Galatians Grab Bag Trivia Quiz

Answer: Turkey

The capitol of Galatia was Ancyra, known today as Ankara, which serves as the capital of Turkey. The area was named for the Gauls from Thrace who settled there in the 3rd century BC. Paul had visited Galatia during his missionary journeys (Acts 16:6, 18:23), and presumably had planted the church there. This epistle was written around 50 AD, likely the earliest of Paul's letters.

Answer: Jesus

The Jewish Christians in Galatia grumbled that Paul was not a true apostle, so Paul argues this point in the beginning of the epistle. He starts right out by stating that he was not sent by man but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, and then in verse 12 reiterates that he received the gospel directly from Jesus.

As evidence, he reminds the reader that he used to persecute the followers of Jesus - only God could change someone so opposed to the way.

Answer: 2 weeks

The verse specifies that he spent 15 days with Peter; some translations say "a fortnight". Paul is making the point that after his experience on the road to Damascus, he went off on his own to learn; it was three years later that he finally met with some of the other apostles.

Answer: Titus

Titus is the same disciple addressed in Paul's epistle to Titus; that epistle focuses on the work Titus was doing in Crete to strengthen the church. The inclusion of Titus in Galatians is relevant to the theme - Titus was a Greek gentile, and the "Judaizers" in Galatia were demanding obedience to the Jewish laws; thus, Titus was an example of a believer adopted into the church who was not compelled to follow all of the ceremonial stipulations.

Answer: Circumcision

Here Paul gives the example of Titus, who was not compelled to undergo circumcision in order to be considered a true convert (2:3). Paul likened this to slavery - false brothers were demanding that they forfeit the freedom they had in Christ and submit to circumcision and the slavery of conformity with the entirety of Jewish law.

Answer: Eating with gentiles

One of the central practices of the early church was the communal meal - resources were pooled, and as stated in Acts 2:42, "they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Jewish tradition, however, drew sharp distinctions between Jews and gentiles and forbade this type of intermingling. Peter succumbed to the pressure and withdrew from the community and others followed, even Barnabas. Paul, never one to mince words, rebuked Peter for this hypocrisy.

Answer: The law

Paul had been a nearly fanatical devotee of the law, and had learned that complete obedience to the law was impossible and did not resolve his estrangement from God. Instead, he came to the opinion that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was the solution to this estrangement and those who believe in him gain righteousness.

Answer: Emasculate themselves

Paul sees the danger of the Judaizers' grumbling - their demands could seriously hamper growth of the church and threaten his work preaching to the gentiles. He has strong words for them - if they are so set on circumcision, perhaps they should finish the job on themselves? This is actually a parallel to one of his earlier arguments - adherence to a single part of the law isn't sufficient, the entirety of the law must be followed and that is an impossible form of slavery.

The audience for this epistle would have been familiar with the priests of Cybele from Phrygia, who were castrated.

Answer: Perseverance

Perseverance is clearly an applauded trait, but it does not appear in this listing of the "fruits of the Spirit" in this epistle. Paul's example makes it clear that "self-control" does not require editing everything we say or write in order to avoid offense. See Romans 5:3-4 for some of Paul's thoughts on perseverance.

Answer: Destruction/eternal life

In 5:19-21, Paul outlines the acts of the sinful nature, which range from debauchery and witchcraft to dissensions and factions - the latter being the very acts he sees the Judaizers committing. These passions are crucified along with Jesus and are replaced with the fruit of the Spirit; Paul recognizes that the believers will be tempted to give up on doing good and he encourages them to continue and not grow weary.

In the final section, Paul reiterates that circumcision is meaningless, and that what counts is a new creation through Christ.

He concludes by wishing that the Galatians would be granted the grace of Jesus.