In this episode of The Concordia Publishing House Podcast, guest and author Dr. Andrew Das and host Elizabeth Pittman examine the Biblical book of Galatians. Packed with vital issues concerning the Christian faith, the pair dive into who the Galatians were, the issues they faced, and how believers can relate to them today. 

Dr. Das wrote the Concordia Commentary edition on the book of Galatians, which is available on the CPH website. He also did a series on Galatians on the CPH YouTube channel that you can watch here. 

Show Notes:

The central issue in Galatians can be seen as a matter of identity. As the author of the letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul speaks of embodying Christ in his own life and in the lives of the Galatians. In this episode Dr. Das shares his knowledge into this prevalent theme that is present throughout Galatians and talks about how it relates to our lives as Christians living in the modern world. Dr. Das also analyzes several concepts in Paul’s writing, dissects Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians, and more in this episode.

Learn more about Dr. Das: http://andrewdas.net/                           
Read Dr. Das’s bio on cph.org: https://www.cph.org/m-124-a-andrew-das                                                           
Questions Covered

• Who were the Galatians? 
• What is “the Gospel” Paul preached versus the “different gospel” to which the Galatians turned?
•  Galatians is loaded with vital issues for the Christian faith. What particular issues plagued the church in Galatia, and are there equivalent issues plaguing the church today? 
• Luther's commentary on the Galatians is usually considered a classic, why is that? 
• Are we saved through faith alone (“Abraham believed … and it was credited as righteousness”) or through faith plus doing “works of the Law”? 
• Which came first, the Law or the Gospel promise?  
• What does it mean for Paul and for us to say “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20)? 
• What does Paul mean when he says “there is neither male nor female” but those baptized into Christ “are all one”? 
• What are “the works of the flesh” and “the works of the Spirit” (Galatians 5)? 

 About the Guest

Considered among the leading Pauline theorists of the last century, Dr. A. Andrew Das is the Donald W. and Betty J. Buik Chair and Professor of Religious Studies at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois. He teaches in biblical studies, early Christianity, and Second Temple Judaism. Dr. Das was an invited member of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Paul and Scripture Seminar and has presented at the Society of Biblical Literature; the African Society of Biblical Scholars; the Chicago Society of Biblical Research; the international Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, of which he is an elected member; and the Evangelical Theological Society. He is also a member of the Catholic Biblical Association of America and serves on the Holman Christian Standard Bible revision committee. Dr. Das is a prolific writer, having authored several books and articles, including his major academic commentary on Galatians (CPH 2014). Dr. Das received his Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, and did his graduate work at Yale University, Duke Universit