Religious scholars have long established the doctrines of the Christian faith in Paul’s teachings rather than those of Jesus. But as much as I would like to jump into this topic, I think it would be more appropriate to go back and take a brief, speculative look at the Old Testament.
The Old Testament teaches that Jacob fought with God. In fact, the Old Testament not only reports that Jacob fought with God, but that Jacob overwhelmed him (Genesis 32: 24-30). Now, let’s consider that we’re talking about a small droplet of protoplasm that creates a universe of 240,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles in diameter, with over a trillion galaxies, of which ours – the Milky Way – is only one (and a small one at that) , fights and wins? I’m sorry, but somebody didn’t have to be sane when he wrote this passage. The whole point is that this passage leaves us embarrassed. We either have to question the Jewish concept of God or accept their explanation that „God“ in the above verse does not mean „God“, it means an angel or a man (which basically means that the Old Testament cannot be trusted). Indeed, this textual difficulty has become so problematic that attempts have been made to cover it up in more recent Bible copies by translating “God” to “man”. But what they can’t change is the Jewish original, from which the others are translated, and it still says „God“.
Incredibility is a recurring problem in the Old Testament, the best known example is the confusion between God and Satan! In 2 Samuel 24: 1 we read:
“And the anger of the LORD burned again against Israel, and he provoked David against the people, and said, Go, count Israel and Judah!”
Meanwhile, the first book of Chronicles 21: 1 states: „And Satan opposed Israel and tempted David to count Israel.“ So who now? The Lord or Satan? Both verses describe the same event in history, but one speaks of God and the other of Satan. That’s a big difference!
Christians may think that the New Testament is free from such difficulties, but they are bitterly disappointed. In fact, there are so many contradictions in it that many writers have written books on the subject. For example: Matthew 2:14 and Luke 2:39 differ in whether Jesus‘ family fled to Egypt or to Nazareth. Matthew 6: 9-13 and Luke 11: 2-4 differ in the wording of “Our Father”. Matthew 11: 13-14, 17: 11-13, and John 1:21 disagree as to whether John the Baptist was Elijah or not.
Things get even more confused when we enter the arena of the legendary crucifixion: who carried the cross – Simon (Luke 23:26, Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21) or Jesus (John 19:17)? Was Jesus clothed in a scarlet garment (Matthew 27:28) or in a purple-red garment (John 19: 2)? Did the Roman soldiers put bile (Matthew 27:34) or myrrh (Mark 15:23) in his wine? Was Jesus crucified before the third hour (Mark 15:25) or after the sixth hour (John 19: 14-15)? Did Jesus get up again on the first day (Luke 23:43) or not (John 20:17)? Were Jesus‘ last words: „Father, I command my spirit into your hands!“ (Luke 23:46) or were they: “It is done!” (John 19:30)?
This was just a small selection from a long list of written inconsistencies, and they underscore the difficulty in trusting the New Testament as scripture. Nonetheless, there are those who trust the New Testament in their salvation, and it is these Christians who have to answer the question: „Where is the“ Christian „in“ Christianity „? “This is indeed a very fair question. On the one hand, we have a religion named after Jesus Christ, but on the other hand, the doctrines of Orthodox Christianity, in other words, Christianity of the Trinity (Trinity), which actually contradicts everything that He (Jesus Christ) taught.
I know, I know – those of you who are not now “heretics!” scream, collect firewood and build a pyre. But wait. Take down the fully loaded shotgun and listen. Trinity Christianity claims to base its doctrine on a combination of the teachings of Jesus and Paul. The problem with this is that these teachings are not the same. In reality, they contradict each other.
Let us take a few examples: Jesus taught the law of the Old Testament; Paul refused. Jesus taught Orthodox Jewish belief; Paul preached the mysteries of faith. Jesus spoke of accountability; Paul promised justification through faith. Jesus described himself as a folk prophet: Paul defines him as a general prophet. [1] Jesus taught prayers to God; Paul appointed Jesus as an advocate. Jesus taught divine unity; Paul’s theologians constructed the Trinity.
