Witch Hunt in Galatia - Magic, Medicine, and Ritual and the Occasion of Paul's Letter to the Galatians (Hardcover)

Approximately 2,000 years ago, some Jewish communities of Galatia in central Asia Minor believed they had fallen under a curse, argues Jeremy Wade Barrier. A fellow Jew named Paul wrote the letter we call Galatians to help them escape its effects. In the letter, Barrier argues, Paul called for the Jews in Galatia to stop practicing circumcision. The rite had fallen into disuse within many Jewish communities in the Roman Empire, but Barrier argues the Galatian Jews believed it was a talisman that would protect them from harm. As a further precaution, they needed to deal with the person who had brought this evil to their community. A witch hunt was underway, and some had concluded that the witch was none other than Paul. Barrier provides a reconstruction of the original occasion of Paul's letter to the Galatians and shows how Paul defended himself from accusations of witchcraft by countering that the ritual that would protect them from the "Evil Eye" was not circumcision, but rather baptism. Through the ritual of baptism, they could receive healing from a material, yet divine, "breath" of God. Barrier also reconstructs an earlier understanding of this pneuma that was lost to subsequent Christianity under the influence of Neoplatonism.

General

Imprint:	Lexington Books-Fortress Academic
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Paul in Critical Contexts
Release date:	October 2020
Authors:	Jeremy Wade Barrier
Dimensions:	240 x 162 x 31mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Cloth over boards
Pages:	410
ISBN-13:	978-1-978709-75-1
Categories:	Books
LSN:	1-978709-75-7
Barcode:	9781978709751

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!