Paul was every bit as harsh in Galatians as some claim.

[Nick M]

The versions I read say "Let him be accursed" when people pervert the gospel. But what did he mean then? That is what I look up (rarely) lately on Chatgpt. I don't think he used "Christian buzzwords" like people do now, especially with social media. "Say Amen if you agree". Yes, I roll my eyes at it. Here is Chatgpt's answers on it.

Great question — “ἀνάθεμα” (anathema) in Paul’s time did not mean what most people think today.
Here is what the word meant in Greek of the 1st century, the way Paul and his Jewish-Greek audience would have understood it.

1. It does not mean “go to hell” in the modern sense.​

There was no developed doctrine of hell like later Christian theology.

​

Core meaning in Koine Greek​

ἀνάθεμα = something/someone devoted to destruction, placed under a divine ban​

This comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint), where anathema translates Hebrew ḥerem (חֵרֶם), meaning:

• set apart to God for destruction
• placed under God’s judgment
• excluded from the community of God’s people
• devoted to ruin

It is severe, but it is not a curse-word; rather, it is a technical religious term.

I think the chat is both right and wrong. He is saying "go to hell" as Sozo often said. It is the same thing. He is saying "May God damn you to hell". Harsh, and it is what he said. No, I haven't typed it out. But I do say "Let you be accursed" and "Let you go to hell". I will listen to a logical rejection of the chat explanation.

 

[Clete]

The versions I read say "Let him be accursed" when people pervert the gospel. But what did he mean then? That is what I look up (rarely) lately on Chatgpt. I don't think he used "Christian buzzwords" like people do now, especially with social media. "Say Amen if you agree". Yes, I roll my eyes at it. Here is Chatgpt's answers on it.



I think the chat is both right and wrong. He is saying "go to hell" as Sozo often said. It is the same thing. He is saying "May God damn you to hell". Harsh, and it is what he said. No, I haven't typed it out. But I do say "Let you be accursed" and "Let you go to hell". I will listen to a logical rejection of the chat explanation.

Which AI gave you that response?

Here's what I got when I asked GPT 5.1

Explain ἀνάθεμα” (anathema) as used by Paul in Galatians.

Short answer: In Galatians, anathema (ἀνάθεμα) means “devoted to destruction,” i.e. placed under God’s judgment. Paul is not talking about church discipline or excommunication but invoking the strongest possible declaration that someone who preaches a counterfeit gospel is placed under God’s curse.

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Slightly fuller explanation (still bottom-lined):
The Greek word ἀνάθεμα originally meant something “set apart,” especially something “devoted” to God. By the New Testament era the meaning had sharpened to “devoted to destruction,” the same sense as the Hebrew ḥerem in the Old Testament (as in things placed under the ban in Joshua). It describes something handed over to divine judgment.
In Galatians 1:8–9, Paul uses ἀνάθεμα twice:

“If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed [ἀνάθεμα].”

He does not mean “let the church kick them out” but “let them stand under God’s own curse.” Paul stresses that the true gospel is so foundational that even if he himself or an angel taught a different message, that messenger would stand condemned.
So in Galatians:

• ἀνάθεμα = God’s curse, God’s judgment.
• It refers to divine action, not merely human action.
• It is used for the gravest kind of theological corruption: altering the gospel itself.

The force is absolute: tampering with the gospel places a person under God’s judicial condemnation, not merely ecclesiastical censure.

BTW: I have it set up to give me a short answer first because it tends to over answer things.