Paul
One of the most amazing things about Christianity is the weight it gives to Paul. Why do the letters and teachings of Paul deserve all this weight? One would have thought Paul actually has more influence on the details of Christianity than Jesus Christ Himself. Well, in a word, Yes! Paul does not only cover the teachings of Christ, but he interprets them and presents them in his own personal detail.
Who does Paul think he is to become the overtly outspoken authority on Christianity. As the story goes, he was against Christianity until he was struck down and blinded by God. After his epiphany he became the out spoken Christian Authority. I believe Christians everywhere were duped by this enemy of the Church. Let me explain.
Let's go back almost 2000 years and imagine that Christ had recently died on the cross a few years earlier and you begin to dislike the people claiming Christ is the savior God has sent to the Jews. Being an educated Jew you begin to react against this cult of Christ followers because you know their teachings disagree with the Jewish laws. Christ taught to use common sense and not follow Jewish traditions blindly. This would go against what most young educated Jews of the time were taught, and it would make you angry to hear it. The ground swell of support for this Jesus was taking away from the power structure you were born to the top of.
After several years of combating these Christians head on and making little or no progress in your fight you begin to think about your purpose and strategy used in your fight. Deep in thought on horse back on your way to Damascus you begin to imagine a new strategy: "If you can't beat them join them." While coming up with this scheme you begin to imagine how you can influence thousands of people into your belief system by accepting the teachings of Jesus. As so many people who become lost in thought do, he lost awareness of his surroundings and didn't see the low branch hanging out over the road, and was knocked off his horse. In a daze and looking up into the bright sun he became temporarily blinded.
Anxious to begin his plan as any excited person with a new scheme would be, he began to tell everyone about Jesus. Of course, who would listen to a former Christian persecutor? Well, Paul found it necessary to add weight to his claim by exaggeration. He began preaching in areas where Christians were already established, and he was thrown out of town. Obviously he wasn't mirroring the common Christian opinion of the time.
Finally he moved to a completely pagan town in what is now Turkey, and he successfully managed to bend the native religion into his vision of Christianity. This maneuvering suggests he wasn't initially accepted by the mainstream early Christians. He moved outside of the Jewish community to convert the much larger population of pagans in order to gain large support for his ideology.
What was Paul's ideology? The educated Paul had learned the teachings of the Greek philosophers and had a strong affinity for Plato's writings. Plato, not Christ, had taught about the weakness of the flesh so often mentioned is Paul's letters. Plato, not Christ, taught about the superiority of men over women. Plato, not Christ, had taught about the dangers of drinking and gambling. Add this to Paul's enthusiastic preaching and promotion of his own ideas he became the major force of Christianity we read today. In a nutshell, Paul is about marketing.
What can we do about this today? We can spread the truth about Paul to the Christian Fundamentalists who forget Christ and quote Paul in their obnoxious preaching everywhere. In fact, pay attention to the quotes spouted by these guys. Make them tell you "their truths" by quoting only the Gospels and see how far they get.
Michael Forbush2-5-99
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