Galilean upstarts

by Leif E. Vaage

Who were the first followers of Jesus in Palestine? How were they responsible for gospel traditions that grew out of developments at the eastern end of the Mediterranean basin in the cradle of Syrian Christianity? Did these "Galilean upstarts" constitute the earliest form of Christianity known to us? Based on a thorough study of the literary stratum biblical scholars have designated "Q," Professor Vaage concludes that these "Galilean upstarts" looked very much like Cynics, claimed to be acting as agents of God's kingdom, wandered from town to town trading their uncommon wisdom for gestures of hospitality, practiced asceticism, looked back to John and Jesus as heroes of their fledgling movement, and conducted a form of popular resistance to the official truths and virtues of their day.