Did Paul Found the Christian Movement?

I ran across an article recently on the apostle Paul. In short, the article contended that Paul may have had a bigger influence on the Christian movement than Jesus of Nazareth. Needless to say, the article got my attention.

This type of thinking about the role of Paul in early Christianity is not new. I have seen the same argument from Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others from the so-called “enlightenment era.” I can even remember sitting in a philosophy class in college studying the same argument from a German philosopher named Nietzsche. If you are so inclined, do a Google search on the “historical Jesus” or “historical Jesus movement” and check out what they have to say on the matter.

There are several issues, which have been “branded’ to Paul, that help to keep this age old argument alive: the so-called anti female, anti marriage, anti gay, and anti Semitic movements. Almost all literature I have ever seen from someone with this sort of political slant will fall back on the teachings attributed to Paul for “biblical’ support of the cause. A second issue that has lasted through the years is the concept of “predestination.” This issue, steeped in the Pauline tradition, asks “how free will do I have to accept or reject God?” A third issues centers around the idea of human beings coming into the world as “sinners” from the get go. The original sin of Adam and Eve has left a mark on us all, and continues down through the ages via our progeny. Finally, the fact that Paul never spent time with Jesus continues to be a point of debate. As one might recall, Paul meets a glorified Jesus on the road to Damascus.

I think it is fair to say, based on the accounts we have, that Paul and the original twelve disciples did not get along well. I am not sure I would have trusted the sincerity of Paul conversion either! The stories from the book of Acts inform us that a “peaceful co-existence’ finally comes to fruition between the original twelve and Paul. This may be part of the reason that Paul becomes the missionary to the Gentiles. To me, this issue can be overplayed. If we do not wish to look to Paul for the answer on why the good news came to the Gentiles, we need only look as far as the folks with which Jesus interacted and ministered.

If you look at the writings left to us about early Christianity, you have to take Paul into account. There are 13 letters in the New Testament attributed to Paul (though most scholars today would tell you only 7 are Paul’s). We have none from the hand of Jesus himself. There is just a lot of stuff missing. Even Paul makes mention of other works that have not survived the test of time.
Given that, the letters of Paul are as close to Jesus as anything we have. The work in our canon of Scripture gives us the best look at the life and ministry of Jesus we have. I also try to remember that, like any good movement, thought and beliefs evolve over time. The early writings of Paul are very close to the stories told about Jesus in the gospels. I am not surprised that time allowed for fuller thinking, even in an educated Paul (take a look at Romans for instance.)

Like it or not, the gospel took root quicker in the outlands, in the Diaspora. The early Jesus movement took on a life of its own. To me, every person who help spread the news in this critical point in history is just as responsible for the shape of Christianity today. I would even contend that all of us in the 21st Century are doing the same thing. I think I’ll keep a spot in my heart for Paul, and pray the history remembers me as well.

Ray and Robin Province are the owners of The Celtic Ozarkian website, dedicated to issues surrounding life in the Ozarks. You can find us at: http://ping.fm/W0mRn or http://ping.fm/Js7VE
Ray is a retired minister who is currently an IT programmer in the healthcare industry, and freelances in SEO and website development. Robin is a semi retired ICU nurse who now works in coding and compliance in the healthcare industry. She is the co-owner of http://ping.fm/SdbiZ