Was Paul of Tarsus the Founder of Christianity?

Was Paul of Tarsus the Founder of Christianity?

The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the facts surrounding the contributions made by Paul of Tarsus on the origins of Christianity and his role as one of the traditions foundational figures. I will approach the problem from the perspective religious landscape of the eastern Mediterranean world of Paul’s time. I consider development of the Jesus myth, the development of Jewish and Gentile churches, the Pagan Mysteries, Hellenistic Judaism, the Pauline milieu and their relation to one another. From these sources I will draw a conclusion that is consistent with the facts presented herein.

Some things to consider before we move forward are; the designation “Christianity” was not ever applied to the movement during the lifetime of Jesus. In fact it was not until it had been “identified both internally and externally as something new” that the term came to prominence. (Ludemann, 213).

Before we take up Paul we need to examine the foundational personage of the tradition. Jeshua ben Yusef was an itinerant Rabbi, an apocalyptic prophet, a teacher of wisdom, a political subversive and a Jew. The historical Jeshua we encounter in the synoptics was all this and much more, what we do not find contained within them is Jeshua represented as God or Godman. Jeshua never claimed for himself the unique nature that was attributed to him by Paul and the Pauline Christians. We can discern some of the development of myths surrounding Jeshua in the chronological progression of the Gospels. In Mark, he was a traveling miracle worker and healer, in much the same manner as similar personages who wandered the Mediterranean world healing the sick and raising the dead. In Matthew, he was a messianic figure of the Jewish tradition, come in the fulfillment of prophecy. In Luke, he has been transformed into the savior of the entire world. By the time we leave the synoptics and engage him in the Johannine text he has become “the word” or the “logos,” a creator deity, co-eternal with God “through which all things were made.” In the course of a few generations Rabbi Jeshua ben Yusef’s legacy had been transformed, he was now Jesus the Christ, both God and Man, the savior of the world.

After the death of Jesus the church transformed, and out of this refiners fire emerged many divergent paths, containing often contradictory approaches to understanding Jesus and adhering to “The Way.” From the earliest days of the early church we can see two traditions within the larger body. This is suitably illustrated in the tension visible between Peter and Paul at Antioch and again in the Trial of Paul, both found in The Book of Acts. From at least this point forward we can divide the entire body into two broader approaches, the Jerusalem Church, which contained many of Jesus’ earliest followers, and was led by “James the brother of the Lord.” And, a Gentile Church developed through Paul’s committed missionary activity amongst the pagans peoples of the Hellenic world. (Ludemann, Acts of the apostles) The Jerusalem Church was initially the larger and more influential of the two but was to suffer greatly at the hands of the Empire during the First Jewish War. This, coupled with the great successes reaped by its missionary efforts, led to the primacy of the Gentile Church within the broader Christian community. (Macaby 174)

One group remained through which we can continue to see the teachings of the Jewish Jesus in place, the Ebionites, remnants of the Jerusalem Church who managed to survive and reconstitute themselves after their defeat at the hands of the Flavians. They held fast to their Jewish heritage, uninfluenced by the theological currents of the Gentile Church, a small marginalized sect within a rapidly growing Gentile Church. Ebionites held both faith in Jesus as Christ and in the Law. They were circumcised, kept the Torah, and taught that Jesus, though crucified and raised, was only human. (Fredrickson-JtoC 213)(Macaby 176). They taught that followers of “The Way” must convert to Judaism as the first step in following Jesus. Paul vehemently opposed these Jewish Christians wherever he encountered them. As early as the Epistle to the Galatians we find Paul challenging those he considered “evil and dogs” and proclaiming that “they taught a different Jesus from him. (Freke and gandy J and L Goddess29-30). After the sack of Jerusalem and their subsequent scattering the Jewish Christians never recovered their position of prominence. But they do give us an important benchmark for understanding the development of the Jesus Movement of first century Judaism into the Christ figure of Pauline Christianity.

Both traditions were placed firmly within the religious landscape of the Pagan world, a rich tapestry of syncretistic religious expression. In cities across this landscape there were many temples dedicated to the Civic Religion of the State, some honored the Emperor, others to the Genius of the city, and still others to the Games and more. Civic Religion was crafted to promote civic unity, a sense of community and loyalty amongst citizens. Public expressions of religion were understood in much the same way as we understand them when saying the Pledge of Allegiance or singing our national anthem. While these types of religious expressions were quite successful in fulfilling the goals for which they were developed, they did little to edify the spiritual life of the individual. Towards that end, Pagan religious expression provided the Mystery religions which ministered to the spiritual needs of the individual and pertained to individual salvation. Mystery religions came in many forms but amongst the consistently most popular forms of expression was the Godman motif.

This Godman myth can be found within the earliest religious texts available to us. Within them we find the myth of Osiris, the God who became man, who walked Egypt teaching religion and giving sage advice. Put to death by evil, he is restored and ascends to heaven ( Freke and Gandy the laugh Jesus 55). Early Egyptians believed that those who worshiped and adhered to his teachings would receive eternal life for themselves. It is a tale of a god who was also a man, teaching eternal truths and teaching of eternal life. It was compelling to its hearers and spread itself across the Levant and beyond. In each region the Mystery entered, it adapted itself to the unique cultural characteristics present, manifesting itself in many guises, especially adapted to the needs of local adherents. In Greece the Godman of the Mysteries was called Dionysus, in Asia Minor he’s called Attis, in Syria we find Adonis, in Alexandra its Serapis, he is found in one form or another throughout the Hellenized Levant. We find many attributes shared amongst the Godmen; attribution of virgin birth, proclaimed as savior and god in the flesh, born in a cave, he collects 12 intimate followers, promotes baptismal rituals, water is turned to wine , rises from the dead and ascends in glory, a ritual meal even a triumphal procession on the back of a donkey. (Ibid 56) Perhaps the most important aspect was an understanding that through a “symbolic sharing in the suffering and death of the Godman, initiates of the mysteries believed they would also share in his spiritual resurrection and know eternal life.” (ibid 57)

