My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. 5 For all must carry their own loads.
11 See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! 16 As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
Paul has explained the gospel he preaches by a series of personal examples and explanation of scripture. He does so because the gospel he preached has come under attack. He reaches his goal in Chapters 5 & 6. Christ will transform human lives. Christ will grow the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of those who walk in the Spirit. He ended Chapter 5 by warning the churches in Galatia of the destructive power of conceit, competing against each other, and envy. In Chapter 6, Paul is going to offer his view of what it means to live a spiritual life. He will write of kindness and gentleness in the first five verses. He offers the case of what happens when some who is part of the community of faith fails. We are to walk in the Spirit or keep in step with the Spirit. What happens if someone missteps or stumbles? Paul is clear that others are to respond with gentleness and restore them in their relationship with God and with the community. We are not to respond elevating ourselves above them or separating ourselves from them. We all need gentleness, for we all misstep. In fact, we are to bear the burden of the misstep, rather than add to the burden by a spirit of judgment. Paul will discuss the law much in this letter, but here is the only time in his letters that he refers to the “law of Christ,” which seems to refer to fulfilling the Jewish Law by practicing love. In verses 6-10, Paul discusses the importance of generosity. They are to support those who teach them. What you sow you will reap. We have the opportunity to have life in the full sense of that term, life eternal, when we allow the Spirit to permeate our lives. Rather than conceit, we are to do what is right and good, even if we grow weary and tired. We are to work for the good of all, including those who are not part of Christian communities. In verses 11-16, Paul will summarize what he has taught them. Paul will take the pen in hand, because he has been dictating the letter, and conclude the letter himself. Circumcision was the primary rite of the Jewish Law, but no one can follow the entire Law. Some in the church thought they demonstrated their superiority to others through circumcision, but Paul will “boast” only in the cross. He has gone through the painful process of crucifixion in such a way that his relationship to the world has changed. The only thing that really matters is a new creation that God is already bringing into being through Christ. In fact, even his notion of “Israel” has changed because of Christ.
Some scholars, when dividing Galatians up into units for discussion in their commentaries, link Chapter 6 with 5:25-26, which reads: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another." It becomes a good introduction to Chapter 6 because it addresses the two most important issues in the chapter - what it means to live a "spiritual" life, and the destructive effects of our natural tendency to compare ourselves to others.
The theme of Galatians 6:1-5 is kindness. My friends, even[1] if anyone is detected unexpectedly in the midst of unbecoming conduct[2] or in a transgression (παραπτώματι misstep)[3] you who have received the Spirit (πνευματικοὶ, people transformed by the power of the Spirit, as in Romans 7:14; I Corinthians 2:13, 15; 12:1; 15:44, 45, 46 47)[4] should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness (πραΰτητος). Thus, a "spiritual" person should "restore" an offending member of the community, even if that person were caught in the act. The spiritual person should engage in this restoration in the spirit of "gentleness," which is, in and of itself, one of the spiritual gifts mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:23. Galatians 6:1a, then, presents the case scenario of sin occurring within the community and suggests how the community should handle it. He counsels that those overtaken by a fault should receive gentle correction.[5] This verse is an example that quite early, the church had to deal with sins within the Christian community. Even where there is no doubt of a person having sinned, then, Paul would argue, the offending person should receive correction in a spirit of gentleness by others who, like him or her, presumably, are seeking to be "spiritual" persons.[6] Chrysostom calls it a spiritual gift to correct another part of the body of Christ with gentleness. Sadly, it is easy for certain types of religious persons to sit in judgment of fellow Christians. [7] The counsel Paul offers here shares similarity with II Corinthians 2:6-8, where the community has punished enough, so forgive and console the offending person and reaffirm its love for the person, so that excessive sorrow will not overwhelm the person. In fact, some scholars suggest that the incident in Corinth may still be in Paul's mind. They had overzealously disciplined a member of their community. Their readiness to forgive would be a test of their spirituality. Some suggest that Paul may be appealing to those who would take his side in the controversy, but there is no evidence of such a party in the Galatian churches.
Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. In addition to gentleness, Paul does want the same desire than led the fellow follower of Jesus to sin to consume the one doing the correcting! It could be a warning not to fall into the same error committed by the person who needs correcting. However, the very acknowledgment that those who have received the Spirit might be so tempted reveals that the greater temptation is for those who reprove others to be tempted to think themselves better than those who stray from the desired path. Obviously, the person led by the Spirit must not take up the task of correction in a cavalier or condescending way. The counsel of Paul shows wisdom. St. Augustine says, “There is no sin which one person has committed, that another person may not commit it also.” Luther adds, “We stand in slippery places.” All of us stand in need of watchfulness. If we defeat the beast and in the process become the beast, the beast has won.[8]
2 Bear [βαστάζετε] one another’s burdens. People led by the Spirit will do this. This phrase occurs elsewhere in Greek literature, dealing with the benefits and demands of friendship. Applied to 6:1, the maxim means that Christians should regard 'failure' by Christians as part of the 'burden of life.' Thus, the Christian community should share and bear it together.[9] There may also be a double entendre here, however, based on the basic Hebrew verb "to carry" (nasa'), which is used to refer to both carrying guilt as one would carry a load and lifting that guilt off someone else, meaning, forgiving that person. In the Hebrew sense, helping people to carry their guilt, sharing that process with them, is part of the process of forgiving them. Rather than each individual having to account for and deal with his own sin, now in Christ the community has a role to play in actively helping one of its members to avoid sin. Chrysostom notes that every individual has failings, so Paul exhorts the Galatians not to scrutinize severely the failings of others, but rather to bear them. Calvin is also wise on this point when he says that many people “seize on the faults” of brothers and sisters as an occasion to insult them with reproachful and cruel language, which reveals they take greater pleasure in judging others than in seeing actual change of their lives. The spiritual person must not shrink from a faithful testimony regarding sin, mixing oil with vinegar.[10] To love is to bear the burdens of another. Thus, as Luther puts it, Christians must have strong shoulders. Pastors in particular recognize the many errors and offenses of the church. They must overlook much if they are to be fit to rule. If we can overlook our own shortcomings, we ought to overlook the shortcomings of others.[11] In this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Paul does not use this term anywhere else. It may be that he intends this concept to contrast with Old Testament law with regard to guilt and forgiveness. It may refer to the example of Christ. It refers to a pattern or principle exemplified by the gracious self-giving of Christ. We cannot think of this law as being anything other than to love one another. The use of “law” is a way Paul has of expressing the fact that in Christ something else confronts the Mosaic Law so that its validity is at an end.[12] It refers to the quality and direction of an act.[13] The phrase refers to the entire direction of the ethical teaching of Jesus. Thus, while attacking the Law, Galatians is also a summons to obey the law of Christ.[14] His life becomes the hermeneutical key that unlocks the abiding significance of the Law. Luther notes that Christ gave us no other law than this law of mutual love, that we love one another.
Written by Paul Simon, sung by Art Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” summarizes so well what it would mean if one helped another to bear their burden in life.
When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part, oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, exalting oneself is an attractive and harmful attitude that arises from a false view of oneself, they deceive themselves [φρεναπατᾷ]. 4 All must test [δοκιμαζέτω examine or scrutinize] their own work, not the work of their neighbor; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. 5 For all must carry [βαστάσει] their own loads [φορτίον]. The reference may refer to the Christian warfare, the soldier with his or her own backpack. They have their own obligation and responsibilities. In a seeming reversal of this exact thought, however, Paul next turns to warning against the fallacy of confusing the sin of the neighbor with one's own. We may bear one another's burdens, but we must still carry our own. Paul here is warning against "taking on more than one can handle." In fact, "there is no contradiction between this statement and that in 6:2 because 'sharing the burdens of life' does not eliminate the fact that everybody must learn how to live with himself."[15] Paul also reaffirms the theme of avoiding the temptation to judge others negatively in relation to one's self. Because everyone has his or her own spiritual path to be concerned with, no one should take the responsibility to help others in the community overcome by sin as a sign of one's own ethical superiority. For Paul this is a temptation to sin and a form of self-deception.
The advice Paul offers in these few verses seems consistent with elements of the ancient philosophical tradition concerning friendship. If so, it would suggest that at least part of the concern Paul has is to strengthen the bonds of friendship within the community.
