Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Paulian?

It's a common Muslim criticism that the Christian Church is the work of Paul and not Christ, that Paul was an enemy of Christ, that he corrupted the church and fashioned it with his writings contrary to the teachings of Christ.  Many Muslims believe that Paul wrote the New Testament.

The charge that Paul somehow corrupted the church and distorted the teachings of Jesus is completely without merit.  Had Paul taught anything that wasn't in accord with the teachings of Jesus, the other apostles, particularly Peter, James and John, would have repudiated him and denounced him.  This is not the case. There is no record of any such discord between Paul and the other apostles. The record does show disagreements, and how those disagreements were resolved, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

There are 7956 verses in the New Testament.  Of these, only 2032 of these are written by Paul, slightly more than a quarter.  Paul contributed nothing to any of the four Gospels.  Muslims are very quick to point out that Paul was an enemy of Christianity, ignoring the amazing tale of his conversion to become one of the most vocal proponents of Christ, right up until his death as a martyr. People who make this charge should erase their ignorance by reading the Acts of the Apostles.

If Muslims took a moment to read the Bible instead of their Islamic sources, they would know that Paul didn't change who Jesus is.  Paul was changed because of who Jesus is!
 

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3 comments:

  1. IshmaelOctober 22, 2013 at 9:54 PM

    Why did Paul and Barnabas depart never to unite again if not due to any serious doctrinal issue?

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    1. Sean EmersonOctober 23, 2013 at 12:15 PM

      If Paul had a serious doctrinal issue, he would have been repudiated by Peter, James and John. He was not. It's a big world, and the Apostles had to cover a lot of ground. There was no instantaneous communication, no post office, no phones, telegrams, etc. It was very difficult to communicate and coordinate, and Paul never stayed anywhere very long because of his missionary work.

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  2. UnknownOctober 23, 2013 at 11:27 AM

    Where is it written that they separated because of a doctrinal issue? It's not, lol. It says they separated over whether or not John should be their assistant again. He was once before, but he left them.

    Acts 15:36-39
    New King James Version (NKJV)
    Division over John Mark

    36 Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” 37 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. 39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;

    As mentioned in this blog, one should read the Bible to learn The Truth!

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