Interpretation of Pauls Letter to the Galatians Colombo Theological Seminary August-September 20 0 David A. deSilva, Ph.D.

Trustees Distinguished Professor of New Testament Ashland Theological Seminary ddesilva@ashland.edu Course Introduction Together with Pauls Letter to the hristians in !ome, the Letter to the "alatians has e#ercised a $rofound influence u$on hristian theology, $articularly in regard to hristian reflection on the role of Torah in "ods economy, the meaning of %ustification, the significance of the S$irit, and the essence of the new life in hrist. Li&e !omans, it has also 'een too often read only through the lens of !eformation and $ost(!eformation theology and interests. )n this course, we will see& to read "alatians together from two other mutually(informing conte#ts* the conte#t of first( century Asia +inor and the meaning and significance of Pauls claims within that cultural world, and the conte#t of twenty(first century Sri Lan&a. ,ur te#t'oo&s and other readings will ground us in the former -as well as $ut us in conversation with .estern interests when reading and a$$lying this te#t/0 we will wor& together on formulating the latter in a critically(informed and culturally(relevant manner. )t is my ho$e for our wor& together that we will colla'oratively $roduce a 'rief 1Sri Lan&an ommentary on "alatians2 as a resource to offer $astors and laity throughout the island and the Lan&an dias$ora. 3our final $a$ers, and the stages of reflection, discussion, and review leading u$ to your final su'mission, will contri'ute directly to this goal, and therefore have considera'le significance 'eyond the confines of this class4 Required Readings and Assignments A! "ea#ings The $rimary te#t'oo& is "ordon D. 5ee, Galatians -6lanford 5orum, 78* Deo Press, 9::;/. o$ies will 'e availa'le from the )nstructor on the first day of class -the Academic Dean will have co$ies $rior to this date if you wish to read ahead, 'ut reading from this te#t is not re<uired $rior to the first session of the course/. There is no charge for this te#t'oo& to the first eight students0 there will 'e a co$y also availa'le in the li'rary. The other readings are all availa'le in .$df format from the instructor -$lease e(mail ddesilva@ashland.edu/ or in hard co$y at the seminary li'rary. The .$df files will also 'e availa'le through TS in some venue. $! Assignments 1. Timely completion of all assigned class readings. The overall amount of reading in this course may 'e less than the ty$ical course at TS -it is a'out half the amount ) would assign at Ashland

Seminary/, in large measure 'ecause ) am going to as& you to engage in more reflection and writing than may 'e ty$ical. 2. Pre-class reflection and writings 3ou will need two translations of "alatians, a %ournal -a com$uter file is fine/, and a'out si# to seven hours. )d li&e for you to thin& of this as something li&e a days retreat -or several evenings retreat/ with "alatians $rior to our 'eginning our class time together. 3ou are not e#$ected to write a finished(<uality essay. At this stage ) am only as&ing for reflections and notes on your $art, chiefly in $re$aration for our day(long discussion with one another during our second class $eriod together. a. =ow would you write a'out your social conte#t as a starting $oint for reading and inter$reting "alatians> '. !ead through "alatians in at least two modern translations -Sinhalese, Tamil, or ?nglish/, and %ot down notes concerning the following, as com$letely as $ossi'le* .hat information, images, or $oints stri&e you as $articularly im$ortant as you read the letter> .here does "alatians connect for you with your life conte#t and the challenges you face as a Lan&an and as a hristian disci$le> =ow does the te#t hel$ you to thin& a'out your life conte#t> .hat &ind of res$onse to these challenges and this conte#t does your reading of "alatians nurture> c. .hat <uestions do you have a'out the meaning and@or a$$lication of the te#t> .hat do you want us to tal& a'out, and ho$efully answer, during our time together> 3our res$onses here will 'e im$ortant for you as you loo& for answers to -or, at least, resources to hel$ answer/ these <uestions in the readings throughout the course, as well as for our class discussions. 3. Writing assignment for Class Eight ( !g!st 2"# "alatians will 'e $arceled out among the class, with each student $rimarily res$onsi'le for a$$ro#imately a cha$ter or, if more than si# students sign u$, $ro$ortionately less -still 'rea&ing at reasona'le %unctures in the te#t/. This assignment is meant to 'e a draft version of your final writing assignment, so that you can hear feed'ac& from your $eers -and from me/ and ma&e im$rovements 'efore final su'mission. )t will 'uild on your initial reflections, our o$ening conversations a'out "alatians, and our class discussion a'out your $assage in $articular. a. !eturn to assignment A9a. After our wee&s of discussion together, com$ose a two($age descri$tion of your social conte#t as a starting $oint for reading and inter$reting "alatians. '. 6uilding on assignment A9', your readings for the course, and our conversations together, com$ose a ten($age essay on your $assage -&ee$ing an eye on the $astoral situation of "alatians and the whole of the letter/ in regard to the following <uestions*

