The use of ἰουδαϊσμός in the literature of the Second Temple period until Paul’s time suggests a more specific meaning than Judaism in general and points to a perception of it under siege and in need of defence. Additionally, the verb ἰουδαΐζω describes the inclinations of non-Jews to the Jewish way of life. Both terms reflect two different ideas of Israel: one segregated from all other peoples, the other porous and more flexible. These ideas were at odds by the end of the Second Temple period and held by the groups of believers in Christ. Read in the foil of that conflict, the controversies that Paul faces in the letter to the Galatians show the continuity and discontinuity of his life after the revelation of the Son, and explain why he considered himself a faithful Judean but no longer ἐν τῷ Ἰουδαϊσμῷ.
This article tries to show the usefulness of social-scientific models for interpreting biblical texts. The Sociology of Knowledge can help Historical Criticism build a framework in which to locate the data recovered by textual, formal, literary, and narrative criticism. Thus, merging both sciences, social and exegetical, we can get a better knowledge of the beginnings of Christianity. A model called “self-stigmatization” is described to illustrate how a charismatic leader unmasks social interests, legitimizes, and establishes a new social structure by taking on negative values or behaviors and converting them into positive ones. This model can be observed in the three sayings contained in Q 14:26—27; 17:33 about “rejecting family,” “carrying the cross,” and “turning life upside down.”
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