An unanswerable question

[Mr. Moncrieff]

Paul was basically a used car salesman...

[truthBtold]

If hitler was alive after killing all those people, and wrote down his experience of god talking to him.. would u believe him and call him a good man?? I dont think so...

[Lek]

If Paul is genuinely the author of many letters written within biblical literature, he has a certain proclivity for self-aggrandisement.

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Tom O'Golo postulates several key elements were added by Paul to Christian theology that weren't evident in Jesuism. These included:

Original sin
Making Jews the villains
Making Jesus divine
Transubstantiation of bread and wine into actual flesh and blood
Jesus' death being seen as an atonement for human sin
Making Jesus the Messiah
Shifting the emphasis from an earthly to a heavenly kingdom
Enlarging the chosen people to include anyone who accepted Jesus as Saviour
Making salvation a matter of belief in Jesus almost regardless of the demands of the Torah
Establishing a hierarchy (literally a holy order) to create and control a Church and more importantly to create and control the beliefs of its membership.

I'm sure I'll depend on Tom O'Golo for my interpretation of Paul's writings rather than examining them myself for the meaning. These assertations don't cut the mustard. John's gospel is full of references to Jesus being divine and to salvation based on faith in Christ. Although we all share in the responsibility for Christ's death, the Jews definitely were the immediate bad guys, calling for his crucifixion. Transubstantiation was a much later doctrine developed by the catholic church. Jesus himself spoke of himself as a king whose kingdom was "not of this earth" as attested to in the gospels. Jesus also referred to the other "lost sheep" who he also came for. Paul didn't establish a hierarchy to control beliefs of it's membership. Any group of large size need leaders to organize and run oerations. The churches had already established pastors and deacons under James and the other apostles - Paul was advising Timothy as to qualifications. The huge heirarchy of the catholic church came into being over the centuries, with no biblical basis for the papacy. I suggest we all read the scripture for ourselves and not rely on Tom O'Golo.

[Mr. Moncrieff]

If Paul is genuinely the author of many letters written within biblical literature, he has a certain proclivity for self-aggrandisement.

---

Tom O'Golo postulates several key elements were added by Paul to Christian theology that weren't evident in Jesuism. These included:

Original sin
Making Jews the villains
Making Jesus divine
Transubstantiation of bread and wine into actual flesh and blood
Jesus' death being seen as an atonement for human sin
Making Jesus the Messiah
Shifting the emphasis from an earthly to a heavenly kingdom
Enlarging the chosen people to include anyone who accepted Jesus as Saviour
Making salvation a matter of belief in Jesus almost regardless of the demands of the Torah
Establishing a hierarchy (literally a holy order) to create and control a Church and more importantly to create and control the beliefs of its membership.

I'm sure I'll depend on Tom O'Golo for my interpretation of Paul's writings rather than examining them myself for the meaning. These assertations don't cut the mustard. John's gospel is full of references to Jesus being divine and to salvation based on faith in Christ. Although we all share in the responsibility for Christ's death, the Jews definitely were the immediate bad guys, calling for his crucifixion. Transubstantiation was a much later doctrine developed by the catholic church. Jesus himself spoke of himself as a king whose kingdom was "not of this earth" as attested to in the gospels. Jesus also referred to the other "lost sheep" who he also came for. Paul didn't establish a hierarchy to control beliefs of it's membership. Any group of large size need leaders to organize and run oerations. The churches had already established pastors and deacons under James and the other apostles - Paul was advising Timothy as to qualifications. The huge heirarchy of the catholic church came into being over the centuries, with no biblical basis for the papacy. I suggest we all read the scripture for ourselves and not rely on Tom O'Golo.

I have read scripture for many, many years.

It is largely the reason I am an atheist.

[Crossless2.0]

John's gospel is full of references to Jesus being divine and to salvation based on faith in Christ.

Yes, decades after Paul's writings.

Although we all share in the responsibility for Christ's death...

An unsubstantiated claim and, frankly, bullshit.

the Jews definitely were the immediate bad guys, calling for his crucifixion.

Allegedly, Lek -- allegedly. It's not as if the authors of the Gospels, writing long after the incidents they claim to report, didn't have good pragmatic (or cynical) reasons to distance themselves from the Jews.

