Castration Consternation: Paul’s Cutting Remark in Galatians 5:12
At first blush, Paul’s wish that his opponents castrate themselves prompts the charge of “conduct unbecoming an apostle and a gentleman.” On closer inspection, however, it illustrates how ignorance of context can evoke mistaken conclusions about the attitudes and intentions of characters in the Bible. This brief essay seeks to demonstrate that the divinely commissioned…