The Cult of Paul

As the previous pages have shown, there is quite obviously a stark contrast in the Bible
between the words attributed to Jesus Christ and the theology Paul presents in his epistles. And
yet a schism as critical as this one warrants a much more thorough examination of the Scriptures
with regards to these two men and their beliefs, and that is precisely what now follows –
namely, an in-depth examination of their very different lives, their very different personalities,
and their very different teaching styles – all of which contributed to or directly engendered
what turned out to be their very different (and indeed, patently contradictory) theologies. And yet
before we look into the latter, let us cast a closer glance at how the two men are portrayed …
Jesus & Paul: a look at their lives ...
First off, let me state quite clearly that I no way claim to know “the Truth” about Paul or
Jesus. I don't know whether or not the words in my Bible (as someone interested in scholarship, I
prefer the NRSV over all other translations) are fully accurate, I don't know if the spiritual
concepts expressed therein are valid, and I don't even know whether or not Paul or Jesus
actually said what they are reported to have said – much less whether either man actually
existed at all. And yet none of those issues are relevant to the task at hand – namely, showing
how the Bible itself (or at least one of its more widely accepted versions) proves quite
convincingly that Paul was not a supporter of Jesus and his teachings, but was rather a stark
opponent thereof. And the best place to start during such an examination is a look into how
the texts of the Bible portray the lives of the two men – very different lives that in and of
themselves do not prove my primary postulation, and yet very different lives that do indeed
explain how such radically divergent theologies could come to be. As such, please consider
the following biblical contrasts that show the same:
Contrast #01: their citizenship …
Though Paul was a self-proclaimed Roman
citizen regularly respected by the authorities (see Acts
16:37 & Acts 22:25-28), Jesus is portrayed as coming
from the home of a common Jewish laborer 5 & as an
itinerant preacher often met with scorn and disdain
(see Matthew 13:54-58, Mark 6:3, & John 6:42).
5 Though common Christian tradition cites Jesus as having been a “carpenter”, the actual Greek word used in the
relevant verses is tekton (Strong's # 5045), a word that actually meant “laborer” or “artisan.” While some scholars
have noted that this would have made Jesus a well-respected craftsman of sorts, the opposite is more than likely to
have been the case, with the average peasant artisan residing even below the peasant farmer on the sociological
pecking order of the day. Indeed, there was no “middle class” to speak of in more ancient times. Rather, there were
those like Paul and his family who had wealth, and there was everyone else who essentially didn't. This would explain
the disdain and even disrespect that Jesus obviously receives in the above-cited verses. Indeed, it is intriguing to note
that Jesus never once mentions the bustling city of Sepphoris in the Gospels, and this even though he grew up within
sight of its walls. He also rarely talks in urban images, even though he was raised near a mid-sized metropolis, and
even though his family probably worked regularly therein. As such it seems that Jesus quite obviously knew that cities
were the places where opulence gathered, and that cities were the sources of the very same peasant oppressions that his
ministry was designed to stifle and quell.
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