The Influence of Paul And The Pauline Church On The Trinitarian Dogmas
Paul was a self-proclaimed apostle to theGentiles. References to his life and personality were partly based on primarysource, notably his letters, and partly on the account given by Luke in Acts.The primary nature of Paul's life account (history), in fact, aggravates thesuspicion that he tailored everything to suit his motive (apparently implicit)of getting to the top of Christendom power.
Indeed, the veryfoundation of Christianity today emerged through the great influence of Paul. Asthe founder of today's Christianity, Paul testifies:"According to the grace ofGod which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the Foundation,and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it"[46].
Michael Hart, an American mathematician, historian and publisher, in his rankingof the 100 most influential persons in history places Paul (not Jesus Christ) asthe second most influential person in history - next only to the ProphetMuhammad (peace be upon him)[47]. In his ranking, Hart clearlyrecognizes the fact that Paul was the real founder of today's Christianity. Paulsurprisingly outranks Jesus in Hart's listing, because he wrote more books ofthe Bible than those of its other authors, whereas Jesus did not write a singleword in it. Surprisingly enough, the so-called epistles of Paul to the Romans,Corinthians, Galatians, Ephiseans, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians,Timothy, Titus and to Philemon have virtually no reference to the true wordsuttered by Jesus (peace be upon him).
Except for fourrepugnant verses, which were allegedly attributed to Jesus (peace be upon him),virtually all of the more than two thousand verses of the epistles of Paul arehis own fabrications. Christians should know that Paul himself mentions his owngospel, not Jesus', in his epistle to the Romans when he says, "In the day whenGod will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."(Romans 2:16). In fact, the Pauline Epistle to the Romans serves as thefoundation of today's Christianity[48]. Indeed, this is so strange andironical, knowing that none of its more than 430 verses were ever formulated byJesus. Paul should have made direct reference to the pristine teachings of Jesus(peace be upon him), if only the formers' claim for apostleship or divineinspiration was, indeed, true. Instead, large parts of his epistles' Biblicalquotations (notably those in the Epistle to the Romans) were taken from the OldTestament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, Psalms,Proverbs, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Hosea. His epistles were, indeed, a product oftedious efforts, but that does not make Paul far better than any of the othermen who authored the Bible.
It is worth noting that theAthanasian Creed, as mentioned earlier, was never taught by Jesus (peace be uponhim). In fact, the word Trinity or the Athanasian Creed itself is nowhere foundin the Bible.
Trinitarian dogma was merely deduced from IJohn 5:7, which states: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, theFather, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one". Christianscholars of the Bible later found that this dogma was an interpolation in theKing James version. In fact, no less than a group of 32 Christian scholars ofhighest eminence, advised by a board of 50 representatives of variousdenominations came up in 1946 with a revised standard version of the NewTestament, and of the whole Bible in 1952, discarding the foregoing passage[49].
Oneof the major innovations of the Pauline church is the blood atonement[50]. In his epistle to theRomans, Paul says:"Much more then, having now been justified by his Blood weshall be saved from wrath through Him"[51].
Other relatedBiblical passages, wherein the Christian dogma of blood atonement or vicarioussacrifice is probably inferred from, are as follows:"Knowing that you were notredeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conductreceived by your fathers", "but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lambwithout blemish and without spot"[52].
"Take, eat; this is My bodywhich is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me"[53].
"This cup is the new covenantin My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me"[54].
"My grace issufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness"[55].
The foregoingverses, indeed, contradict the key teaching of Jesus, pertaining to salvation,which says:"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds therighteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter theKingdom of Heaven"[56].
Christians, however, may always find ways to defend theTrinitarian heresy. They may, for instance, bank on Paul's baseless imaginationconcerning the role of Jesus: "...Christ came, who is overall, the eternallyblessed God"[57].
This is, however, absurd, knowing that there is no single,unequivocal statement in the Bible whereby Jesus himself declares: "I am God;therefore, worship me". Instead, he said: "I can of Myself do nothing. As Ihear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my own willbut the will of My father who sent Me."7 "...My Father is greater than I"[58]. "For I have not spoken ofmy own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I shouldsay and what I should speak"[59]. "And I know that His command iseverlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told me,so I speak"[60]. These arejust few of the verses which explicitly prove that Jesus (peace be upon him)claimed that he was 'sent' by God. In this regard, A Doctor of Divinity and anoted Christian professor of Church History, A. M. Renwick, himself emphasizesthat the one who is 'sent' is a messenger[61].
Paul's explicitconfession that he "separated to the Gospel of God"[62]should give Christians courage todoubt his self-made dogmas. Jesus and all the other prophets (peace be upon themall) taught the unity of God (as manifested, for instance, in Exodus 20:25;Isaiah 44:6; John 5:44, 17:3). They had never taught Paul's innovations. So, anyreverence to Paul is, perse, a rebellion against Jesus himself.
Moreover, if Saul (the other name of Paul) had, indeed,heard in a vision: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"[63]he obviously deserved this humiliatingremark, because he had, in real life, severely persecuted the true followers ofJesus. Paul himself testifies:"Indeed, I myself thought I must do many thingscontrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, andmany of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chiefpriests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And Ipunished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; andbeing exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreigncities"[64]. "For I am theleast of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called apostle, because Ipersecuted the church of God"[65].
Indeed, Paul wasan avowed enemy both of Jesus and his followers. Normative value judgment (letalone the Divine Law of God) would disqualify Paul from being an apostle,bearing in mind his known criminal background, particularly with respect to hispersecution campaign against the real followers of Jesus. Ironically, his claimto apostleship brought him to prison in Caesarea, Ro, and during one of histrials, the then Governor of Caesarea, Festus, said to him with a loud voice"Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!"[66]. In fact, he was slain for championingthe cause of his self-made Christianity. Paul's criminal records, indeed,deserved capital punishment.
Other innovations by thePauline Church include the adoption of the following: the Roman Sun-day as theChristian Sabbath; the traditional birthday of the Sun-god as the birthday ofJesus; the emblem of the Sun-god, the cross of light, to be the emblem ofChristianity; and the incorporation of all the ceremonies which were performedat the Sun-god's birthday celebrations into their own rituals[67].
[46] I Corinthians 3:10.
[47] See Michael Hart, The Top 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (New York: Hart Publishing Co., 1978).
[48] Ironically, Martin Luther himself asserts that the Pauline Epistle to the Romans is "the Most important document in the New Testament, the gospel in its purest form". See Lewis W. Spitz ed., The Protestant Reformation (New Jersey prentice -Hall, Inc., 1966), pp.36.
[49] See the section, "A Hint About the References", Reference No. 1 (d) in A. Abdel-Wahab Ali, The Christ As Seen in the Sources of the Christian Beliefs (Cairo: Wahba book Shop, 1985).
[50] Other related innovations are the divinity of Jesus, the divine sonship of Jesus and the original sin.
[51] Romans 5:9.
[52] I Peter 1:18-19.
[53] I Corinthians 11:24.
[54] I Corinthians 11:25.
[55] 2 Corinthians 12:9.
[56] Matthew 5:20.
[57] Romans 9:5.
[58] John 14:28.
[59] John 12:49.
[60] John 12:50.
[61] A. M. Renwick, The Story of the Church (Bristol: Inter-Varsity Press, 1977), p.19.
[62] Romans 1:1.
[63] Acts, 22:7.
[64] Acts, 26:9-11.
[65] I Corinthians 15:9.
[66] Acts, 26:24.
[67] Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, op. cit., p.99.
Extracts from the link:
http://www.abdurrahman.org/comprel/onenessofgodmababaya.html
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