Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity

Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity by James D. Tabor should be required reading for every Christian. I first met James in the late 1980s at a conference in Ft. Worth, Texas and I was impressed by the fact that he laid his cards on the table when it came to discussing the histories of Christianity and Judaism. James hasn’t changed. On the second page (xvi) of the preface of Paul and Jesus you will find:

“. . . the message of Paul, which created Christianity as we know it, and the message of the historical Jesus and his earliest followers, were not the same. In fact, they were sharply opposed . . .”

Anyone reading the New Testament Gospels and Paul’s Epistles critically knows that Tabor is correct. So, why will Paul and Jesus challenge the beliefs of millions of Christians? One reason can be traced back to the Niagara Bible Conference that published the “Five Points of Fundamentalism” in 1895. It stated the conference’s conclusion that there are five essential beliefs required for one to be a Christian. One of those essential beliefs is “the inerrancy of Scripture” (meaning the Christian Bible).  This belief became a cornerstone for fundamentalism and will be the obstacle standing between millions of Christians understanding the truth of Tabor’s statement above – “the message of Paul created Christianity!”

Our beliefs about the Bible affect how we understand its words. If we believe everything in our Bible is the “inerrant Scripture,” then our minds are forced to try and make everything we read in it agree – even when it clear that they don’t.  But, if we follow Tabor’s method of viewing the words of each book in their textual and historical context, we find something very different. When the Roman Church canonized the books of the New Testament they established the order in which they are now found – Gospels, Acts, Paul’s Epistles, etc. -- and this affects the way they are read and understood.

“If the New Testament writings are ordered chronologically, according to the dates the various books were written, a wholly different picture emerges, with radical and far-reaching implications” (p. 68).

The far-reaching implications include how one views life after death, the purpose of Jesus, the end of time, what is required for salvation, what salvation means, just to name a few. Paul and Jesus provides a roadmap for understanding the differences between Paul and the apostles Jesus personally chose on these and other important topics. Obviously, as Tabor points out, the question of the validity of Paul’s claim that he is an apostle is a primary issue.

The quest for the historical Jesus has been in the spotlight for the past century. Tabor turns the spotlight to “The Quest for the Historical Paul” in the Appendix of his book. He provides a wealth of information there. You will find it is a great resource for viewing Paul in light of the evidence that is known about him. Only by understanding Paul are we able to recognize his influence on the Gospels and what we know about the historical Jesus.

As I said at the opening of this article, Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity should be required reading, but not only for every Christian. It should be read by anyone affected by Christian beliefs too. I highly recommend this book. For more information about it or to order the book go to -- http://amzn.to/W96dGL