The universal disruption caused by the gospel

Paul views the issues that arise in Galatia as both highly particular (specific demands for male circumcision and Torah-observance) and widely generalizable, since they represent one example of the universal disruption created by the good news. For Paul, the Christ-event changes the story of the cosmos (6:14) and, when creatively embedded in human relationships, it challenges the default setting of every classificatory system (3:28). He announces an unconditioned event that recognizes no cultural or historical pre-conditions and thus reaches into, and challenges, every cultural-historical context. Preexistent systems of distinction, whether derived from the Torah or from a culture of honor, yield to a higher authority established by a truth-event that is beholden to no criteria beyond itself (1:11).—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 399