For example, Xenophon says that Socrates tried to cure any of the distress of his friends that arose from ignorance. He would tell them how to help each other according to their power. One day, Socrates notes that Aristarchus looks down, so he says, “Aristarchus, you seem to have a burden on your mind. You should let your friends share it; possibly we may do something to ease you.” His problem is that since the revolution, family members and their slaves have come to live with him, he is financially stressed, and he cannot get a loan. He says it is hard to let people die, but in a time like this, he may have to do so. Socrates responds by wondering how another person has had similar circumstances, and yet is doing well. The reason, apparently, is that the other has slaves who have learned a trade, and Aristarchus has people with only a liberal education. Socrates asks him why, just because he is related to them, that he thinks he should allow them to lay around, sleeping and eating, but doing nothing to support themselves. He asks, with irony, of course, “Or is it your experience that idleness and carelessness help men to learn what they ought to know and remember what they learn, to make themselves healthy and strong, and to get and keep things that are of practical use, but industry and carefulness are useless things?” Socrates then offers some advice:
You don't love these ladies and they don't love you: you think they are a tax on you, and they see that you feel them to be a burden. And the danger in this state of things is that dislike may grow and their former gratitude fade away; but if you exert your authority and make them work, you will love them, when you find that they are profitable to you, and they will be fond of you, when they feel that you are pleased with them. Both you and they will like to recall past kindnesses and will strengthen the feeling of gratitude that these engender; thus you will be better friends and feel more at home.
Aristarchus considers the advice wise, implements it, and people in the household are now happy: “They loved him as a guardian and he liked them because they were useful.”[16]
Another example is in Aristotle. He ponders whether we need friends in good fortune or in bad. His conclusion is both. Of course, one needs friends when one experiences bad fortune, but one is nobler when one has friends in good times. One has need for companionship for a happy life, regardless of circumstances. Our grief is lighter when we share it with others. They share our burden. Their presence by its pleasantness, and they thought of their grieving with us, make our pain less. We also give pleasure to our friends when we go through good times.[17]
Such an approach to life can appreciate this bit of wisdom.
The sage does not accumulate for himself.
The more he uses for others, the more he has himself.
The more he gives to others, the more he possesses of his own.
The Way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure.
The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
— Tao Te Ching 81.
I realize that we must not forget the big picture. Concern for dealing with each other in a kind way may not seem like a big deal. It may seem like the small stuff. Yet, small acts contribute to the bigger picture.
A doctor who did delicate procedures on the hearts of infants had tremendous success – until he had a stretch in which several babies died after apparently successful surgeries. He and a colleague puzzled about this after a surgery. Both liked NASCAR, so they turned on a race. In that context, they saw the speed and precision of the pit crew in a new light. You see, one of the most dangerous times in any surgery is in the hand-off from surgery to ICU. At that time, you unhook and re-hook machines and tubes properly. Goldman and Elliott began to look at every detail of the handoff procedure, coming up with a seven- page manual of processes and drilling team members on their responsibilities. Dr. de Leval got some other surgeons involved in looking at the problem and commissioned a study that confirmed his theory. The study, published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, determined that, of course, big mistakes cause big problems. However, more often the small, unnoticed and uncorrected mistakes by medical teams add up and correlate strongly to bad outcomes for patients. The pediatric ICU chief at Great Ormond Street, Dr. Goldman, concurred. “Our handoffs were haphazard,” he says. The result of the improvements was that technical errors fell 42 percent and information errors fell 49 percent over a two-year period.
The bottom line? Everything matters, maybe especially the little things. Joseph A. Michelli also reminds of this in The Starbucks Experience. He details how Starbucks has paid attention to every part of their process and stores. In a similar vein, some of you might remember a wonderful little book called “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.” It has wonderful advice for keeping things in our lives in perspective. Yet, in other circumstances, it pays to sweat the small stuff, whether you are in the last lap of a Grand Prix, developing a successful business, or in the final stages of surgery on a 3-year-old heart. It is all about the process, all about the team, all about everyone knowing their responsibility and executing with precision.
In the church, we must not forget small things like dealing gently with each other in our missteps, sharing the burdens of each other, remembering we reap what we sow, and doing what is right. I am sure you can think of others. Such qualities are important in family, with friends, and in the church. In our most intimate relationships, the small stuff matters.
