Source: “PAUL WITHIN JUDAISM: Restoring the First-Century Context to the Apostle”, Fortress Press 2016.
The Question Of Worship Gods Pagans And The Redemption Of Israel.wav
This podcast examines the complex interplay between Paul's apocalyptic convictions and the ancient world's understanding of gods, ethnicity, and worship. It highlights how Paul's mission uniquely challenged the prevailing social and religious norms of his time by demanding that pagan converts forsake their traditional gods entirely, unlike existing Jewish "god-fearers" who maintained their native cults. The podcast argues that Paul's revolutionary approach was rooted in an eschatological hope for the "salvation of all Israel" alongside the "fullness of the nations," a vision where pagan "justification by faith" meant exclusive devotion to Israel's God, mirroring the Ten Commandments, particularly the first two regarding piety. This radical redefinition of belonging, seen as a "spiritual adoption" into God's family, was a temporary measure in Paul's view, as he anticipated Christ's imminent return and the ultimate, universal redemption of both Israel and the nations.
Topic 1 Paul's mission to pagans was situated within a vast and complex cosmic and civic environment, differing significantly from the context of Jesus and his earliest disciples. Unlike Jesus, who primarily confronted local demons, Paul engaged with cosmic forces and pagan deities that permeated every aspect of Greco-Roman life, from public festivals and civic buildings to household calendars and daily exclamations. It was virtually impossible to live in an ancient city without constant interaction with its gods. This god-saturated backdrop formed the critical matrix for Paul's work. His core demand for his pagan converts was that being "in Christ" necessitated withholding cult to their traditional deities, a requirement that inevitably provoked divine anger and had profound social and theological implications. This demand for ritual reorientation from pagan gods to the God of Israel was central to Paul's understanding of "justification by faith" and connected to his vision for the salvation of "all Israel."
Topic 2 In ancient Mediterranean cultures, the concepts of "ethnicity" and "religion" were not distinct categories as they are in modern thought. The Greek term "ta ethnē" encompassed both "gentiles" (referring to ethnicity) and "pagans" (referring to religion), a distinction not inherent in the ancient understanding. Ancient people understood "religion" as an inheritance, intrinsically linked to one's family, from the household to the empire. Gods and humans formed family groups, with connections between heaven and earth configured along ethnic lines. Cities themselves were viewed as family-based religious institutions, where citizens were bound to each other and their gods by ties of "blood" or shared lineage. This deep-seated association explains why the idea of forsaking one's ancestral gods, as Paul demanded, was considered so unusual and disruptive.
Topic 3 Jews living in the Diaspora prior to Paul's mission successfully navigated their exclusive worship of Israel's God within a polytheistic environment. They integrated well into their cities, mastering curricula, participating in gymnasia education (which implicitly involved honoring civic gods), serving in armies, and holding public office. Inscriptional evidence and Hellenistic Jewish literature demonstrate that they even funded pagan liturgies and invoked Greek gods alongside their own when manumitting slaves. While classical authors sometimes complained about Jewish "atheism" (meaning refusal to worship the gods) or separatism, Jews evidently found flexible ways to accommodate their monotheistic demands with the social and civic requirements of ancient Mediterranean life. Furthermore, ancient Jewish monotheism itself was broad enough to accommodate a vast number of other, lesser deities, often described in their scriptures as existing "among the gods" and sometimes shown respect, even in the Septuagint.
Topic 4 Pagans engaged with Judaism in various ways, ranging from casual interest to more significant affiliation. Before 66 CE, they could visit the Temple in Jerusalem, where a dedicated courtyard was reserved for them. In Diaspora cities, pagans frequently attended synagogue assemblies, often referred to as "god-fearers." These "god-fearers" were free to observe Jewish customs to varying degrees while continuing to worship their own gods, representing a broad spectrum of affiliation from occasional contact to major patronage. In contrast, full "conversion," involving a complete change of gods and thus a change in ethnicity, was rare and often viewed as an act of cultural treason by hostile pagan witnesses, as it entailed altering one's past, reconfiguring ancestry, and cutting ties to one's pantheon, family, and homeland.
