[Paul]

Jesus taught to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That obviously meant more than just Jews. Thats not the argument here. The argument is focused on their teaching differences. Paul's took Jewish ideas and mixed them with Paganism. He invented a new religion that taught Jesus was some type of fertility god that allowed his blood to be spilled to save the world. This idea can be found in virtually every Pagan religion. This idea is 100% Pagan. Paul taught faith in this pagan-Jesus was all that was needed to be saved. In no way can such beliefs be found in the Jewish religion. There are countless verses in the Old Testament that state no one can pay for the sins of another. Jesus' message on the other hand taught actions and repentance is the key to salvation. Jesus' message was 100% Jewish.

Lets take another look at that passage. Matthew 19: 16-22 states, "Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?'

^'Why do you ask me about what is good?' Jesus replied. 'There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments. 'Which ones?' he inquired.

Jesus replied, 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.' ^'All these I have kept,' the young man said. 'What do I still lack?' Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth."

Now is Jesus really saying the rich man needs to follow him to receive salvation? That is not how the passage reads at all. In verses 18 and 19 Jesus tells the man he needs to keep the commandments. Then in verse 21 Jesus tells him he needs to sell his possessions and give to the poor. It is in this same verse, before Jesus tells him to follow him, Jesus states the man would receive his heavenly reward. It is obvious from the placement in the verse that Jesus is not telling the man following him is a requirement. Read it again. †?†

[Paul]

I have a book recommendation for those interested. It is a classic. It is the best book I have found concerning the true Paul. Its called The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity. †?†

[Paul]

^"Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life? 'Why do you ask me about what is good' Jesus replied.'There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.'Which ones' he inquired. Jesus replied, 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.''' - Matthew 19: 16-19.

Wow, look at that. Jesus tells him his actions would earn him eternal life. It appears to contradict Paul's teaching that faith alone does this. Jesus' never states faith saves. This is entirely a Pauline invention. Jesus teaches a person is saved through their works and repentance. †?†

[Paul]

Jesus was a Jew and his followers were Jews as well. They already had a religion and were not in need of a new one. Paul is the one who decided to start a new religion. Paul is the founder of Christianity, not Jesus. Nothing that is credited to Jesus in the gospels contradicts Judaism. Paul on the other hand is a walking contradiction. His message is full of pagan concepts. This is why the Gentiles were converted so easily and the Jews rejected it. As Paul's version of Jesus spread it gained in popularity.This eventually became the dominant (orthodox) view. Anyone with any knowledge of history knows what happened to all the non-orthodox versions. They were suppressed and persecuted. I believe if it weren't for Paul's contamination the movement of Jesus would still be Jewish today. †?†

[Paul]

Paul is a very interesting charater. Modern Christianity gives him most of the credit for the spread of Christianity. Growing up a conservative Christian I believed as most Christians do that Paul was a faithful and obedient servant of Jesus. It wasnt until I began to pursue a theology degree that questions concerning Paul began to arrise for me. I began my education at a fundamentalist Baptist university. Nothing at this school taught me anything to change my orthodox views on Paul. Due to personal issues though I had to drop out and postpone my education. Several years later I restarted my education at a much more liberal school. This school almost immediately brought up ideas that my previous school never mentioned. I now know the reason is clear. The first school was trying to mold their students into conservative theologians while the second was trying to mold theirs into educated theologians. There is a big difference. The first focuses primarily on doctrine and ignores or discounts anything that opposes it while the second focuses on evidence and probability. Anyway, to get to my point.

I was shocked to find out Paul never knew Jesus. Also I was unaware of the disagreements between Jesus' disciples and Paul mentioned in the New Testament. Another discovery for me was the differences between Paul's and Jesus' teachings. This school opened my eyes to alot of things that are not mentioned in Sunday school so to speak. They discussed the many forms of Christianity that existed in the first century. Many of which opposed Paul and his teachings. They believed Paul was a false prophet that had corrupted Jesus' message. The Ebionites were the most common among these groups. They were a group of Jewish minded Christians that believed themselves not to be members of a new religion but simply a group within Judaism. This group believed themselves to be the true inheritor of Jesus' message. They believed they were directly descended from the group led by Jesus' brother James.

All these discoveries led me to do much research on my own. My goal was to look at these things in much more depth in hopes to find answers. The answers I found were at first troubling. Today though I believe I am better off than if I had never pursued the answers. Like anything that has to do with religion, we can accept what we are told or we can seek out the truth on our own. I chose the later.

After many years of research and contemplation my findings prove to me that Paul was not a true follower of Jesus. He was a rogue preacher that started a movement in Jesus' name. I have no idea what his motive was. Maybe greed or power, who knows. Finding motive though was never my goal. Now that I can look at it from open eyes I believe the truth was in front of me the whole time. When its all said and done I believe its all simply a matter of common sense. Jesus and his followers were Jews. They were members of a religion that had a proud history and tradition that could be traced back more than 1000 years. They had no need for a new religion. Everything Jesus taught could fit within the spectrum of Judaism. Paul on the other hand had other plans. He combined Jewish ideas with pagan concepts and started an entirely new movement. Paul took it to the Gentiles because he knew the Jews would reject it. To Jesus' followers Jesus was a prophet to Paul's followers Jesus became a god. †?†

"Paul was the great Coryphaeus, and first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus." - Thomas Jefferson

[The Message Of Jesus]

According to the New Testament Jesus' message was simple. It was not some metaphysical new age message like some try to imply. It was essentially Jewish apocalypticism. He was telling people the Kingdom was near; in some instances it was already here. He taught the things present in this reality are not as important as what awaits in the next reality which he called the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught compassion, forgiveness, love and charity but his main message was the Kingdom.

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[Do You Consider Yourself To Be A Pacifist?]

True pacifism is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of great strength. No species but humans are capable of practicing it and the majority of them never will. If everyone was a pacifist the world would be a much better place. Unfortunately we live in a world full of hate, greed, and lust. It is because of these three things pacifism seems to most like a pipe dream. I pray pacifism will be the only reality in the next life. Only then could it truly be called heaven. †?†

[Words From The Wise...your Favorites]

The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind. - Khalil Gibran

[Purpose Of Existence]

I believe our purpose is simply to be born, to live, and to die. What we do in between birth and death is not purpose but choice. Its those choices that determine what happens after we die. +?+