In order to popularize Christianity in his own image which we can tell from the differences in teaching seen in Paul’s letter compared to the Gospel accounts…
…Is dumb on so many levels.
Never mind the fact that Paul didn’t gain money, power or sex (the three main drivers for starting a cult) and got persecution, physical suffering, imprisonment and execution instead.
It’s the fact that the same kind of revisionists of the Bible also hold that the Gospel were written waaaaaaay after the lifetime of Paul. This means that whoever composed the Gospels had plenty of time to undo the damage after ‘Paul the Impostle’ wasn’t around to oppose them anymore. So then, why didn’t they refute Paul’s innovations in their accounts? Why be silent and so passive about wrong teachings?
Oooooor maybe the Disciples actually went along with Paul’s revisions because it was easier and he made Christianity more acceptable and popular (and yes, someone actually proposed this when I made the points in the preceding paragraph). Again, apart from the fact that 10 of them died and 1 was exiled – ‘easier’ is not their mindset! – why did their Gospel accounts contain ‘the true teachings of Jesus which totally don’t align with what Paul said’? That defeats the purpose of joining Paul’s bandwagon.
To me, this theory is one of the least well thought-out (alongside “They stole Jesus’s body / Mass hallucinations / Swoon theory”). Walking the scenario down the road even a little bit makes the wheels fall off.
Like most alleged contradictions in the Bible, a little more investigation would clear up the issue as simple bad interpretation.
THE SCOTTTCAST 