Discuss the issues regarding the location of the churches to which Paul wrote

Galatians. Give your view of whether the region referred to as Galatia represents a
Northern or Southern Galatia. Defend your view. Why is the location of the church
important?

When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians, there were two areas of Galatia (modern
day Turkey) to where he could have been writing. Both the Northern and Southern
areas of Galatia have evidence that indicates that they were the destination for
Pauls letter. While the question will probably never be answered conclusively, it
seems that the evidence supporting Southern Galatia as the intended audience for
Pauls letter is more compelling. Luke describes Pauls visit to South Galatia in Acts
13-14. There is no mention made by Luke that Paul visited any cities in North
Galatia. As Lea and Black note, it is more likely than not that Paul would have
written to a place he had visited before. 1 On the other hand, supporters of the North
Galatia view also find an argument from Acts 13-14. Acts indicates that there was
persecution going on in the region, but nowhere in Galatians does Paul mention
persecution. Since Paul left this out of his writing, a Northern Galatian destination
would make sense. Another piece of evidence that supports South Galatia is the
location itself. The cities of Southern Galatia such as Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and
Derbe were located closer or along major trade routes. This would make them more
susceptible to false teachers of legalism.
While I believe that the evidence supports the Southern Galatia view, there are still
many who support the Northern view. A major supporter of the Northern view was
F.C. Baur. Baur was a theologian who argued against the mainstream opinion on
Galatians. N.T. Wright describes how Baur saw Galatians being addressed to North
Galatia, even though this concept goes against historical, archeological and
topological evidence.2 Supporters of this view also point out the sickness mentioned
by Paul in Galatians 4:13. There is nothing in Acts to confirm Pauls illness. Because
of the inconsistency between the books, a location other than South Galatia can be
considered. It seems that many of the arguments that support a Northern view are
arguments from omissions. A straightforward reading of Galatians and the
supporting information of Acts seems to point towards Southern Galatia as being
the destination for Pauls letter.
It may not even seem particularly relevant to the modern reader as to which part of
Galatia was the destination. Paul was writing to deal with particular issues of a
1 Lea and Black 367.
2 Wright, N.T. Paul in Current Anglophone Scholarship. Expository Times 123
(2012): 369.

particular area. If a church that was not having the problems of legalism to deal
with, they would not see much use from Pauls writing.
Wright, N.T. Paul in Current Anglophone Scholarship. Expository Times 123 (2012): 367381.