One of the richest principles of Jewish ethics is a concept called tikkun olam, which loosely translates to "repairing the world." People know it best from the Aleinu, a prayer Orthodox Jews recite three times daily. The prayer Aleinu (“It is our duty to praise”) is the closing prayer of the morning, afternoon and evening service. It consists of two prayers, Aleinu and V’al Kein. Some believe Tanna Rav in the third century AD in Babylonia wrote Aleinu for Rosh Hashanah services. Rav was the first to institute the Aleinu into the service. The full citation is l'takken olam b'malkhut Shaddai, often translated, "to perfect the world under God's sovereignty." Here is the immediate context of the prayer.
Therefore we put our hope in You, Adonai our God,
to soon see the glory of
Your strength, to remove all idols from the Earth,
and to completely cut off
all false gods; to repair the world, Your holy
empire.[18]
Without the full context, one could assume tikkun olam is something we endeavor to do on our own, as though we were some sort of cosmic carpenter, well-stocked tool belt buckled around our waist, as we endeavor to smooth out the rough spots on the planet. In fact -- as the words of the Aleinu make clear -- faithful Jews view all their good works as being carried out under the oversight and in the name of a loving God. They are not solo operators, but rather numberless laborers on the divine work crew, with the Lord as construction manager. God will repair the world through the faithful response of the people of God. It is no different for Christians.
The theme of Galatians 6:6-10 is generosity. 6 Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. This counsel re-affirms what it means to bear burdens. The hearers of the word have the obligation to support the ministers of word, though he seldom asserted his own claims. Paul is thinking of imparting material goods. Further, if you are to test your work, you will do so with the one teaching you. One who lets the word teach them are humble rather than conceited, competitive, envious, or deceived. 7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. Paul is expressing something like karma in its interaction of deed and consequence.[19] Barth discusses this verse in the context of considering the people of God within world occurrence. His point is that God will be faithful to the divine self and to humanity. He thinks this a glorious and terrifying feature of history. God does not remove the good creation in spite of what humanity does to it. God does not let it fall. God will not overthrow humanity. God will not withdraw what God has given. Yet, God will not allow mocking. When humanity is unfaithful to God and therefore to fellow human beings and to oneself, it becomes inevitable that what God has given humanity for salvation becomes a means of punishment. For him, this is a terrifying element in the course of world history. Rather than mock God, which the proud are prone to do, these believers know that “you reap whatever you sow.”[20] For Barth this sowing and reaping have an intimate connection to the notion of God not being mocked. The people of God are not immune from divine judgment. For Christians, there is an essential connection between the one passion of the Son of God and the many sufferings that we see afflicting Israel, the Church, the world, and us as individual Christians. We experience the suffering that Jesus experienced for us. Not in the same way, of course, but we receive justification apart from receiving what was our due. In contrast, for some, the verse refers to sowing temporal goods. I Corinthians 16:1 say Paul asked the Galatians to contribute to the collection for Jerusalem. Could they be stingy? He passes from the support of clergy to a general principle of liberality. Thus, 8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh (or, to your own flesh, as in 5:16 — ‘gratify the desires of the flesh’); but if you sow to the Spirit (or, as in 5:16, 25 — ‘live by the Spirit’), you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Paul has just spoken of the kind of seed sown. Now he speaks of the nature of the ground. The flesh yields blighted corn.[21] In contrast, “eternal life” is the new eschatological life in the full sense, in comparison with which earthly life is life only with reservations. Life in the full sense is life related to its divine origin, permeated by the Spirit.[22]The way of the Spirit is to do what is right, work for good, and offer gentle reproof with humility. In contrasting sowing to the flesh and sowing to the Spirit, Paul encapsulates the message of the letter as a whole. The message is not one of a moralistic warning against sensual self-indulgence. Instead, Paul is warning against placing confidence in anything that belongs to the realm of the merely human. Circumcision was a major example. Only the Spirit can convey life.[23] 9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right. To summarize, they are not to be full of conceit, possess a competitive spirit, or envy others. Instead, they are to restore transgressors with gentleness, bear each other’s burdens, test one’s own work in order to eradicate self-destructive pride, and graciously share with their teacher(s). For we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. Paul expands the vision to the more general concept of beneficent actions. Although not explicitly restated, the alternative for anyone who gives up, succumbs to, and gratifies the desires of the flesh is “corruption.” 