The Cult of Paul

Contrast #19: Paul's manipulation of Scripture & Jesus' use thereof …
While it is true that both Paul and Jesus used external sources (including the Hebrew Bible – today
known by many as the Old Testament) to illustrate their teachings and emphasize their sermons, it is just
as true that they did so in very different ways for very different reasons. Whereas Paul was fond of
quoting contemporary philosophers and poets as if they were the holy Word of God (see Acts 17:28 –
where Paul cites Platonic philosopher Posidonious' “in him we live and move and have our being” and Greek
poet Aratus' “for we too are his offspring”, 1 Corinthians 2:9 – where Paul cites a non-canincal Jewsih writing
as if it is Scripture 20 , 1 Corinthians 4:6 – where Paul quite ironically cites the well-known proverb “nothing
beyond what is written”, 1 Corinthians 15:33 – where Paul quotes the Greek poet Menander's “bad company
ruins good morals”, and 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 – where Paul references a popular Jewish mysticism found
nowhere else in the Scriptures), Jesus was not. Intriguingly, Paul even goes a dramatic step further with
this form of scriptural abuse by having Jesus himself quote from non-canonical sources – claiming
that Jesus uttered the statement “It is more blessed to give than to receive” in Acts 20:35 (a saying
found nowhere in the Gospels-- indeed, one found nowhere else in the entire Bible 21 ) and having Jesus
apparently reference a common Greek proverb in Acts 26:14 (“It hurts to kick against the goad”,
ironically telling Paul therewith that the more he resisted the teachings of Christ, the more he and others would
suffer) … In addition, Paul can regularly be seen manipulating Old Testament scriptures to fit his own
self-created (and thoroughly heretical – rejecting as he does both the traditional pro-Law beliefs of the Jews
and the reformed pro-Love-via-selfless-deeds spirituality of Jesus Christ) theological agenda – combining
the words of Psalm 116:11 with Psalm 51:4 to make his own Scripture in Romans 3:4, combining the
words of Psalm 14, Psalm 53, Psalm 5, Psalm 140, Psalm 10, & Psalm 36 with Proverbs 1:16 & Isaiah
59:7-8 to create his own Scripture in Romans 3:10-18, molding Psalm 143:2 into an entirely new
context in Romans 3:20, altering the intended focus of Isaiah 28:16 in Romans 9:33, falsely refuting
Leviticus 18:5 with Deuteronomy 30:13-14 in Romans 10:5-8 (when those two verses are actually in
complete harmony with one another), inverting the effective context of Isaiah 52:15 in Romans 15:21,
paraphrasing – and indeed altering – Isaiah 28:9-12 as if he is quoting the same in 1 Corinthians
14:21, and combining & manipulating the words of Leviticus 26:12, Ezekiel 37:27, Isaiah 52:11, 2
Samuel 7:14, & Isaiah 43:6 to make completely new Scripture in 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 …
“Paul has audaciously substituted a mere faith in Jesus for living
a Christlike life … Neither I nor anyone else I know have been able to
follow the supposed wisdom of the supposedly blessed and glorious
Paul … Paul's words are not the Words of God. They are the words of
Paul – and there is a vast difference between the two.” ~ via Walter
Kaufman, Bishop Polycarp (one of the earliest of the Church Fathers; a man who scholars
suppose learned about Jesus Christ directly from John the apostle himself), & John Spong
20 NOTE that Paul's use of “as it is written” in this verse is not present in Jude 1:9-14 where similar words are intoned.
While it is admittedly possible that Paul is here once more piecing together various verses from the Old Testament (in
this case Isaiah 64:4, Isaiah 65:17, & Isaiah 62:15 from the Septuagint) in order to create a “holy word” more
persuasive to his unique intentions, using the phrase “as it is written” – a phrase that clearly implies that the words
mentioned thereafter are found wholly intact within the ancient texts – is intentionally misleading at the very least.
21 While the Gospel of Thomas 1:95's “do not lend at interest, but rather give to him from whom you will not receive in
return” and Deuteronomy 15:10-11's “give liberally … open your hands to the poor and the needy neighbor in your
land” both reflect the same wisdom Paul cites in Acts 20:35, those two sources are actually far more reminiscent of the
statements Jesus made in Matthew 5:42, Luke 6:35, & Luke 14:12-14.
42