th and 20 th century awareness of the differences between Trinitarian doctrine and the period of origins, a person might be surprised to find one group who claim to be followers of Christ Jesus reading the following in the oly !uran" O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of God anything but the truth. Christ esus the son of !ary "as #no more than$ a !essenger of God% and &is 'ord% "hich &e besto"ed on !ary% and a (pirit proceeding from &im: so belie)e in God and &is !essengers. *o not say +rinity,: desist: it "ill be better for you: for God is One God: glory be to &im: #far -xalted is &e$ abo)e ha)ing a son. +o &im belong all things in the hea)ens and on earth. .nd enough is God as a *isposer of affairs, #/uran 0:121$ #nd warning" O People of the Book! -xceed not in your religion the bounds #of "hat is proper$% trespassing beyond the truth% nor follo" the )ain desires of people "ho "ent "rong in times gone by 3 "ho misled many% and strayed #themsel)es$ from the e)en 'ay., #/uran 4:22$ $ne may wonder what, from the %ew Testament, separates these two groups by such a &ast e'panse of understanding( %o doubt the )ey difference which di&ides Trinitarians from *nitarians, and Christians from +uslims, is Pauline theology( ,or centuries the argument has been put forth that Trinitarian Christians largely follow Pauline theology more than that of Jesus( This charge is difficult to deny, for Jesus taught the -aw of the $ld Testament, whereas Paul preached mysteries of faith, in denial of the -aw which the prophets had suffered and struggled to con&ey( In disrespect to thousands of years of re&elation con&eyed through a long chain of esteemed prophets, and contrary to the teachings of the rabbi Jesus himself, Paul focused not on the life and teachings of Jesus, but upon his death( #s -ehmann put it" .The only thing which Paul considers important is the Jew Jesus/ death, which destroyed all hopes of liberation by a +essiah( e ma)es the &ictorious Christ out of the failed Jewish +essiah, the li&ing out of the dead, the son of 0od out of the son of man(1 213 +ore than a few scholars consider Paul the main corrupter of #postolic Christianity and of the teachings of Jesus" .4hat Paul proclaimed as 5Christianity/ was sheer heresy which could not be based on the Jewish or 6ssene faith, or on the teaching of 7abbi Jesus( 8ut, as 9chonfield says, 5The Pauline heresy became the foundation of Christian orthodo'y and the legitimate church was disowned as heretical(/1 223 -ehmann continues" .Paul did something that 7abbi Jesus ne&er did and refused to do( e e'tended 0od/s promise of sal&ation to the 0entiles: he abolished the law of +oses, and he pre&ented direct access to 0od by introducing an intermediary(12;3 $thers ele&ate Paul to sainthood( Joel Carmichael, who commented as follows, &ery clearly is not one of them" .4e are a uni&erse away from Jesus( If Jesus came .only to fulfill1 the -aw and the Prophets: If he thought that .not an iota, not a dot1 would .pass from the -aw,1 that the cardinal commandment was .ear, $ Israel, the -ord $ur 0od, the -ord is one,1 and that .no one was good but 0od1<(4hat would he ha&e thought of Paul/s handiwor)= Paul/s triumph meant the final obliteration of the historic Jesus: he comes to us embalmed in Christianity li)e a fly in amber(1 2>3 +any authors ha&e pointed out the disparity in the teachings of Paul and Jesus: the best of them ha&e a&oided opinionated commentary and concentrated on simply e'posing the elements of difference( ?r( 4rede comments" .In Paul the central point is a di&ine act, in history but transcending history, or a comple' of such acts, which impart to all man)ind a ready@made sal&ation( 4hoe&er belie&es in these di&ine acts A the incarnation, death, and resurrection of a celestial being, recei&es sal&ation( .#nd this, which to Paul is the sum of religion A the s)eleton of the fabric of his piety, without which it would collapse A can this be a continuation or a remoulding of the gospel of JesusB 4here, in all this, is that gospel to be found, which Paul is said to ha&e understoodB .$f that which is to Paul all and e&erything, how much does Jesus )nowB %othing whate&er(12C3 #nd ?r( Johannes 4eiss contributes" .ence the faith in Christ as held by the primiti&e churches and by Paul was something new in comparison with the preaching of Jesus: it was a new type of religion(12D3 4hich theology won the day, and why, and how, are Euestions left to the analyses of the abo&e authors( 9hould a person come to recogniFe that the teachings of Paul and those of Jesus oppose one another, consideration should be gi&en to the Euestion" .If I had to choose between the two, to whom should I gi&e priority @@ Jesus or PaulB1 The Euestion is so rele&ant that +ichael art had the following to say in his scholastic tome, in which he ran)s the 100 most influential men of history" .