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Pauline Theology

In the midst of the growing 19


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

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