For these reasons, many scholars consider Paul to be the main adulterator of Apostolic Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. Many previous Christian sects also shared this view, including the Christian sects “adoptionists” known in the second century. “In particular, they viewed Paul, one of the most prominent New Testament writers, as a chief heretic rather than an apostle.” [2]
Lehmann contributes to this:
“What Paul proclaimed as ‚Christianity‘ was sheer heresy that could not be based on the Jewish faith, nor on the teachings of Rabbi Jesus. But as Schonfield says: ‚Paul’s heresy became the basis of Orthodox Christianity and the legitimate Church was rejected as heretical.‘ … Paul did something that Rabbi Jesus had never done and that he had rejected. He extended God’s promise of redemption for the Gentiles; He annihilated the law of Moses and prevented direct access to God by introducing an intermediary. ”[3]
Bart D. Ehrman, perhaps the most authoritative living scholar of textual criticism, comments:
“Paul’s view was not accepted by everyone, or, someone might argue, even widely recognized… Even more aptly, Paul’s own letters indicate that there were outspoken, serious and active Christian leaders who therefore vehemently disagreed with him, and Paul’s views for one Twisting the True Message of Christ … Always keep in mind that in Paul’s letter to the Galatians he suggests that he confronted Peter with this very topic (Gal. 2: 11-14). He disagreed with him on this matter, which means not even the closest disciple of Jesus. ”[4]
When he commented on the views of some early Christians in pseudo-clementine literature, Ehrmann wrote:
“Paul has distorted true belief because of a brief vision that he undoubtedly misinterpreted. This makes Paul the enemy of the apostles, not their leader. He is discouraged from true faith, a heretic who needs to be banished and not an apostle to be followed. ”[5]
Others made Paul holy. Clearly Joel Carmichael is not one of these:
“We are a universe away from Jesus. When Jesus came „only to fulfill“ the law and the prophets; if he thought that „not a thing, no dot“ would „be lost from the law,“ that the main command was „Listen, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one,“ and that „none was good , except God ”…. What would he have thought of Paul’s actions! Paul’s triumph marked the final extinction of historical Jesus; he comes to us, perfumed with Christianity, like a fly in amber. ”[6]
Dr. Johannes Weiss contributes to this:
“Therefore the belief in Christ, to which the primitive churches and Paul hold fast, is something new compared to Jesus‘ sermons; it was a new kind of religion. ”[7]
A new kind of religion – indeed. And for this reason I ask: „Where is the“ Christian „in“ Christianity „?“ “If Christianity is the religion of Jesus Christ, where are the Old Testament laws and the strict monotheism of Rabbi Jesus Christ Orthodox Judaism? Why does Christianity teach that Jesus is the Son of God when Jesus called himself the „Son of Man“ eighty-eight times and not once the „Son of God“? Why does Christianity support confessions to priests and prayers to saints, Mary and Jesus when Jesus taught his followers:
“So that’s why you should pray: ‚Our Father …’” (Matthew 6: 9)?
And who appointed a pope? Certainly not Jesus. Verily, he may have called out to Peter on the rock on which he wanted to build his church (Matthew 16: 18-19). However, just five verses later, he calls Peter „Satan“ and „a nuisance“. And let’s not forget that this “rock” denied Jesus three times after he was captured – a poor testimony to Peter’s connection to the new church.
Is it possible that Christians have always denied Jesus? By transforming Jesus‘ strict monotheism into the Trinity of the Scholars of Paul, by replacing the Old Testament law of Rabbi Jesus with the „justification by faith“ of Paul, by the idea that Jesus had the sins of Atoned for humanity for the direct responsibility that Jesus taught by rejecting Jesus‘ claim to humanity and adopting Paul’s idea of the divinity of Jesus – we have to question exactly how Christianity actually respects the teachings of his prophet.
A similar matter is the explanation of which religion actually respects the teachings of Jesus. So let’s see: which religion does Jesus Christ worship as a prophet but as a human being? Which religion adheres to strict monotheism, God’s laws and the idea of direct responsibility before God? Which religion rejects mediators between man and God?
If you answered “Islam” now, you are correct. And in this way we find the teachings of Jesus Christ better represented in the religion of Islam than in Christianity. This suggestion is not intended as a conclusion, but as an introduction. Those whose interest has been sparked by the above discussion should take this matter seriously, open their minds and then … read on!
Copyright © 2007 Laurence B. Brown.
About the author:
Laurence B. Brown, MD, can be contacted at: BrownL38@yahoo.com. He is the author of “The First and Final Commandment” (Amana Publications) and “Bearing True Witness” (Dar-us-Salam). A story thriller “The Eighth Scroll” will appear soon, and a second edition of The First and Final Commandment, revised and divided into “MisGod’ed” and the sequel “God’ed”.
Footnotes:
[1] Jesus Christ was another in the long line of prophets sent to the Israelites who had been discouraged. He clearly stated: „I am only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.“ (Matthew 15:24) When Jesus sent his disciples in the way of God, he instructed them: „Do not go on the Gentile Street and do not go to the Samaritan cities, but go to the lost sheep from the house of Israel.“ (Matthew 10: 5-6). Throughout his calling, it was never reported that Jesus had converted Gentiles; rather, it is reported that he rejected a Canaanite woman who asked for help by comparing her to a dog (Matthew 15: 22-28 and Mark 7: 25-30). Jesus himself was a Jew his disciples were Jews and both he and she focused entirely on the Jews. One wonders what that means for us now, because most of those who see Jesus as their „personal Savior“ are not Jews and are not of the „lost sheep of the house of Israel“ to whom He was sent.
[2] Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. 2004. Oxford University Press. S. 3.
[3] Lehmann, Johannes. 1972. The Jesus Report. Übersetzt von Michael Heron. London: Souvenir Press. S. 128, 134.
[4] Ehrman, Bart D. 2003. Lost Christianities. Oxford University Press. S. 97-98.
[5] Ehrman, Bart D. 2003. Lost Christianities. Oxford University Press. S. 184.
[6] Carmichael, Joel, M.A. 1962. The Death of Jesus. New York: The Macmillan Company. S. 270.
[7] Weiss, Johannes. 1909. Paul and Jesus. (Übersetzt von Rev. H. J. Chaytor). London and New York: Harper and Brothers. p. 130.
Source: https://www.islamland.com/deu/articles/wo-ist-der-christ-im-christentum