Newton's Cat

Paul [a servant of Christ Jesus] called to be an apostle having been separated to a gospel of God, which he had promised beforehand through the prophets of him in writings holy ....

Paul is claiming to be the "Messiah".

It says that God had promised to send someone with a gospel, a "special message" - something supposed to change the world.

... and Paul is claiming to be that person.

Paul has been having conversations with God.

All references to Jesus Christ in the first 17 verses of Romans are later interpolations.

Removing them results in a completely coherent text - with them in the text is not coherent. There are two styles of thinking in these verses. The "Jesus Christ" stuff seems to be some kind of rabid fundamentalism.

Mind you - if God doesn't exist them Paul must have been nuts, eh? Thinking that God had "called" him for the purpose of saving the world?

Not understood the first bit?

Well it says that God had promised that he would send an "apostle having been separated to a gospel of God" ...?

The person who wrote this stuff was alarmingly intelligent.

Understanding it gives a glimpse into the true reality of what the New Testament is.

I call it a "hole" into which you can peer into the inner workings of the New Testament.

There are other "holes" I know about.

Vorkosigan

That was Volkmar's argument in the 19th century -- that Mark's Jesus is really Paul

Transplanar

This sounds interesting, but what is the source/evidence behind this?

CJD

Evidence: none

Source: ennui