Transubstantiation was a much later doctrine developed by the catholic church.

True enough. But then again the germ of that doctrine is to be found in Paul.

Jesus himself spoke of himself as a king whose kingdom was "not of this earth" as attested to in the gospels. Jesus also referred to the other "lost sheep" who he also came for.

Allegedly. And gospels? Plural? Are you sure about that?

[Ryantology]

Although we all share in the responsibility for Christ's death

I'm pretty sure I am about 2000 years too young for that to even make logical sense.

[Lek]

aaaaaaaaaa bbbbbbb ccccccc

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Not a good example to follow.. and numbers 6 says it has to be completed
whats ur take on paul?
.

Paul was right in saying there was no need for animal sacrifices anymore. It was a requirement for the Jewish nation up until the crucifiction of Christ. Paul met with Christ on the road to Damascus and was led to spread the faith to the gentiles. His views didn't conflict with the other apostles teachings and was himself a genuine apostle. He was already a pharisee, a position of high honor in Jewish society, with a brilliant future ahead of him. Why would he go around preaching christianity knowing it would lead to the beatings and stonings he received? I don't see any basis for the conjecture I see here concerning Paul. It's just opinions used to discredit Paul and christianity.

It pays to remember Paul's alleged history. At one time he was a bestiarius, fighting and killing animals in the arenas. Then he was a bounty hunter, tracking and killing members of The Way cult. When he was on his way to Damascus to hunt for some more he suffered heat stroke and had a hallucination about what became the Jesus character. After that he went to Arabia for about three years to develop his new religious doctrine. He then returned and converted the remnants of The Way cult to his new religion.

His disciples later wrote the Gospels to explain flesh out the Jesus character and to provide background information about him. The writers learned everything they knew about Jesus from Paul, who had created him.

Paul was no different from other guys who started religious movements, such as Martin Luther, Charles Taze Russell, Thomas Campbell, Joseph Smith, Uthman, and L. Ron Hubbard. They think they have the answer straight from God.

[Lek]

Paul was right in saying there was no need for animal sacrifices anymore. It was a requirement for the Jewish nation up until the crucifiction of Christ. Paul met with Christ on the road to Damascus and was led to spread the faith to the gentiles. His views didn't conflict with the other apostles teachings and was himself a genuine apostle. He was already a pharisee, a position of high honor in Jewish society, with a brilliant future ahead of him. Why would he go around preaching christianity knowing it would lead to the beatings and stonings he received? I don't see any basis for the conjecture I see here concerning Paul. It's just opinions used to discredit Paul and christianity.

It pays to remember Paul's alleged history. At one time he was a bestiarius, fighting and killing animals in the arenas. Then he was a bounty hunter, tracking and killing members of The Way cult. When he was on his way to Damascus to hunt for some more he suffered heat stroke and had a hallucination about what became the Jesus character. After that he went to Arabia for about three years to develop his new religious doctrine. He then returned and converted the remnants of The Way cult to his new religion.

His disciples later wrote the Gospels to explain flesh out the Jesus character and to provide background information about him. The writers learned everything they knew about Jesus from Paul, who had created him.

Paul was no different from other guys who started religious movements, such as Martin Luther, Charles Taze Russell, Thomas Campbell, Joseph Smith, Uthman, and L. Ron Hubbard. They think they have the answer straight from God.

Where did you get this history of the life of Paul? From a comic book?

[truthBtold]

It pays to remember Paul's alleged history. At one time he was a bestiarius, fighting and killing animals in the arenas. Then he was a bounty hunter, tracking and killing members of The Way cult. When he was on his way to Damascus to hunt for some more he suffered heat stroke and had a hallucination about what became the Jesus character. After that he went to Arabia for about three years to develop his new religious doctrine. He then returned and converted the remnants of The Way cult to his new religion.

His disciples later wrote the Gospels to explain flesh out the Jesus character and to provide background information about him. The writers learned everything they knew about Jesus from Paul, who had created him.

Paul was no different from other guys who started religious movements, such as Martin Luther, Charles Taze Russell, Thomas Campbell, Joseph Smith, Uthman, and L. Ron Hubbard. They think they have the answer straight from God.

Where did you get this history of the life of Paul? From a comic book?

U even know that answer ... ur good!!!