Hellenistic Judaism had taken full advantage of the common cultural threads binding the Hellenized east. Benefiting from the nearly universal use of Koine, with the support of the Ptolomaids, the Hellenistic Jews of Alexandria developed a Greek translation of the Torah, the Septuagint which borrowed from the Greek concepts of the day such as the logos. (fredrickson jesus to Christ 14). Using this text and the lens of Hellenism individuals such as Philo of Alexandria sought to emphasize an allegorical interpretation of scripture to reveal sacred truths, much in the same way Greeks had been viewing their own myths since the fourth century BCE. (ibid) The Jews of the Hellenized east joined in the syncretistic religious environment present at the time, adapting, adopting and sharing religious and philosophical understandings with the peoples around them. The Greek world also gained from the exchange. Plato, Socrates and others had known of the Torah from earlier translations. In fact, the Greeks eagerly sought out Jewish gnosis and revered the antiquity of their religion (ibid). The lines between philosophy and religion, Hellenized Jew and other Hellenized peoples were blurring as people and ideas crossed the shrinking boundaries that separated them.

As the Mystery traditions made their way through the communities of the Hellenized east, some Jews adapted its principles to their needs. In the Jewish lands we find the Essenes and the Therapeutae, who were described by Philo of Alexandria as two parts of a single school of philosophy. They were esoteric, Mystery flavored traditions steeped in Gnosticism. They claimed to have received secret esoteric teachings from Moses which allowed them to reveal the sacred allegorical myths found within the Torah. They also followed the teachings of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras, whose teachings the historian Josephus compared to those of the Essenes. The fusion of Jewish and Pagan religious expression was already well under way even as Rabbi Jeshua walked Galilee.

Paul of Tarsus was a Hellenized Jew and possibly a citizen of Rome. He certainly seems to have been comfortable moving within the Greek world. When quoting scripture he seems to have drawn upon the Greek Septuagint exclusively. He spends a great deal of time amongst Pagans, visiting some of the largest cities of the pagan east. His missionary activity took place within some of the greatest centers for the Mysteries in the Mediterranean world. In these great religious centers Paul would have encountered a Godman figure akin to his own Christ.

In Antioch we find the Mysteries of Adonis, in Ephesus we find the Mysteries of Attis, Corinth was the home of the Dionysian Mysteries, and Paul’s own home, Tarsus, was a world center of Pagan Philosophy and the place of origin for the Mystery of Attis. It would have been nigh to impossible for Paul not to have been aware of the many similitudes between the surrounding Mystery traditions. In fact it appears that Paul borrowed heavily from them. Much of the unique Pauline vocabulary can be directly connected to the sacred terminology of the Mystery Religions. We find Doxa/glory, Sophia/wisdom, Gnosis/divine knowledge, Pneuma/Spirit, Teleioi/the initiated, and many other terms directly borrowed from the Mysteries and incorporated into Pauline writings. He is even quoting a fellow a Tarsian, the Pagan Aratus when describing God “in whom we live and move and have our being.” (Freke Gandy jesus mysteries 162). Paul, in the tradition of Philo, seems to have borrowed freely from the religions around him and appears to have leaned heavily upon them in the development of his theology. Paul had developed a Mystery-based theology built upon the allegorical interpretation of the foundational documents of Judaism and viewed through the contemporary religious paradigm, the Mystery Religions. Paul preached this message in the very metropolitan centers where his message would be understood and readily accepted.

Referring to the Mystery Religions Macaby states “It was from the latter that Paul derived his idea of Jesus as a dying and resurrected god, who confers salvation and immortality through the mystic sharing of his death and resurrection. (Macaby 195) Paul has given us a Jewish Godman. Taking the real life of Rabbi Yeshua and adding to it layers of the Mystery tradition, he provided a Godman with a distinctly Jewish flavor. (Jesus Myth 194-95) This Jewish Godman was ready for exportation to, and consumption by, the Graeco-Judaeo communities of the Greek world.

As I ponder my conclusions I consider Paul’s teachings did not long outlive him, the forces he had put into motion continued to move away from the Mystery at its center. The focus moved towards the so-called “outer mysteries” of a literal understanding of religious texts and away from the Mystery based allegorical understandings of myth. The forces of literalism moved steadily forward, when opposed by dissenting voices within the church their opponents are quickly ostracized by powerful Bishops. Even as influential a voice as Valentinus was drowned out by the voices of literalism and consigned to condemnation. The movement towards literalism, hierarchal structure, and persecution of differing expressions of faith reached a high point when Constantine pulled the church onto the global stage, bending it the purposes of the state, and establishing a universal creed enumerating proscribed Christian beliefs. Those who remained loyal to Paul’s vision were pushed aside labeled heretical and persecuted into extinction.

So, can Paul be considered the founder of Christianity? The evidence is far from definitive. But, when we examine the material contextually we find volumes of circumstantial evidence which, when viewed objectively, must have had some influence on Christian origins. Perhaps with Jeshua, Paul should be considered one of two foundational figures, twin pillars. The spiritual teachings both men espoused, combined to create a religious force, brought about by a symbiotic fusion of their individual positions. The result was a more powerful and dynamic religious movement than either had achieved on their own. The foundational doctrinal teachings they preached continued to grow and develop long after the passing of the foundational figures themselves. This faith has developed into something beyond the imagination or comprehension of either foundational pillar. It has proved itself time and time again to be a force that still grows, develops, and stretches the human imagination even today.