Who Was Paul of Tarsus What Your Minister Doesn't Want You to Know Part II Such is the inauthenticity of the Christian scriptures. According to most Christian teachers, Paul has his miraculous conversion on the road to Damascus sometimes after the year 30, but they will never show their flock the actual quotes. Since we know that the famine took place in 44 CE, when we add 3 + 14 we find that this visit took place 17 years after the baptism of Paul. Christian ministers have long been aware of this, and each offers his own fuzzy math to counter the argument. But when we subtract 17 years from 44 CE we are left with the year 27 CE for Paul's conversion. What is wrong with this date? Well, for one Paul claims to have seen some sort of apparition of a disembodied Jesus. However, not only was Jesus still alive at this time, he had not even begun his ministry according to the Synoptic Gospels. This discrepancy would be understandable if one quote were from Galatians and another from Acts which was authored by someone else, but both of these quotes were not only made by Paul, they are from the very same epistle and they are only one chapter apart. It would seem to me that Paul found nothing wrong with this arrangement when he wrote it as the gospel accounts had not as yet affixed the year of the crucifixion to 30 CE. This is further proof that Paul was not referring to an actual crucifixion of a real life savior, but rather the central figure of a mystery religion. For this reason you will find members of the clergy giving you their timelines for these events, skewing the actual dates to accommodate their own interpretations, but they will never show you the actual quotes. Now, even if we were to ignore this, we have to ask ourselves, Why did Saul (Paul) have to go all the way to Damascus to find Christians when only 3 years later there seems to have been enough Christians living in Jerusalem for him to fear for his life. Why didn't he stay in Jerusalem and persecute these Christians (or whatever they called themselves). Furthermore, why would Saul expect to find Christians in the Temple at Damascus within a year or so of the crucifixion, when it is known that Jesus only preached in Israel. Did some Jewish priest send a messenger in a huff all the way to Jerusalem to warn the Jewish High Priest that he had seen a Christian worshipping in the Temple. It fails the test of reason. It doesn't make sense. What we have here is not Christian persecution by Paul, but an undeclared war between the two factions of early Christianity, the Pauline Christians and the Ebionites or Essene of James and Peter. Paul's claims to a miraculous conversion on the road to Damascus are strongly contradicted by this early Gnostic Mandaean text: "The Jordan in which Messiah Paulis was baptized, have I made into a 'trough.' The bread which Messiah Paulis receives, have I made into a 'sacrament.' The drink which Messiah Paulis receives, have I made into a 'supper.' The head-band which Messiah Paulis receives, have I made into a 'priest-hood.' The staff which Messiah Paulis receives, have I made into a 'dung [-stick]."-"Gnostic John the Baptizer." While Paulis probably refers to Paul, Lorsback informs us that it is the equivalent of a Persian word meaning 'Deceiver.' Hence it may simply mean Messiah Deceiver. There is a distinct difference between the words "secret" and "mystery." A secret is knowledge that is hidden. A mystery is a truth that can be understood only by revelation from God. The mystery is more like an enigma, a riddle, or a puzzle. The words "secret" and "secrets," which appear in all the books of the Old Testament (except in Daniel), refer to lack of knowledge, not to lack of understanding. The word "mystery" (Gr. mystirion) is a key word in Christianity. It appears in the New Testament 22 times in the singular and 5 times in the plural. The following verses indicate that Christianity was established as a mystery religion. (1 Timothy 3:16) Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great. (NRSV) (1 Timothy 3:9) they [the deacons] must hold fast to the mystery of the faith ... (NRSV) (Luke 8:10) The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. (KJV) (Ephesians 3:9) ... the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God ... (KJV) (Ephesians 5:32) This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. (NASB) (Colossians 4:3) ... so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ ... (NASB) Hellenistic Christianity was "the mystery of Christ," Continued / Table of Contents |