Fiddler on the Roof works
brilliantly to illustrate the primary tension of Paul's Letter to
the Galatians: life of the Spirit v. life under the Law -
or Tradition. I had found Galatians tough to
teach because it was too easy to set the formula as (1) Paul is
correct, (2) the legalists are stupid, (3) therefore learn
Galatians 3:16 "I have been crucified with Christ...",
memorize the Fruit of the Spirit and then call it a day.
However, the book made no sense without explaining the powerful
pull of the legalizers upon not only the Hebrew Christians
but upon the Greeks converts who were now hungry for moral
boundaries after being saved from their libertine culture.
Imagine a formerly debauched fraternity boy first converting and
then struggling how to shape his new life.
It all came together through the first
scene of Fiddler. Tevye walks around the
village, introduces the town folk and then discourses upon
TRADITIONS! He asks: "Why do we have these
traditions? It is because they help us to know who we are
and what God expects of us." All of this was
emphasized by the film editing that depicted a different
Jewish symbol with every pounding pulse of the song.
Use of the film instantly crystalized
the issues of Galatians for my class. It explained why Paul
had such a challenge when writing his letter: he had to
argue for the superiority of life under the gospel as
directed and energized by a seemingly ephemeral Holy Spirit in
contrast to the life under the Law with its tangible
moral and social boundaries provided by Old Testamant signs,
symbols, customs and precepts. The film was so
powerful that it became a touchstone for the entire eight weeks of
my course. (Duncan Maysilles, Atlanta, GA)
