(February 22, 2014 at 5:36 pm)Mr. Moncrieff Wrote: 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.