Conclusion
This article shows that there is no evidence that the Christianity spread by Paul was the same Christianity of the disciples in Jerusalem or was the same Christianity
that lead to the production of the Gospels. Indeed, Paul had so little interest in what the disciples had to say about Jesus that he never mentions any person, who,
according to Paul, saw Jesus while he was alive.
Indeed, Paul had so little interest in what the disciples had to say about Jesus that he couldn't be bothered to talk to most of them, even when he had made a special
trip to Jerusalem.
Paul did not regard being a companion of Jesus as anything special. As far as he was concerned, the earthly life of Jesus had no interest and being a companion of
Jesus did not mark one out as an apostle. How could this be if Jesus did all the things attributed to him in the Gospels?
Where did Paul learn all of this? Paul claims revelation. More likely, he learned from others, if not from Peter, James and John.
sonofman.org
Paul knew almost nothing about the life of Jesus (The four Gospels were not written, and Paul does not mention any events in the life of Jesus, except the Lord’s supper and resurrection. He only met Peter and James, a brother of Jesus. He made no attempt to meet any other apostles during his 15-day visit to Jerusalem in AD 39.
Among the 7 epistles that most scholars believe were written by Paul, Paul fails to mention any events:
Miracles
Parables
Birth, Mary and Joseph
The Lord's Prayer
The Transfiguration
The Sermon on the Mount
See of Galilee
Temple visit, Nazareth
Pontius Pilate
Judas Iscariot’s betrayal
Gethsemane
Son of Man
Graham Stanton (Professor of New Testament Studies in the University of London), in his book 'Gospel Truth', says that Paul's failure to refer more frequently to the actions and teaching of Jesus is 'baffling.'
Why did Paul not mention these events in the Gospels?
Paul did not hear many stories from Peter or James. He spent only 2 weeks with them. Moreover, James hardly was trained by his brother Jesus. He never followed Jesus, except possibly on one occasion. Jesus neglected his family. Most of the time, James was not a firsthand eyewitness to any major events in Jesus’ life. Thus, any story about Jesus that Paul knows is from Peter (Cephas). |