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity [καιρὸν], let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family (οἰκείους, household) of faith. Appropriately, then, Paul offers one final instruction for those who “live by the Spirit.” They are not to limit the expressions of their Spirit-led lives to certain people or communities. One practices Christian love first within the community, but one shows it to all, even one's enemies. It may well be, in fact, that one of the tests of truly doing good is whether it benefits all, in contrast to simply benefitting the group promoting it. The one who loves God cannot be solitary, a religious individual with individual concerns, joys, wishes, and achievements. Fellow believers, and more than that, brothers and sisters, accompany the one who loves God from the beginning. These are the people of God and partners in the covenant, part of the “household of faith.” To love God is to be together with other people whom God also calls to serve. To love God is to stand in one of the many human relationships that exist here, uniting with others who love God.[24]
Paul is asking the community to do what is good and right. Has anyone ever called you a "goody two-shoes?" It is usually not a compliment, given that the reason someone receives the title is that someone is so good so as to be annoying to regular, imperfect people. I often wonder from where we get such expressions. It turns out it comes from a 1765 children's book. It was about a poor, orphan girl named Margery Meanwell (she means well, get it?) who walks around forlornly with only one shoe until a wealthy benefactor gives her a new pair of shoes, after which she runs around town knocking on doors and telling everyone she can find that she now has "two shoes." See? Annoying. Of course, there are other variations on being a goody two-shoes. You can be a "do-gooder," which conjures up images of the old cartoon Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right.
Aristotle begins his discussion of our relationship to money by pointing to the deficiency of meanness, the excess of prodigality, and the mean of liberality. The prodigal wastes wealth, which is a sort of wasting oneself. Liberality relates to character, rather than the amount. The poor person can be of liberal character. Liberality involves spending according to one's wealth and on the right objects. The liberal person will spend with pleasure in this way. The liberal person is one easy to deal with in matters of money. The prodigal is self-indulgent and does not live with the noble in view. In IV.2, he discusses the person of magnificence, for this person is able to spend large sums for the sake of honor and with public-spirited ambition.[25]
Paul wants us to engage our critical thinking. He does not want us to go through life deceived. He wants us to consider the opportunities we have in life to do what is good.
I do not like the term “fake news.” It has become all too often for members of one tribe to yell “fake news” at the other tribe. Labeling something as fake news seems to be the result of partisanship and ideology more than it does the application of critical thinking. Thus, if someone in our tribe, our actual or virtual community, says something as factual we assume it is true. If someone from another tribe says something, then we assume the opposite. We seem to suspend critical thinking when it comes to our social network.
To use the ad hominem argument, if we have a source that has been accurate in the past, then we assume it is accurate today. If we have a source that we do not trust, we may dismiss it as untrue. In neither case do we activate our critical thinking. We are dealing the validity of testimony. Since we cannot study or experience everything, thereby having first-hand knowledge, we must often rely upon testimony. In our real life communities, the push toward honesty is stronger. We must deal with people face to face. However, our online communities seem to have less accountability and therefore less respectful communication.[26] If there is genuinely fake news, we spread it through communities. We have built these communities for ourselves in the form of real or virtual social communities. Our self-chosen, homogenous communities, made up of people who share our values and worldview, become vulnerable to manipulation with fake news.[27]
If all this is true, then clearly we need to consider broadening our social interactions in real life and in our virtual (online) presence. It will enhance our critical thinking if we broaden our social circle. Such an approach will mean that we no longer quite as sure which way to go. Yet, that may be a signal that we have to our real journey. We will approach our sources of information about the world with a bit more puzzlement. In fact, the mind not baffled by the world has not employed itself well.[28]
Among the most fake of fake news may well be that small things such as treating each other with kindness and generosity does not matter. I think Paul is saying that the small things that we can do daily add up to a big thing when it comes to living our lives from the Spirit.
