Kim, Chang Hyun (Peter)

Professor Riedel
English 1A
28 January 2015
CRR #1
In his Letter to the Galatians, Paul introduces himself as the apostle of Jesus. He speaks
to the Galatians in an unsettling tone as he tells them that words that come from other than his
are not true. It is implied that the Galatians have made the decision to no longer have faith for the
previous words preached by Paul. Outsiders have influenced their belief by imposing Jewish
laws. Paul then touches upon the controversy of circumcision that has been causing issues in
Galatia. He says that circumcision does not give any advantage to having faith in god. He then
speaks about the purpose of law. The purpose of law for him is that it leads one towards the God
but not the other way around. Paul tells the people of Galatia to believe in his words again. He
writes that everyone under Christianity is equal regardless of who they are. He concludes the
letter with a statement that to have faith in Christ is to love one another and help each other.
Pauls letter to the Galatians have many similarities to the Martin Luther Kings letter
from Birmingham jail in the style of writing. In their letters, Paul and MLK claim to be the
messenger or the representative. Paul conveys his message to the Galatians by saying that he is
the messenger of God. Martin Luther King is similar in a way that he speaks as a representative
of the African American community. This allows them to prove their significance and get the
attention from the recipient. They also adopt various tones throughout their letters to prove their
point. For example, Martin Luther respects his critics by appreciating their effort to read his

letter. Then, he provides various facts along with some emotion statements to further prove his
point. It is same with Paul as he first scolds the Galatians and moves onto explain in an agreeable
tone. Both letters have an argumentative style of writing that slowly convinces the reader to
come to an agreement or an understanding.
In terms of the ideas laid out in the letters, Paul and Martin Luther agree much about the
concern for law and brotherly love. Martin Luther speaks to the white people as he believes
everyone deserves equal rights. He believes that Any laws that degrades human personality is
unjust and that such laws can be bent. Martin refers to a just law as something that goes under
the law of God. It is the same principle that Paul laid out as he wrote, so that the law has
become our tutor to bring us to Christ. They both believe that a law shouldnt hinder with ones
belief but something that comes under it. Also, they agree with the idea that one should give
unconditional love to another. Martin writes, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,
pray for them that despitefully use you. He firmly believes that despite the fact that there are
people criticizing you or against you, one must still love. Same goes for Paul as he writes,
Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in
a spirit of gentleness. They both believe that regardless of what someone does, it is your duty to
love and teach them.