Toto

Paul Was Not A Christian: The Original Message Of A Misunderstood Apostle (or via: amazon.co.uk) by Pamela Eisenbaum

Excerpt here.

This is a promising topic, but the author's approach seems formed by her own experience as a Jew in a Christian environment.

One possibility must be that the Pauline Epistles have been interpolated by completing religious authorities, but this idea is evidently not what someone teaching at a Christian seminary wants to consider. The word interpolation only appears twice in a footnote, referring to 2 Cor 6:14-7:1, with a reference to Raymond Brown.

Nevertheless, this books seems to have something to contribute to understanding Paul in context, and provides a useful summary of competing opinions.

storytime

Paul is an idiot or a conspirator. If an idiot, why? If a conspirator, why?

As a Jew he would have known the Hebrew god predistined the Jews to be blessed in the family of Abraham via circumcision. And through circumcision would all the families of Abraham be blessed.

Paul lies: "Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also."

Read the OT. The Hebrew God never claims to be God of uncircumcised people[Gentiles].

Paul is an idiot or a conspirator. His gospel an illegitimate construct orchestrated to deceive and manipulate unsuspecting victims. As a Jew why would he have not known Jewish law and covenant process? Why was Paul not stoned to death, but instead allowed to create a false hope?

As the story goes, I think Paul was a conspirator engaged to eliminate Gentile animosity toward Jews by portraying Gentiles as equal to Jews in the kingdom of God.

dog-on

Paul wasn't born a Jew.

His discourses show that he may have dabbled in becoming one at some point, but his attitude towards Jewish cultural traditions shows that these were not something he was brought up believing.

bacht

I think we can allow for other possibilities too. The fall of the temple may have been disturbing enough for some Jews to question whether the Mosaic covenant was still in effect. Jews who knew their scripture would be aware of the criticism God had expressed towards Israel over the centuries. The revolt against Rome is kind of a bookend to the Maccabean victory over the Syrian Greeks, the final failure to reach a modus vivendi with Hellenism. A Jew like Paul may have seen "the writing on the wall" that the gentiles had overtaken the Chosen People.

storytime

Didn't Paul say he was born a Benjamite but was a Jew? How did others in different tribal names claim themselves as Jews?

storytime

But would they not have known that the covenant didn't depend on the temple? Jews who knew their scriptures would have known that destruction of temples could not invalidate their being under covenant[covering] of Abraham, I would think.

dog-on

Yes, he says that he was born a Benjamite.


Based on his writings, I doubt it was true.

bacht

Sure, and diaspora Jews in the Mediterranean and Near East were already worshipping in synagogues. But the destruction of the Jewish homeland must have been traumatic for some. otoh there's no evidence that Paul was born Jewish other than his own testimony (assuming he really existed at all, which is far from clear). He's almost too good to be a true, a Pharisee who embraced The Way in the face of rabid opposition from fellow Jews, and brought the message of salvation to hungry gentiles.

show_no_mercy

Also, the war of 70 CE wasn't the first time the Jewish Temple was destroyed. And Jews still survived somehow... though this lead to the Jewish-Samaritan split IIRC.

aa5874

And in Acts, Saul/Paul is also claimed to be a Roman.


Acts 22:27 - It appears Saul/Paul was a chameleon.

1Co 9:22 -