Colter
Member
No problem and thank you too! I haven't read the book. I found out about Paul independently.
I tried to acquit him of falsehood by even looking at Greek texts but the contradictions/worthless teachings are also present.
The reason I participate in cf is not to convince people to change their minds. In my 2 years of posting here, I think there's only 2 or 3 people who did and these are people who are already having some doubts against religion so I don't think I really convinced them. I simply confirmed what they already knew or beginning to realize.
The reason I keep posting despite the overwhelming resistance is let others know that they are not alone!
And most importantly, to expose evil.. It is what Jesus wanted anyway (John 7:7, together with John 14:12). Jesus wasn't nice to evil people even in His ministry. The Jesus of Paul is different and did not uphold justice.
Paul just happened to be the first great, powerful, charismatic preacher of the gospel as he understood it, as he interpreted it through his own religious baggage. Frankly, the only real orthodoxy of the original gospel was salvation through living faith in the presence of the living God and the identity of the Son incarnate. Beyond that Jesus often taught in parabolic form, leaving the individual free to have a personal relationship with God as well as leaving the society of believers to grow in understanding of our heavenly Father.
Sincerity, that's what's important. Paul dedicated his life to carrying the gospel message as he understood it, he shouldn't be faulted for that nor is it his fault that the church elevated his teachings and associated letters to "the world of God" in order to establish its ruling authority.
Upvote
0