APOSTLE PAUL: THE LIE THAT
FOREVER CHANGED THE WORLD
When
I tell my friends that there is no way Paul could be a disciple because at the
time Jesus walked among men, Paul was either a toddler or yet unborn; they
looked at me as if I was from another planet. They didn't know. When I tell
them that Paul was in fact the original anti-Christ, they think I am just being
mean. I have yet to meet a Christian who knows the real story of Saul who later
changed his name to Paul when he founded Christianity. Followers of the
Christian faith believe…wrongly that Jesus was the founder of Christianity.
Jesus according to the Bible was a Jewish reformer. He did not come to bring a
new religion.
I
always wonder why laymen and priests, televangelists and preachers refer to
Saul as the Apostle Paul. I used to go to church with friends, listen to
preachers and watch evangelists on the screen and in my younger days, I always
believe that Paul was one of the 12. I grew up with Christian friends. They are
the best of friends I ever had, then and now. I read the 4 gospels of the Bible
long before I ever lay my hand on an English translation of the Qur'an. When I
discovered the Beast 666 in the beginning of the Gulf War, I read the bible and
in Saudi Arabia of all places. At least after one reading, I can modestly say
that I know more about the Bible than most Christians I know. Philippine is the
catholic bastion in Asia but rarely could you find anyone who has read the Old
Testament. They pick up their knowledge from here and there.
After
Jesus had left, his followers campaigned intensely to bring about the reforms
that Jesus wanted in the Jewish religion. He wanted to restore the religion to
its pristine beauty and remove the corruption that men wrought upon the faith.
Religion is no different from monumental edifices that are subject to the
ravages of time. Men of greed are known in all ages to manipulate the message
as they see fit to achieve personal agenda most often driven by love for power,
fame and fortune. It is the reason prophets come and go to cleanse the faith
from the dusts of time and evil of men. The Jesus' men were dividing the Jewish
hierarchy that threatened to destabilize the house of David. The job of Saul
was to spy on Jesus' followers and had them thrown into Jail or murdered but
they were unstoppable.
The
greatest threat was the appeal of Jesus' reforms to the Gentiles. The Jews were
terrified that the gentiles will embrace the Jewish religion and with the
reforms that Jesus’ followers were bringing to the faith, Judaism was truly at
the brink.
There
is no doubt that the story of Jesus was a recycled divine myth that had worked
so well before Jesus came into the scene. If there was any one or any group
knowledgeable of the divine myths, it was the Jewish people. They are not only
geniuses; they are the keeper of the books. I don't doubt for a moment that
there was a prophet named Esau or Joshua that later evolved to become Jesus.
The gentiles needed a hero, a god so the Jewish priesthood gave them Jesus but
there had to be someone who can deliver the message. Saul was unqualified
because he was persecuting Jesus' followers but the Jews were cunning geniuses.
By transforming Jesus into a god, his mission to reform the Jewish religion was
doomed. If they didn't, there would have been bloodshed comparable to the river
of blood that flowed in the history of Christianity when Catholics and
Protestants parted ways or when Moslems divided into the Sunnis and the
Shiites.
They
converted Saul into a repentant saint and by fabricating the story on the road
to Damascus; they made him the 13th disciple and changed his name to Paul. The
Jewish conspirators made it sure that all Jewish names associated with the new
religion are replaced with gentile names including Jesus’ real name. Their
hatred of Jesus bordered on the extreme maintaining to this day that he was the
bastard son of a Roman soldier and yet Christians always treat the Jews as
God’s divine family. In the family feud between Ishmael and Isaac’s generations,
Christians always take the side of the Jews no matter how wrong they are. In
USA, the most influential lobbyists for Israel aside from the AIPAC in the
corridors of power are Christian fundamentalist groups. What Israel wants,
Israel gets.
According to Saul (later Paul), he was on a mission to Damascus
for the high priest of Jerusalem. We don't know what the mission was but along
the road, he claimed to have seen Jesus in a vision.
YOU BE THE JUDGE:
Now
as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven
flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me?" And he said, "Who
are you Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,
but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." Then
men who were travelling with him stood speechless HEARING
THE VOICE BUT SEEING NO ONE. Acts 9:3-7
As
I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from
heaven shone about me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me,
"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And I
answered, "Who are you Lord?" and he said to me,
"I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting." NOW
THOSE WHO WERE WITH ME SAW THE LIGHT BUT DID NOT HEAR THE VOICE OF THE ONE WHO
WAS SPEAKING TO ME. And I said, "What shall I do, Lord?" And
the Lord said to me, "Rise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all
that is appointed for you to do." Acts 22:6-10
Thus
I journey to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priest. At
midday, O King, I saw on the way A LIGHT FROM HEAVEN, BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN,
SHINNING round me and those who journey with me. And WHEN WE
HAD ALL FALLEN TO THE GROUND, I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew language,
"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It hurts to kick
against the goads.” And I said, "Who are you, Lord?” And he
Lord said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand
upon your feet; for I have appear to you for this, to appoint you to serve and
bear witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I
will appear to you. Delivering you from the people and from the gentiles to
whom I send to you to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to
light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of
sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Acts
26:12-18
In
the first, SAUL'S COMPANIONS HEARD THE VOICE BUT DID NOT SEE THE LIGHT and in
the second, THE COMPANIONS SAW THE LIGHT BUT DID NOT HEAR THE VOICE (opposite) and in the third, THEY
ALL FELL TO THE GROUND.
Saul obviously processed the story as he saw fit but even then, he must have a
very poor memory for narrating the same fantasy story very differently at
different times. If it were an actual event, not a lie, the story would have
been more consistent because the memory imprint will be more permanent,
unvaried like a video being replayed every time.
I wonder how for two thousand years, billions of the dead and the living
believed an obvious lie. "WHY ARE YOU TELLING THESE PEOPLE THAT I SPOKE TO YOU WHEN
I DIDN'T?" or something like it, Jesus asked Paul in the Scorsese movie, THE
LAST TEMPTATION OF JESUS CHRIST. Paul was on an elevated platform telling
the story to a crowd that Jesus heard. Paul looked at Jesus and flinging his
arm towards the crowd, "TELL THEM, (that I am lying)" he
challenged and walked away, his laughter piercing the ear of a dumbfounded
Jesus.
The
movie by the way was banned in the Philippines. I saw the beta max tape in the
mid 80's and believe it or not…in Saudi Arabia of all places. In the movie,
Jesus married Marry Magdalene and had children which was a fiction of course
but not if you have read or seen the movie; THE DAVINCI CODE.
(No offense meant for my Christian friends)
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