#lthough Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity Ginsofar as these differed from JudaismH, 9t( Paul was the main de&eloper of Christian theology, its principal proselytiFer, and the author of a large portion of the %ew Testament(1 2I3 4ith regard to Paul/s perspecti&e" .e does not as) what led to Jesus/ death, he only sees what it means to him personally( e turns a man who summoned people to reconciliation with 0od into the sa&ior( e turns an orthodo' Jewish mo&ement into a uni&ersal religion which ultimately clashed with Judaism(12J3 The three main points where Pauline theology conflicts with that of Jesus are critical @@ elements so crucial that de&iation from the truth threatens a person/s sal&ation( In order of importance they ran)" 1H The di&inity of Jesus alleged by Pauline theology &ersus the oneness of 0od taught by Christ Jesus: 2H Justification by faith, as proposed by Paul, &ersus $ld Testament law, as endorsed by Christ Jesus: ;H Jesus ha&ing been a uni&ersal prophet, as per Paul, &ersus an ethnic prophet, as per the teachings of Christ Jesus( 293 Interestingly enough, these three points constitute the greatest doctrinal differences separating Christianity not only from Judaism, but also from Islam( 7unning a theological finger down the bac)bone of re&ealed monotheism, Trinitarian Christianity seems to stand out of Koint( To address the first of these points, Jesus is recorded as ha&ing taught the oneness of 0od, as in +ar) 12"29" .Jesus answered him, 5The first of all the commandments is" .ear, $ Israel, the -ord our 0od, the -ord is one(1 Jesus reportedly continued with .#nd you shall lo&e the -ord your 0od with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength,1 finishing with emphasis upon the initial claim, .This is the first commandment(1 G+ar) 12";0H( %ot only did Jesus stress importance by sandwiching his statement between the repeated and emphatic .This is the first commandment,1 but the importance of this teaching is eEually stressed in +atthew 22";I and -u)e 10"2I, and further complemented by the first commandment as recorded in 6'odus 20"; @@ .Lou shall ha&e no other gods before +e(1 Jesus con&eyed the abo&e teaching from ?euteronomy D">@C Gas ac)nowledged in all reputable 8iblical commentariesH, yet Pauline theology somehow arri&ed at concepts which ha&e been e'trapolated to support what is now )nown as the Trinity( $ne wonders how( Jesus referred to the $ld Testament @@ what did the Pauline theologians refer toB 9ignificantly absent from the abo&e teaching of Jesus is the association of himself with 0od( There ne&er was a better time or place, throughout the %ew Testament, for Jesus to ha&e claimed partnership in di&inity, were it true( 8ut he didn/t( e didn/t say, .ear, $ Israel, the -ord our 0od, the -ord is one @@ but it/s not Euite that simple, so let me e'plain<1
Copyright 2007 Laurence B. Brownused by permission. The authors websites are www.LeveTruth.com and www.!ighth"cro.com. #e is the author o$ the modern%day reigious murder mystery The Eighth Scrolldescribed by &orth Caroina "tate "enator Larry "haw as' (Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code. The Eighth Scroll is a breath%hoding' white%)nuc)ed' can*t%put%down thrier that chaenges +estern views o$ humanity' history and reigion. Bar none' the best boo) in its cass,( #is other wor)s incude two boo)s o$ comparative reigion entited MisGoded and Goded' and the -samic primer' Bearing True Witness. . o$ his boo)s are avaiabe through www..ma/on.com and specia order through better boo)stores everywhere. 5ootnotes: 213 -ehmann, Johannes( pp( 12C@D( 223 -ehmann, Johannes( p( 12J( 2;3 -ehmann, Johannes( p( 1;>( 2>3 Carmichael, Joel( p( 2I0( 2C3 4rede, 4illiam( 19D2( Paul( Translated by 6dward -ummis( -e'ington, Mentuc)y" #merican Theological -ibrary #ssociation Committee on 7eprinting( p( 1D;( 2D3 4eiss, Johannes( 1909( Paul and Jesus( GTranslated by 7e&( ( J( ChaytorH( -ondon and %ew Lor)" arper and 8rothers( p( 1;0( 2I3 art, +ichael ( The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History( p( ;9 of the 19IJ edition by art Publishing Co(: p( 9 of the 199J edition my Citadel Press( 0o figure( 2J3 -ehmann, Johannes( p( 1;I( 293 Christ Jesus was one more prophet in the long line of prophets sent to guide the astray Israelites( #s Christ Jesus so clearly affirmed, .I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel(1 G+atthew 1C"2>H 4hen Jesus sent the disciples out in the path of 0od, he instructed them in such a manner as to lea&e no uncertainty in this regard, for he told them, .?o not go into the way of the 0entiles, and do not enter a city of the 9amaritans( 8ut go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel(1 G+atthew 10"C@DH Throughout his ministry, Jesus was ne&er recorded as ha&ing con&erted a single 0entile, and in fact is recorded as ha&ing initially rebu)ed a 0entile for see)ing his fa&ors, li)ening her to a dog G+atthew 1C"22@2J and +ar) I"2C@;0H( $ne wonders, what does that mean now, for those who ha&e ta)en Jesus to be their 5personal sa&ior/ and presume to spea) in his nameB