i. .hat are the $rinci$al <uestions raised and addressed in this $assage in its $resenting situation> ii. .hat memories do you have of this section of "alatians 'eing inter$reted and a$$lied in churches or in other venues> iii. Point out the information, images, and ideas in this $assage to which your fellow Sri Lan&an disci$les should $ay s$ecial attention as relevant to this conte#t. iv. ?#$lain how your $assage connects with your life conte#t and the challenges faced 'y Lan&an hristians, and how it hel$s Lan&an disci$les thin& a'out their shared life conte#t. .hat &ind of res$onse to these challenges and this conte#t does this $assage> .hat would it loo& li&e in the Lan&an conte#t to live out more fully the vision, the ideals, and@or the challenges of this $assage> $. %inal writing assignment and re&iew Part ,ne* om$lete a 'rief, written review of one $eers wor& $resented and discussed during class eight. This needs to 'e com$leted and su'mitted to the instructor and to your $eer 'y Se$tem'er BC. )n this review, you will have two $rimary o'%ectives* a. ?valuate the degree to which your $eers discussion of the relevance and challenge of "alatians to Sri Lan&an hristians is consonant with an e#egetical understanding of the $assage. =el$ him or her identify where his or her reading is growing coherently from a critical understanding of Pauls res$onse to the situation in "alatia, where it is detached 'ut not contrary, and where his or her reading is a reading 1against2 the direction of Pauls original $astoral message. '. ?valuate your $eers identification of salient facets of the te#t for Lan&an readers and identification of the $assages word to Lan&an hristians. .hat would you as& him or her to consider here, so that his or her contri'ution can more fully re$resent your location> Part Two* Ta&ing into account the in(class conversation on August 9D and the written review from your $eer, revise the draft of your su'mission from assignment AC into a final su'mission. This will 'e due 'y Se$tem'er 9;. )t is my $lan to write an introduction and 'rief e#$ositions of the te#t as $refaces to your inter$retations@a$$lications, and edit your su'missions for consistency of style and content. Together, we may 'e a'le to contri'ute to the larger mission of TS among the churches of Sri Lan&a. Course Schedule

ALL ASSIG%&'%TS A"' LIST'( )%('" T*' CLASS +," -*IC* T*'. A"' ()'! Class ,ne /01 23 4- 0pm5 To$ics* )ntroduction to the $astoral situation in "alatia and Pauls res$onse to that situation0 introduction to the interaction 'etween reading from multi$le social locations, historical e#egesis, and constructing a fuller understanding of the te#t and its challenges. B. David A. deSilva, 1The Letter to the "alatians,2 $$. EFC(G9H in n 'ntrod!ction to the (ew Testament) Conte*ts+ ,ethods - ,inistry %ormation. Downers "rove, )ll., 7SA* )nterIarsity Press, 9::E. 9. John +. ". 6arclay, 1+irror(!eading a Polemical Letter* "alatians as a Test( ase,2 ./(T CB -BFD;/ ;C(FC. C. J. L. +artyn, KA Law(,'servant +ission to the "entiles* The 6ac&ground of "alatians,K /.T CD -BFDG/ C:;(9E. Class T6o /01 73 8am-9pm5 6ring Pre-Class Writing ssignment -see A9 under 1!eadings and Assignments2/, as your res$onses will 'e the foundation for our class discussion throughout the day. To$ic* )nitial readings of "alatians from this $lace* what emerge as the significant facets of this te#t, and as the $rinci$al $otential challenges and 1words to live 'y,2 when read through the lens of our Sri Lan&an conte#t with its interests, $riorities, <uestions, and challenges> Class Three /01 43 4-8 pm5 To$ic* ?#egesis of "alatians B(9 B. "alatians B(9 9. "ordon D. 5ee, Galatians -Pentecostal ommentary Series. 6lanford 5orum, 78* Deo Press, 9::;/, introduction and material on "al B(9. C. J. D. ". Dunn, KThe New Pers$ective on Paul,K $$. BDC(9BE in Dunn, .es!s+ Pa!l+ and the 0aw -Louisville* .@J8P, BFF:/. Class +our /01203 4- 0 pm5 To$ic* ?#egesis of "alatians C B. "alatians C 9. 5ee, Galatians, material on "al C

