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No doubt Paul did succeed in bringing the Gentiles into the fold of the religion conceived and devised by him and though he preached in the name of Jesus Christ., yet his gospel was at complete variance with the teachings of Jesus. That is why James the Head of the Church and younger brother of Jesus considered Paul nothing better than a renegade and a polluted person. That was why he advised Paul to go and cleanse himself according to the law of Moses.
' Do therefore what we tell you', advised James, 'We have four men under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expense' (Act 21:22-24 )
Paul no doubt did achieve tremendous success among the Gentiles through his arbitrary deviations from the teachings of Jesus, yet the true Church under James remained firm and loyal though "the Rock of the Church" showed feet of clay and wavered and seldom knew his own mind. James and his fellow elders refused to budge from the original teachings of their master. They steadfastly continued to teach what they had learned direct from Jesus and paid no heed to visions that led to the darkness of pagan idolatry. Evidence of the conflict between James and his companions on the one side and Paul and his associates on the other, can easily be found in the New Testament even though the New Testament books strongly support Paul. In fact, the New Testament, as it is now, consists mostly of Paul's own writings and the remaining book support ideas introduced by him.
New Testament
We must remember that the New Testament was canonized in the year 325 at the council of Naecia where 27 books were selected by a majority vote, of course in that congregation the majority was of those who believed in the 'Trinity' and other pagan conceptions. Those who represented the true church were a small minority and though they vehemently opposed all abominations. They were, on pain of torture and death, forced into silence. The Bishop of Rome , the head of the majority church, had the Emperor Constantine at his back to support him. Few dared opposed the Bishop and the Emperor.
The books that were accepted in this congregation had little historical evidence as to their authenticity. Truth has remained obscure behind the curtain of uncertainty and scepticism. It is impossible to know for certain the real authors of these books. The claim that these books were inspired as yet to be proved.
The fact remains that Paul did succeed in his purpose and his concepts and ideas were gladly welcomed by the Gentiles and his religion prevailed everywhere. Does this mean that he was a divinely inspired reformer and he worked under the Divine command? the Bible provides the answer to this question:
" But the Prophets who presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, of who speaks in the name of other Gods, that same prophet shall die." (Deuteronomy 18:20 )
And again:
" Therefore thus says the Lord God, we, see because you have uttered delusions and seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you says the Lord the God. My hand will be against prophet who sees delusive visions and who give lying divinations: they shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel; and you shall know that I am the Lord God" (Ezekiel 13:8-9 )
(ICRA)