When we last visited Mark Nanos, he had propounded a convincing case for the letter to the Romans being to a group comprised of both Jews and Christians (Mystery of Romans) in a way that made great sense and also happened to upend numerous critical arguments. Now he does the same for the letter to the Galatians. Although his usual shortcomimg remains intact (a very tedious writing style, and an unerring ability to say in 500 words what could have been said in 50), this does not detract from Nanos' basic case: That those desiring that the Galatians be circumcised were not Jewish Christians from Jerusalem, but local (Galatian) Jews who (with good intentions) wanted to initiate the Gentile Christians into the Jewish community. Thus we also have these points, which take the usual view to the cleaners:

• Paul heavily uses irony in this letter, so his designation of the influencers' message of circumcision as "another gospel" (1:6) is ironic sarcasm -- not an indication that the influencers are also Christians.
• The example of the encounter with Peter is brought out as a model for the present situation, and not as a means to connect the influencers with the Jerusalem church. The "false brethren" (2:4) were also non-Christian Jews claiming to have the best interests of the church at heart -- just like the Galatian influencers.
• The influencers seek the honor of bringing the Galatians into the fold through the circumcision ritual. The phrase commonly taken to mean that the influencers are Jewish Christians -- "only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ" -- should be understood as meaning that the influencers are pressing for circumcision, lest they be accused of agreeing with the Christian contention that it is unnecessary, and also thereby be accused of being Christians. (6:12-13)

Nanos offers yet another plausible paradigm shift. This book is recommended for serious students.