Competition between Judaism and Christianity: Paul's Galatians as Entry Deterrence

Abstract

Summary This paper sets forth a theory of competition between exclusive religions as an entry deterrence game, in which the incumbent may find it profitable not to accommodate but to deter the competitor's entry by precommitting to sufficient capacity expansion in the event of entry. If entry costs are high enough, deterrence is optimal and the incumbent remains a monopolist, although the entry threat distorts its effort upward. The model is then used to explain the Jews' withdrawal from proselytism in the face of Christian competition in the first century CE. We review the historical evidence on conversion to Judaism before and after the first century and argue that the demise of Jewish proselytism was due not to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE but to the apostle Paul's strategic decision, in his letter to the Galatians, that Gentiles need not convert to Judaism to become Christians.

From Jesus to Christianity: The economics of sacrifice

“…and confront an increasingly hostile opposition through a kind of ratchet mechanism, culminating in his ominous death. Ferrero (2014a) offers an entry deterrence model of religious competition that interprets Paul's release of the Christians from the yoke of Jewish law (in his letter to the Galatians) as a strategic move designed to prevent Jewish entry in the Gentile mission market. 2.…”

“…convert to Christianity). Moreover the ethnic bond-a uniquely Jewish feature-reinforced the group's cohesion, which was no longer diluted by the inflow of new converts as the rabbis withdrew from proselytism around this time (see Ferrero, 2014a). 19.…”

“…Ferrero (2014b) models the career of the historical Jesus and shows that Jesus may have been trapped by the incentive to maintain and increase his following; this led him to raise his challenge and confront an increasingly hostile opposition through a kind of ratchet mechanism, culminating in his ominous death. Ferrero (2014a) offers an entry deterrence model of religious competition that interprets Paul’s release of the Christians from the yoke of Jewish law (in his letter to the Galatians) as a strategic move designed to prevent Jewish entry in the Gentile mission market.…”

Competition Between Exclusive Religions: The Counter‐Reformation As Entry Deterrence

“…What if some sovereign of Catholic Europe should again try to defect to the Protestants, counting on substantial support from his people? Faced with this problem, the church decided to flood the religion market in its domains with 2 A companion article (Ferrero, 2014) applies the same model of this article to the competition between Judaism and infant Christianity in the first century CE, arguing that the apostle Paul's proclamation that conversion to Judaism was not to be a prerequisite for Gentiles to become Christians can be understood as an entry deterrence move that caused the Jews' withdrawal from proselytism in the pagan world. excess capacity to an extent that no entrant could possibly match, making in effect its people defection proof.…”

“…A companion article (Ferrero, ) applies the same model of this article to the competition between Judaism and infant Christianity in the first century CE, arguing that the apostle Paul's proclamation that conversion to Judaism was not to be a prerequisite for Gentiles to become Christians can be understood as an entry deterrence move that caused the Jews’ withdrawal from proselytism in the pagan world.…”