Paul declares that in Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, nor free (Colossians 3:11). Scythians represented the extreme edge of barbarity to Greco-Roman sensibilities—nomadic warriors from the distant north, feared for ferocity and regarded as uncivilized. That Paul specifies 'barbarian, Scythian' suggests Scythians were considered barbarous even among barbarians, the lowest rung of cultural hierarchy. Yet gospel reconciliation obliterates such distinctions. In Christ's new humanity, ethnic and cultural categories that structure worldly societies lose their dividing power—Christ is all and in all.