item Open Access Identity claims, texts, Rome and Galatians(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) Punt, JeremyEnglish: This contribution explores the interplay between Paul’s use of the Scriptures of Israel and the imperial setting in claims about Abraham and the negotiation of identity in the Galatians letter. The letter, from Paul’s perspective, is testimony to fierce contestation of identity and finds him engaged in describing, defining and scripting insiders and outsiders in and around the community. In his efforts to argue for a certain identity, Paul not only enlisted the Scriptures of Israel but also availed himself of frameworks reminiscent of contemporary socio-political notions, and of imperial posturing in particular.Item Open Access The linguistic, conceptual, and pragmatic challenges of communicating Galatians 3: 1-14 in Chewa(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) Wendland, ErnstEnglish: The aim of this study is, first of all, to present a rhetorically oriented analysis of the central pericope of 3:1-14, with special reference to its pertinent oral-aural qualities. This forms the basis, in turn, for a comparative analysis of how this passage has been translated into Chewa in an old missionary-produced version (1922) in contrast to a more recent meaning-centered rendering (1998) as well as a special oral-poetic translation that was prepared as part of this study. Further attention is devoted to some of the conceptual challenges that this text, as an example of the Galatian epistle as a whole, poses for mother-tongue speakers due to their lack of an adequate biblical and hermeneutical frame of reference. Suggestions are offered as to how this significant cognitive disparity might be overcome through the use of a judicious selection of paratextual features, in particular, the incorporation of contextually relevant explanatory footnotes.Item Open Access Identity-formation and alterity in John Chrysostom's In Epistulam ad Galatas commentarius(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2014) De Wet, Chris L.English: The purpose of this study is to give account of the dynamics between Christian identity-formation and the problem of alterity in John Chrysostom’s In epistulam ad Galatas commentarius, one of the earliest extant commentaries on Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. The study shows that Chrysostom envisions Christian identityformation as a subset of Paulinomorphism, to become like Christ one should also become like Paul. Chrysostom views Paulinomorphism as the operation of four interrelated discourses, namely the discourse of: a) transformation and mimesis; b) virtue and masculinisation; c) the zealotic, and; d) medicalisation. In order to examine how Paulinomorphism is applied to the problem of alterity, Chrysostom’s homilies In epistulam ad Galatas, especially the first homily in the series, are examined. Chrysostom opposes Judaizers, “Greeks”, Marcionites, Arians and Manichees in this commentary. The study therefore also represents an analysis of the Wirkungsgeschichte of Galatians.