The theme of Galatians 6:11-16 is that of offering a postscript or summary, adapting the closing to a refutation of his opponents. Paul now adapts the conclusion to his rhetorical purpose in this letter, that of persuading the Galatians to his gospel. Paul closes his letter by reasserting that circumcision is not necessary for conversion to Christian faith (Galatians 5:2-12), and making the obvious metaphorical connection between "works of the flesh" and the literal physical mutilation of flesh of which circumcision consists.[29]
11 See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! The passage has long fascinated commentators and casual readers alike. At this point in the original letter, Paul stopped dictating to his secretary and wrote the last section in his own hand. No extant manuscript exists that reveals itself to be the original based on this statement. Most scholars believe that this parenthetical aside means that somewhere there may well be the original letter on which the apostle himself wrote. Why would Paul do this? Early in the life of the church, people forged letters from Paul, as II Thess. 2:2, 3:17 show, so he had this precaution against such forgeries. Paul did this because of the emphasis he wanted to place upon what he was now writing. He summarizes the main lessons of the letter.[30] The point is the size of the characters he uses to write. This exclamation is not some veiled allusion to poor eyesight, but an expression of his deep angst for them. In short, Paul returns to the same matter that he addressed in the letter’s opening — viz., they are in danger of “turning to another gospel” (cf. 1:6-10).
[1] Frank Matera suggests “even if”
[2] Frank Materia says the Greek verb here means, "a believer is unexpectedly caught in the midst of unbecoming conduct."
[3] according to Matera, also means "misstep," which would fit well with the image used in Galatians 5:16 and 5:18, of the spiritual life being a process of learning to "walk with" and be "led by" the Holy Spirit
[4] Carries the same meaning here that it carries in Romans and Corinthians. It refers to things or people that are "spiritual" have been "transformed by the power of the Spirit." This transformation implies a change in what would normally be the human reaction to things.
[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume III, 246.
[6] Matera
[7] F. F. Bruce
[8] Henri Nouwen
[9] Hans Dieter Betz
[10] as an occasion of insulting them, and of using reproachful and cruel language. Were the pleasure they take in upbraiding equaled by their desire to produce amendment, they would act in a different manner. Reproof … must be administered to offenders. While we must not shrink from a faithful testimony against sin, neither must we omit to mix oil with the vinegar.
[11] “Christians must have strong shoulders to bear the burdens of their fellow Christians. Faithful pastors recognize many errors and offenses in the church, which they oversee. In civil affairs, an official has to overlook much if he is fit to rule. If we can overlook our own shortcomings and wrong-doings, we ought to overlook the shortcomings of others.”
[12] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume III, 62.
[13] C. H. Dodd (Gospel and Law, 1951, 77-8).
[14] Gunther Bornkamm (Paul, 83).
[15] Hans Dieter Betz
[16] Plato, Memorabilia 2.7.1-14.
[17] Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 9.11.1-6.
[18] (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/aleinu.html for the full, beautiful prayer.)
[19] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume III, 566, basing his thought on John Hick.
[20] Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.3 [72.1] 700).
[21] (Church Dogmatics, II.1 [30.2] 405).
[22] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Vol II, 347.
[23] Richard B. Hays, "The Letter to the Galatians," The New Interpreter's Bible [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000], 337).: … encapsulates the message of the letter as a whole. It is not a moralistic warning against sensual self-indulgence; instead, it is a warning against placing confidence in anything that belongs to the realm of the merely human - particularly circumcision. Paul insists that only the Spirit of God has the power to confer life."
[24] Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.2 [68.3] 806).
[25] Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, IV.1.
[26] Regina Rini, “How to fix fake news,” The New York Times, October 15, 2018. nytimes.com. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
[27] Alexandra Samuel, “To fight fake news, broaden your social circle,” JSTOR Daily, January 15, 2019. daily.jstor.org. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
[28] Wendell Berry, “Poetry and marriage: The use of old forms,” in Standing by Words: Essays (North Point Press, 1983), 205.
[29] Tolmie
[30] F. F. Bruce
[31] (“The Agitators and the Galatian Christians,” NTS, 17 1970-71, 205).
[32] Barth (Church Dogmatics, IV.1 [61.4] 638).
[33] J. Louis Martyn, ‘The Apocalyptic Gospel in Galatians’ (Interpretation 54, no. 3 (2000): 246–66)
[34] (Dialogue 11.5).
[35] Barth (Church Dogmatics III.1 [40] 33).
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