The more I get through Paul's various letters, the more i feel that Christianity could fairly be called "Paulism". Anyone else feel the same?

@LordShadowfire Could well be. How did he get to be a Roman citizen in the first place and who was the dude that interceded on his behalf when he was arrested? Paul must have had some powerful friends in high places...

@walabby I don't know, but my pet theory is that he was so grateful for that, that when killing followers of Yeshua didn't work, he agreed to go undercover and pretend to have spoken to the spirit of Yeshua himself. He then rose to a position of power in the church, and permanently changed the direction of the movement, thus preventing an uprising that would have destroyed the Romans' grip on the middle east.

@LordShadowfire I agree with the possibility of the first half of that, but there was an uprising anyway which the Romans brutally put down in AD70, resulting in the total destruction of the temple except for the foundations. There was another uprising in AD137, resulting in the Jews being banned from Israel, hence the diaspora.

@walabby I had forgotten that. Still, I think that was his purpose.

Wow! I’d thought I’d heard every ignorant statement but that surpasses all! Your proof? @LordShadowfire