Paul and the New Testament Canon

Response to jjensenii regarding some questions about new testament canon.

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• cjhocker
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• scripture
• canon
• christianity
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• paul
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[ENDH8]

I've read Pauls letters.He doesnt. I'm only searching 4 a path of Truth. I'm still open 2 that path either taking me closer 2 God OR "away" from Him! Could u say the same? I take it by Ur comment U'd agree that it would be odd if Paul didnt refer/quote Jesus in any of his letters. Itwould be detrimental!Please give me some passages where Paul refers/quotes Jesus miraculous birth/miracles/teachings. If I'm wrng I'll admit it. I'm looking 4 Truth. If Ur wrng I hope U can admit to it as well?

[cjhocker]

Im not exactly sure how it is you want me to explain these references you're seeking because really all you have to do is read Paul's letters. They're full of everything you claim to be not there. I'll try to point you to the most specific references you asked about earlier but honestly if you just read them you'll see that Christ's life, miracles, and teachings were all Paul wrote about. If he didn't then what did he write of??

[ENDH8]

My entire premise/point is based on ur last sentence/question: PAUL DID NOT WRITE/REFERENCE/QUOTE ANY OF CHRISTS LIFE/MIRACLES/TEACHINGS/SAYING­S!!! IN MY OPINION THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT.

I hope your Faith is not blinding you. You either sincerely do not understand my point AND/OR you simply not willing to make the effort & help me get to "know" God! I guess I will get my anwers elsewhere. Thanks for giving me your time.

[cjhocker]

Why are you in such refusal of the answers to your questions that are right there in front of your face? I dont understand. You say that Paul did not write or reference any of Christ's life, teachings, sayings, miracles, etc. As I said in my last comment, THAT IS ENTIRELY WHAT PAUL WROTE ABOUT IN HIS LETTERS. He was spreading the good news (gospel) of this Christ character.

[cjhocker]

Humor me for a moment and answer me this; What did Paul write about in his letters? Do you think that perhaps he was retelling Homer's Iliad or maybe he was the original author of Macbeth and Shakespeare is but a mere talentless plagiarizer. Pardon my sarcasm but it just seems hard for me to believe your claim that you are "truly" searching for the truth when you refuse to accept the most obvious truth laid out right in front of you.

[cjhocker]

If you are true in what you say about your search for the truth, then tell me; what do you need to see to understand that Paul's letters are a great foundation of the story of Christ.

[murrayoflight]

Brother, Paul is the tare allowed to grow with the weet, Yahwehs test, hes a liar and his own words condem him.

Brethren listen JESUS is not a heavenly holy name the name jesus was never known pre c1600 There is no "j" in Hebrew or Greek no J no jesus get it Satan has changed Yahwehs word read scripture. Do some study as YHWH commands us to study diligently daily to see if what we are told is true from his word.

[Imaginefree69]

Here's an inspired, inerrant, authoritative portion

of the Holy Word of God:

The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

2 Timothy 4:13

IE

"Bring my papers and jacket when you come."

I hope you apply this scripture to your lives

with great spiritual benefit.

Amen and amen.

[SpazzyMcGee1336]

The whole idea about the other gospels being written by people trying to ruin Christianity doesn't sound substantiated in any way. It doesn't sound plausible that the main way to attack a burgeoning religion was to create multiple entire works that only depict a certain messiah as a man.

To my knowledge when the Bible was compiled many voted to include those gospels. If there had been just a few more votes on that side Jesus would have been depicted as a man.

[weavermarkr]

Paul did write about Jesus. The most important criteria for a book to be considered as Scripture is that it was written by an apostle. Paul was an apostle. Jesus called the apostles apart for this service and gave them authority and ability by the Holy Spirit to speak the words of God. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you" (John 14:26 NASB). (speaking to the apostles)

[ENDH8]

Lastly, remember Paul writings are closest to the life/death of Jesus. It is common knowledge that Pauls writings to the various churches were essentially the "first" books of the bible. At a time when Christianity was just given birth (after Jesus died&rised) WHY did PAUL fail to write about the life of Christ? I conclude that he knew nothing of Christs life AND/OR he had an entirely different view of Christ than those who wrote the 4 Gospels.

[ENDH8]

Imagine if a student of Homer(note Ur ref 2 Homer) were sent to spread/convert people to Homer"ism" &never quoted anything from Homer? What would U think of missionaries today who go 2 Africa &never mention Jesus' life OR quoted a single verse from the Bible? Pauls letters in the NT brings doubt & adds 2 many other irreconcilable inconsistencies that I've found in the Bible. That none of the 4 Gospels included any reference of Jesus' return & "revelation(s)" to Paul is interesting at the least.

[ENDH8]

I also found mention that he spent little/no time with any of the immediate apostles of Jesus & was in also in disagreement with some of them. To me, this means Pauls entire gospel must have been received entirely to him through personal revelation (nb. as was Islam to Muhammed). U asked me "what did Paul write about?". My answer: Probably whatever he thought he received through "revelation" EVEN though it differed from the real life teachings/miracles of Jesus gospel! ).(Cont'd)

[ENDH8]

To avoid bias I didnt refer to atheists writers on this issue. I found answers in several bios on Paul by Christian/Religious theologians. They confirmed what I have been trying to get across to U. A common agreement/theme I found: "What did Paul think of the person that God had chosen to save the world..?Paul says very little about Jesus directly" &"there are 2 streams of thoughts in Paul..Neither includes what the historical Jesus did & said" (Paul:A Very Short Intro by ESanders).(Cont'd)

[ENDH8]

So I READ then REREAD the 4 Gospels & Pauls letters several times over. I reached the same conclusion. The "tie in" with U happened when I asked myself: Y were Pauls letters canonized? That's when I went on Utube one day, saw Ur posts & decided to get feedback from U as U were very articulate & seemed like a genuine good fellow human being. Unfortunately we have a miscommunication as it appears we arent on the same page. NEway, I got of my ass 2day & went to the library.(Continued-)

[ENDH8]

I am not a religious scholar or theologian so it was of particular interest to me when I later found out this was a common point of discontentment among Christian scholars/theologians. Both sides brought up points but none really won me over. I finally found a document from the early 1900s that answered my question as to why Pauls gospel was so different to Jesus' gospel. It said Paul never referenced any of Jesus's life.(Continued-)