Is Paul the real founder of Christianity?

Is Paul the Real Founder of Christianity?

Was Paul the ‘Inventor’ of Christianity?

It’s been my understanding that so-called ‘St. Paul’ is the ‘inventor’ of Christianity. Why would I say that? Well, there are many reasons. If we look at all the other great incarnations—Socrates, Confucius, Lao-Tzu, Mohammed, Sai Baba of Shirdi—all of these figures were doers. Their disciples may have written about them years after, but if you look at their lives, they were setting an example and were not bossing people about, which is what Paul did.

Paul was just an intellectual and power-oriented person, or as Muslims might call a person like this, a scholar. That in itself does not make a person innately righteous; instead, they may become self-righteous. In other ancient texts, Paul is even referred to as the ‘liar’.

Paul’s Claims and Conflict with Congregations

I suspect exaggeration here, but Paul bragged about his marks to the Galatians as if they were well aware of them (Galatians 6:17). Some of the Galatians probably saw his scars with their own eyes when they cared for him when he was sick (Galatians 4:13-14).

Paul never clearly revealed in his letters the reasons for his floggings. There is no evidence in his letters that Paul had received such punishments as a result of his work teaching about Jesus Christ, nor even for having been flogged during the time of his evangelizing work. I suspect most or all of those punishments preceded his missionary activities.

Paul was in over his head with the sophisticated Corinthians. After Titus returned from his second unsuccessful attempt to obtain a collection for the ‘saints in Jerusalem’, some among the Corinthians were apparently accusing Paul and Titus of trying to take advantage of them, of being crafty, and of trying to take them by deceit (2 Corinthians 12:16-17).

The Moral Dilemma of Paul’s Denials

Paul denies lying to his audience in three letters with some version of “before God or Christ I’m not lying” (Galatians 1:20, 2 Corinthians 11:31, and Romans 9:1). Evidently Paul was well-aware that his audiences would not appreciate being lied to.

I think many readers, both then and now, would have a variety of opinions on the question, ‘If a lie glorifies God, is it still a sin?’ It creates a moral dilemma that has spawned reams of apologetics and rationalizations surrounding this passage. At least one passage in the Jewish scriptures explicitly and without exception prohibits lying, and is presented as a direct order from the “Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:10-11, LXX).

An internet search on this passage using a few appropriate keywords reveals page after page of those wondering about Paul’s lie, along with apologetic explanations. The literal reading of the text clearly leads to such questions, and triggers the need for rationalizations.

Regardless of how one might choose to rationalize verses 3:7-8, the literal text stands. Sunday school teacher to impressionable children: “In the Bible, Saint Paul tells us that it’s OK to lie if it helps God.” I suspect the passages specifically telling readers not to lie—written by subsequent Paulinist authors in Ephesians 4:25 and Colossians 3:9—were intended to correct the implications of Romans 3:7-8.