I prefer to speak of a remarkable dialectic between social ethos and social reality in the Pauline congregations. We find the following combination within these congregations: There is undoubtedly a strong tension in these communities. Egalitarian ideas as preserved in Gal. 3.28 collide with a non-egalitarian social reality. On the one hand the social and moral dynamic will be characterized by mutualism, which modifies the social reality by creating more equality. It is a transformation of reality by a radical ethos, but this radical ethos is above all preserved in the virtual social reality of the sacraments: as baptized Christians and participants in the Lord's Supper, all are equal. From this centre of early Christian community life there may be repercussions on everyday life. On the other hand, we find a stratified social reality in early Christianity, which transforms the original mutualism to love patriarchalism. That is an adaptation of the radical early Christian ethos to the social reality or, from a slightly different perspective, the impact of social reality and dynamics on an ethos that contradicts this reality. I think early Christian communities are more fascinating if we see the tensions between their deeply rooted ethical goal and the antagonisms of social reality, and if we avoid a harmonious view of them. Meggitt has written a valuable book, which I enjoyed reading. I have been rethinking some of my old ideas by discussing his ideas and his criticism. Meggitt's book advances the social history of early Christianity. Our results will be better and more precise than they had been before. However, I have the impression that they will not be far away from those ideas and assumptions that Meggitt criticizes as 'the new consensus'.
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