Infidelettante

I take it this is addressed to me. Paul has introduced a belief system which is ostensibly a continuation and fulfillment of Judaism. In fact it is a wholly Hellenistic view of the divine and man’s relationship to it. The gospels were written, at least in part, to give Paul’s new religion the respectability and historical weight of Judaism and yet allow the flexibility and innovation of Greek thought.

So in some sense Jesus must be portrayed as a divisive figure whose ultimate concern is yet reconciliation. The gospels were intended to support the views of various factions of the early church regarding Paul, not Jesus. In this sense they are political not theological.

JT