For Paul the Galatian controversy isn’t a matter of people choosing one religious option or another, finding a way forward on a spiritual journey; it’s a matter of truth. If it is true that the Messiah has died and been raised, then this in turn establishes a network of truth that carries its own persuasive power. The Galatians, however, have been persuaded for the moment by some “agitator” not to believe it. If the Galatians give in on this one thing, circumcision, they won’t simply be all right in everything else, with one little blemish. Their mistake will be like leaven in dough, and it will change everything.