|
Please
carefully follow the stages [ Back ] [ Next ]
The Role of St. Paul in Formulating Modern Christianity Doctrines
by Brother A. D. AJIJOLA (Bar at Law)
|
History
St Paul and the Early Church
It has been suggested that the work of Jesus Christ and the impact of his death
and resurrection would not have made any lasting impact on the world were it not
for the missionary work of Paul.
The account of his conversion to Christianity is contained in the New Testament
book, the Acts of the Apostles.
Before his conversion Paul had been known as Saul and had been violently opposed
to the Christian faith as taught by Jesus and after his death, by his disciples.
Saul experienced a dramatic conversion, known as the Damascus Road conversion,
when he was temporarily blinded.
He found himself filled with the Holy Spirit and immediately began preaching the
Christian gospel.
Paul's Concept of Christianity
Paul's teaching centred on understanding the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ as a central turning point in history.
He understood the resurrection to signal the end of the need to live under
Jewish law.
Instead Paul taught of living in "the Spirit" in which the power of
God was made to work through human flesh.
Some of his letters to fledgling churches throughout the Roman Empire and
contained in the New Testament, outline Paul’s theology.
He insisted that Gentiles had as much access to the faith as Jews and that
freedom from the Law set everyone free.
It was this teaching which was essential for the development and success of the
early church which would otherwise have remained nothing more than another
Jewish sect.
How can one
account for the difference between Christianity as preached by Jesus and Modern
Christian doctrines. This can only be answered by knowing the influence of St.
Paul on modern Christian doctrines.
St. Paul, whose real name was Saul, is one of those who
leave an indelible mark on the pages of history . In whatever form they appear
on the stage of the world, they always play a leading role. Though his
inconsistent and contradictory actions, Saul became an enigma for the world of
religion – a fact that leaves the thinker’s mind greatly perplexed.
In the beginning Saul appears before us in a ugly role of a
blood thirsty persecutor and a firebrand lieutenant of the High Priest chasing
and hunting the small group of humble people who had accepted Jesus, Son of Mary
as their Promised Messiah. But a little later we se him being himself hunted and
persecuted by his former friends, the tyrannical Jews. When s Pharisee, he
proved himself a thorn in the side of the early Christians and we see him
standing self-assured in the crowd that witnessed the martyrdom of St.Stephen.
But a few years later, he himself is slain for championing the cause of
Christianity. When brought before King Agrippa we see him pleading for himself
in a masterly manner and claiming that he was once a very staunch and practicing
Pharisee - a very conservative sect
that firmly believed in the commandment, “
You shall have no other god before Me”. But only a little later, we find him
concocting a theory diametrically opposed to the idea of one God. Although Jesus
had repeatedly called himself “ Son of Man”, yet Paul insisted on making him
a deity not only equal in rank with the Creator but co-substantial with him.
The New Testament provides us with abundant proofs of the
high-handed conduct of Paul in propagating the new faith. Having met with little
success among the Jews, he turned towards the Gentiles. In order to entice them,
he thought it expedient to recast the whole structure of the Christian faith. He
introduced so many changes that his faith acquired a great resemblance to pagan
conceptions. Through arbitrary innovations, he made many things lawful which
were absolutely unlawful according to the laws of Moses. He even mutilated the
basic tenet of the law- Unity of God. (from www.bbc.co.uk/religion/Christianity)
Please click Next and read what
happened next :
[ Back ] [ Next ]
Source
: "The Myth of the Cross "
(ICRA)
[ Home ] [ Christianity ] [ Bible ] [ Christian Salvation Scheme ] [ Converts ] [ Prophesies ] [ True followers of Jesus ] [ Jesus-the Son of Man ] [ Jesus- the Son of God ] [ Women ] [ Bible and the Modern Sceince ] [ Holy Sins ] [ Comparative Studies ] [ links ] [ About us ] [ Contact us ] [ Site Map ]