C. Jouette 6assler, 1Paul and the Jewish Law,2 (a&igating Pa!l) n 'ntrod!ction to 1ey Theological Concepts -St. Louis, +,* .estminster John 8no# Press, 9::;/, BB(9B. E. !. N. Longenec&er, KThe Pedagogical Nature of the Law in "alatians C*BF(E*;,K .ET/ 9G -BFD9/ GC(HB. G. o$tional* 6. orley, 1!easoning L6y 5aith* .hys and .herefores of the Law in "alatians,2 /o!thwest .o!rnal of Theology C; -BFFB/ B;(99. Class +i:e /012 3 8am-9pm5 To$ic* ?#egesis of "alatians E(G B. "alatians E(G 9. 5ee, Galatians, material on "al E(G C. !. 6. =ays, K hristology and ?thics in "alatians* The Law of hrist,K C23 EF -BFD;/ 9HD(F:. Class Si; /01223 4-8 pm5 To$ic* ?#egesis of "alatians H B. "alatians H 9. 5ee, Galatians, material on "al H C. J. A. D. .eima, 1"al. H*BB(BD* A =ermeneutical 8ey to the "alatian Letter,2 Cal&in Theological .o!rnal 9D -BFFC/ F:(B:;. Class Se:en /012<3 4-8 pm5 To$ics* om$aring the sense of "alatians in translation* Tamil, Sinhalese, and ?nglish0 A$$lication $oints in American literature on "alatians* hel$ing one another discover 1'lind s$ots2 in our reading. B. !ead "alatians again twice, once in either Sinhalese or Tamil -whichever you are most familiar with/ and once in ?nglish -for this e#ercise, we will all read the ?SI, to 'e $rovided 'y instructor/. .here does the meaning seem to diverge 'etween the two, 'oth in the choice of $articular words and in the relationshi$s 'etween words and clauses> To what e#tent do you thin& this to 'e attri'uta'le to the nature of the languages and to the socio(linguistic conte#t> -.e will divide u$ the te#t among us so that we are covering smaller $ortions of "alatians for this e#ercise0 ) will &ee$ us anchored in the "ree& te#t, along with any students who have already learned "ree&./ 9.?#cer$ts from adult 'i'le curriculum on "alatians -e.g., (ew 'nternational 0esson nn!al and d!lt 2i4le /t!dies MNashville, TN* 7nited +ethodist Pu'lishing =ouse, 9::EN/. These will 'e $rovided 'y the instructor.

Class 'ight /01203 8am-7pm5 To$ic* Toward a Sri Lan&an ommentary on "alatians B. 6rad !. 6ra#ton, "alatians,$$. CCC(CE; in Tr!e to 5!r (ati&e 0and) n frican merican (ew Testament Commentary. 6rian 8. 6lount -gen. ed./. +innea$olis* 5ortress Press, 9::;. 6ring Draft .riting Assignment for lass ?ight -see AC under Assignments/ After Class= Written reviews of peer assignments are due by e-mail by September 1 ! "inal Assignment is due by September #$!