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I am an atheist, but my dad is a believer in Jesus. He has long had a great inner conflict with the religious establishment over the differences between the writings of Paul and those of Jesus. Finally, he came to believe in the position that you have stated: i.e. that Paul was a tool of Satan. As he studied the bible on his own, he has discovered some interesting consequences of this. Jesus values our free will and asks us to love one another. However, Paul was forced (not asked) into his role. Paul often described himself as a prisoner of Christ. Paul was a person who was acting one way but desired to act in another. Jesus taught that the thought is as the deed. He taught that to have hateful thoughts while doing good deeds is not going to help you reach heaven. Also, at no point does Jesus suggest that it is acceptable to do evil in the furtherance of good or to abuse those who are evil for the benefit of those who are good. This would contradict his teaching to love your enemies. Therefore, he would never force people to be good against their own will either for their own sake or for the sake of others. Both John and Paul have prophetic writings. However, when one assumes that Paul served Satan, then his messiah, who will claim to be Jesus, takes the role of the beast in the writings of John. Further, according to John, some unknown person will be anointed by Jesus. This person is known as the Lamb or the one who overcometh. According to John this person will then rule over the earth with a rod of iron. Careful examination of John's writings will find a quote of the form 'He will give him authority'. (I'm paraphrasing). My dad believes this means: Jesus(the almighty) will give (The Lamb) authority. Religions that follow the teachings of Paul mangle this sentence into either: He will give them authority, or he will give himself authority. Neither of which really makes sense because a) we can't all be in charge and b) you don't give to yourself something you already have. As I stated earlier, I am an atheist. However, I have no conflict with the philosophy that Jesus teaches. Yet, the teachings of Paul irritate me. Paul supports organized religion and serving the ruling class. Jesus cares about neither and just says that you should love your enemy. Paul says one should avoid the appearance of evil. To Jesus, the worst thing to be is a hypocrite. Jesus' teachings are designed to cross all cultural boundaries but Paul's seem designed to fragment people into separate and opposing groups. My dad and I are united, despite our difference in religious beliefs, that Jesus was an great personality and that Paul was either unbalanced and evil (my view) or evil and satan's servant (my dad's). —Travis It makes you wonder why Christians put so much stock in the New Testament. After all, Christ did not prophesy that it would be written, instruct anyone to write it, or tell anyone to read or believe in it. —JoT top |
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