16.3

The Polemic of Galatians (Box 16.4)

More than any other letter, Galatians shows Paul on the attack. As one who apparently has been maligned by his opponents, he shows that he can give as good as he gets. Here are some of the charges that he makes against his opponents:

• They upset and confuse the Galatians (1:7; 5:10).
• They pervert the gospel of Christ (1:7).
• They have bewitched the Galatians (3:1).
• They are manipulative, trying to secure the Galatians’ loyalty by first courting them and then making them feel excluded (4:17).
• They prevent the Galatians from obeying the truth (5:7).
• Their real motivation is to avoid persecution from Jews (6:12).
• They are hypocrites who don’t obey the law themselves (6:13).
• They want to boast of their success at getting the Galatians circumcised (6:13).

Twice in this letter Paul levels a curse against his opponents (1:8–9) and once he says that he wishes they would castrate themselves (5:12).