Topic 5 Paul's pagan converts represented a radical departure from existing categories of pagan interaction with Judaism. Unlike traditional "converts" (proselytoi) who assumed Jewish ancestral practices such as food ways, Sabbath observance, and circumcision, Paul's pagans did not. Yet, unlike "god-fearers" who retained their native cults, Paul's followers made an exclusive commitment to the God of Israel and ceased worshiping their native gods. In the social and religious context of the ancient city, these individuals occupied a unique and unprecedented "no-man's land." They were neither "Jews" of a special sort nor "normal" pagans. Eschatologically, however, they were understood by Paul as "pagans-saved-at-the-End," a population long anticipated in Jewish restoration theology.
Topic 6 The unprecedented and socially disruptive nature of Paul's gospel, particularly its non-negotiable demand for pagans to cease honoring their native gods with sacrifices, was driven by a powerful apocalyptic conviction. The earliest apostles believed that the Messiah had already come and would return imminently. This urgent sense of "what time it was on God's clock" led them to disregard the long-lived and socially stable practice of Diaspora synagogues, which allowed pagans as "god-fearers" to worship Israel's God while maintaining their native cults. Paul and his communities were willing to endure mounting social tensions with both Jewish synagogues and the larger pagan cities, viewing these problems as temporary, given that "time was hastening to its end" and God's kingdom would come soon.
Topic 7 The concept of "justification by faith" (dikaiosynē ek pisteōs), often translated as "righteousness by faith," should be understood not as a contrast to "Law" but as a powerful reinforcement of it. In Paul's context, "pistis" (faith) connoted "steadfastness," "conviction," and "loyalty," rather than just inner psychological belief. When Paul's pagans demonstrated steadfast loyalty to the gospel, they ceased idol worship and committed to the God of Israel through baptism. This act of being "made right by God toward God" enabled them, through the Spirit, to act rightly towards others, "fulfilling the Law," specifically its Second Table—"justice toward others" (dikaiosynē). This included adherence to commandments like "no murder, theft, adultery, coveting." Thus, their loyalty and confidence in the gospel (pistis) resulted in and enabled their righteous behavior (dikaiosynē), indicating a mutual reinforcement between "faith" and "Law."
Topic 8 Through baptism, Paul believed that the Spirit of God or Christ infused his pagan converts, manifesting in their new behavior both towards the divine and towards other humans. This Spirit enabled their commitment to the worship of the one true God, despite their prior polytheistic background. It also empowered them with charismatic acts such as speaking in tongues, prophesying, healing, and teaching. The Spirit "sanctified" or "separated" these pagans, making them "saints" and "acceptable" to God, akin to the temple filled with God's Spirit or acceptable sacrifices. Furthermore, the Spirit allowed them to do "works of the Spirit" rather than "works of the flesh," which were sins historically associated in Jewish rhetoric with idolatry, such as fornication, uncleanness, and strife. This spiritual transformation allowed them to "fulfill the Law" in their daily lives.
Topic 9 Paul's eschatological vision is profoundly universalistic, yet it is rooted in a distinctly Jewish understanding of God's plan for both Israel and "the nations." He asserts that God is not only the God of Jews but also of the nations, a principle affirmed by the Jewish declaration that "God is one." This universal scope is linked to ancient scriptural episodes, such as the repopulation of the earth by Noah's sons (giving rise to the seventy "nations") and God's promise to Abraham that "all the nations" would be blessed through him. Paul explicitly states that "the fullness of the ethnē" (the full number of the seventy nations) and "all Israel" will be saved. Within this ultimate kingdom, ethnic particularity is preserved: Israel will stand distinct from the other nations, who will gather "with his [God's] people," Israel, in Jerusalem, praising God. This vision maintains both difference and oneness, with believers being "one in Christ Jesus" spiritually while retaining their social particularities as Jew or gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised.
Topic 10 Paul's understanding of end-time events underwent a daring revision due to the perceived delay of God's kingdom, the continued positive response from pagans to his mission, and his profound sense of being divinely appointed as an apostle to the nations. This led him to rearrange the traditional eschatological sequence. In his revised scenario, the "full number of the nations" (pleroma of the nations) would first heed the gospel and turn from their idols, and only after this pivotal event would God cease hardening Israel. This "shocking new arrangement" between gods and humans, brought about by the gospel, served as a confirmation for Paul that the kingdom truly was at hand. In his view, this reform of pagan worship, specifically the turning of pagans from their gods to the God of Israel, was precisely the "trip switch" that would trigger the ultimate arrival of the kingdom and, consequently, the redemption of his own people, Israel.