Paul of Tarsus

Paul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus) or Paulus, also known as Saint Paul the Apostle, (ce. 3–67) is widely considered to be central to the early development and adoption of Christianity. Many Christians view him as an important interpreter of the teachings of Jesus. Paul is described in the New Testament as a Hellenized Jew and Roman citizen from Tarsus (present-day Turkey), and as a great persecutor of Christians prior to his "Road to Damascus" experience, which brought about Saul's conversion to the religion. He made the first great efforts through his Epistles to Gentile communities to show that the God of Abraham is for all people, rather than for Jews only, though he did not originate the idea; for example, see Isaiah 56:6-8 or proselyte.

Alternative views

Christianity as mystery religion

In his books The Mythmaker and Paul and Hellenism, Talmudic scholar Hyam Maccoby proposed a theory that Paul was actually a Gentile raised in an environment influenced by the popular Hellenistic mystery religions centered on dying and resurrected savior deities, who later converted to Judaism, hoping to become a Pharisee scholar. He found work in Jerusalem as a police officer of the Sadducee High Priest, who was at that time a de facto Roman quisling in Jerusalem. Paul's work persecuting the enemies of the High Priest led to an internal conflict in his mind, which manifested itself while he was travelling to Damascus on a covert mission. Maccoby believes that Paul's revelation was thus actually a resolution of his divided self; Paul subsequently fused the mystery religions, Judaism and the Passion of Jesus into an entirely new belief, centered on the death of Jesus as a mystical atoning sacrifice. Maccoby considers Paul's claims to a Jewish background and Pharisaic education to be false, claiming that a number of passages in Paul's writings betray his ignorance of the Jewish Law. Maccoby also contends that Paul invented many of the key concepts of the Christian religion, and that the Gospels and other later Christian documents were written to reflect Paul's views rather than the authentic life and teaching of Jesus. Maccoby questions Paul's integrity as well:

Related Topics:
The Mythmaker - Paul and Hellenism - Talmud - Hyam Maccoby - Gentile - Hellenistic - Mystery religion - Pharisee - Sadducee - Quisling - Passion - Jewish Law - Gospels

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::Scholars feel that, however objective their enquiry is supposed to be, they must always preserve an attitude of deep reverence towards Paul, and never say anything to suggest that he may have bent the truth at times, though the evidence is strong enough in various parts of his life-story that he was not above deception when he felt it warranted by circumstances. (Maccoby, 1986)

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In this regard, 1 Corinthians 9:20-22:

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:"To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God?s law but am under Christ?s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some." NRSV

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Some small modern religious groups share Maccoby's views on Paul's doctrines. They see Paul as an apostate from Judaism. While the teachings of Jesus may be the basis of Christian ethics, they view Paul's teachings as the true basis of modern Christian beliefs such as the atoning death of Jesus and the concept of original sin.

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Paul as usurper of the Apostles

A more critical view of Paul of Tarsus comes from the comprehensive work of A. Victor Garaffa. He maintains that Paul of Tarsus effectively usurped the authority of the remaining disciples, and the original Jerusalem Church operating under James the Just. Using the New Testament works themselves as his primary source, Garaffa offers a reinterpretation of key passages, and suggests an aggressive power struggle is preserved in the canonical New Testament writings themselves. (An assessment of Paul of Tarsus from this viewpoint can be found online at The Pauline Conspiracy.)

Related Topics:
A. Victor Garaffa - James the Just - New Testament - Primary source

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Paul as inclusionist

Another alternative view was first set forth by Rabbi Jacob Emden (1697–1776). His view, based on the medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives, was that Saul of Tarsus was a devout and learned Pharisee, who (turning away from his early Shammaite views) came to believe in salvation for the Gentiles and under the guiding authority of the very learned and devout Simon Kepha (i.e., Saint Peter) set about refining a Noahide religion for the Gentiles based around the Jesus movement. Paul believed the advantage of the Jews was their being entrusted with the oracles of heaven, and that the law was upon them. But he opposed the Jewish Christians who insisted (under some kind of Shammaite influence) that Gentiles were beyond salvation unless they became Jews. Paul insisted that they need only their purified faith and was firmly against proselytizing. He did however insist that any man born of a Jewish woman be circumcised (for example Timothy upon whom he himself carried out the ceremony) and live under the Law. In recent years perhaps the most exemplary developers of Emden's view are the Orthodox Rabbi Harvey Falk and Pamela Eisenbaum.{{ref|Eisenbaum}} In this view, Paul is seen as a rabbi who understood the ruling that, although it would be forbidden to a Jew, shittuf (believing in the divine through the name of another) would be permissible for a Gentile despite the Noahide ban on idolatry. This is further backed up by Paul in his first letter to the Romans when he compliments them on their religion. Again when he spoke to the Greeks about a divinity in their pantheon called "The Unknown God", it can be understood that he was trying to de-paganise their native religions for the sake of their own salvation.

Related Topics:
Rabbi - Jacob Emden - 1697 - 1776 - Medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives - Pharisee - Shammaite - Saint Peter - Noahide - Jesus - Oracle - Heaven - Proselytizing - Orthodox - Harvey Falk - Pamela Eisenbaum - Shittuf - Idolatry - First letter to the Romans - Unknown God

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New Perspective on Paul

The "New Perspective on Paul" rose to prominence as a result of the work of E. P. Sanders in his 1977 book Paul and Palestinian Judaism, in which he argued that the Judaism of Paul's day had been wrongly caricatured by Protestant theology. Traditionally, it had been assumed that 1st century Judaism was a religion of "works" whereby Jews believed they had to earn their salvation by keeping the Law, and therefore when Paul spoke about "justification by faith" or the "justification of faith", he was referring to a new non-works-oriented way of salvation (being declared righteous by God) announced in Christ. Sanders reframed the context to make law-keeping and good works a sign of being in the Covenant (marking out the Jews as the people of God) rather than deeds performed in order to accomplish salvation. If Sanders' perspective was true, the traditional Protestant understanding of the doctrine of justification may have needed rethinking, for the interpretive framework of Augustine of Hippo and Martin Luther, which had dominated Christian thinking for almost two millennia, was called into question.

Related Topics:
New Perspective on Paul - E. P. Sanders - 1977 - Covenant - Augustine of Hippo - Martin Luther

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Agent of Rome?

Joseph Atwill, in his book, Ceasar's Messiah, and David Icke, among others, believe that Paul was an agent of Imperial Rome in general and of the Roman Emperors in specific. Both state their belief that Paul was used, along with Josephus, to start a peaceful messianic movement to undermine the unrest and rebelliousness of Judea. (See also: Bible conspiracy theory)

Related Topics:
Joseph Atwill - David Icke - Imperial Rome - Roman Emperor - Josephus - Messianic movement - Judea - Bible conspiracy theory

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