The establishment of Christianity as a religion by Apostle Paul

Jesus believed himself to be a messiah in the kingly line of David sent by God to establish his kingdom on earth among his chosen people, the Jews. He did not start a religion after his name.

He was put to death on the cross. The movement he started was taken up and led by his brother James. However, it was smothered by the alternative movement started by Paul which became the official Christianity of today.

Earlier, I have given a brief CV of Paul. (April 8, 2015)

Around the year A.D. 36 Paul had a “conversion” experience in which he claimed to have “seen” Jesus in a “vision”. He said that he had received both a revelation and a commission. The revelation was that ‘Jesus was the heavenly exalted Christ’; the commission was that he, Paul, was to preach the good news of ‘salvation through faith in Jesus to the Gentiles’. who were the non-Jews

Paul was a contemporary of Jesus. Yet, he never mentions the crucifixion of Jesus.  His connections to Jesus was based on “his own visionary experiences” in which he claimed to have seen Jesus many years after crucifixion. He also claimed to hear a disembodied ‘voice’ that he identified as words of Jesus.

What Paul preached and taught:

·         Jesus was a divine pre-existent heavenly being.

·         He was created as the first born of all creation.

·         He existed in the form of God and was equal to God.

·         The world was brought into existence by God through the agency of Christ.

·         He emptied himself, took the human form and was born of a woman and sent into this world from heaven.

·         The purpose of his life on earth was to live without sin and die on the cross as atonement for the sins of the world.

·         God then raised Christ from the dead and transformed him back into his glorious heavenly body.

·         Christ then ascended into heaven and is seated in power and glory at the right hand of God.

·         Those who accept the atoning sacrifice of Christ are forgiven of all their sins.

·         At the second coming of Christ, both the living and the dead would rise in the air to meet Christ in the clouds of heaven.

(T: p259-262)

Let us now have a look at the Apostle’s Creed recited at Catholic masses.

The Apostles Creed
1.      I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
2.      I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
3.      He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
4.      He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell.
5.      On the third day he rose again.
6.      He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
7.      I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  As you can observe, much of this creed is taken from Paul’s teachings based on his ‘visions’ and the ‘disembodied voice’ of Jesus.  Re-enactment of the Last Supper during Catholic Mass Just like the ‘resurrection’ and physical ‘ascension’ of Christ, the re-enactment of the ‘Last Supper’ during Christian mass has become another corner stone of the Christian belief system. It was Paul who wrote that the followers of Jesus should re-enact ‘the Lord’s Supper’ in which they would drink wine as ‘blood’ of Jesus and eat bread as his ‘body’. Improper observance of this meal could cause illness and even death. (T: p264) [More on this when we get a chance to discuss the mythological origins of Christian practices and rituals] To conclude: Jesus Christ is not the founder of Christianity. It is Paul of Tarsus, known commonly as Apostle Paul, who established Christianity as we know it today in the name of Christ, based on what he claimed as ‘visions’ of Christ during which he heard the ‘disembodied’ words of Christ.