Was Paul of Tarsus Mentally Ill?

[guno]

Paul of Tarsus For the origin of the doctrine of atonement, one does not go to the teachings of Jesus, but instead to the words of Paul, the true founder of Christianity; in teachings of present Christian terms and practices. Like many Jews, Paul had no use for the teachings of Jesus, and he himself persecuted the followers of Jesus for their unorthodox beliefs. This zealous persecutor was turned into an ardent preacher, however, through a sudden conversion around 35 CE. Paul claimed that a resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a vision, thereby, choosing Paul as his instrument for carrying his teachings to the Gentiles (Gal. 1:11; 12:15,16). Paul's credibility in any capacity is questionable, however, when considering that: (1) there are four contradictory versions of his so-called "conversion" (Acts 9:3-8; 22:6-10; 26:13-18; Gal. 1:15-17); God says, in passages such as Num. 12:6, Deut. 18:20 and Ez. 13:8-9, that revelations come ONLY from Him, and accounts of numerous disagreements between the other disciples and Paul regarding his teachings are recorded in Acts. Experience and observation had taught Paul that preaching among the Jews was not feasible; he, therefore, chose to go to the non-Jews. - Paul's writings take up 50% of the NT, about 80,000 words but...... - Paul never met Jesus in person. - Paul never heard of Mary - Paul never heard of Joseph - Paul never heard of Bethlehem - Paul never heard of Herod - Paul never heard of John the Baptist. - Paul never heard of any of Jesus' miracles. - Paul didn't know anything Jesus said. - Paul didn't know Jesus has a ministry. - Paul doesn't mention any entrance to Jerusalem. - Paul never mentions Pontius Pilate or any mob - Paul doesn't mention any trial of Jesus.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[deltex1]

No...but Rdean is.

 

[amrchaos]

I don't know if Paul was mentally ill, but he does seem to be the focus of some kooky claims--including one in which Paul is accused of promoting a cosmic Jesus that never came to earth!!

Talk about undermining the gospels integrity--with crazy Sh**!!

Here, I tend to leave the NT alone. Discussions about Paul tend to be a bit disturbing.

 

[Indeependent]

What about Paul of Liverpool?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Paul of Tarsus For the origin of the doctrine of atonement, one does not go to the teachings of Jesus, but instead to the words of Paul, the true founder of Christianity; in teachings of present Christian terms and practices. Like many Jews, Paul had no use for the teachings of Jesus, and he himself persecuted the followers of Jesus for their unorthodox beliefs. This zealous persecutor was turned into an ardent preacher, however, through a sudden conversion around 35 CE. Paul claimed that a resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a vision, thereby, choosing Paul as his instrument for carrying his teachings to the Gentiles (Gal. 1:11; 12:15,16). Paul's credibility in any capacity is questionable, however, when considering that: (1) there are four contradictory versions of his so-called "conversion" (Acts 9:3-8; 22:6-10; 26:13-18; Gal. 1:15-17); God says, in passages such as Num. 12:6, Deut. 18:20 and Ez. 13:8-9, that revelations come ONLY from Him, and accounts of numerous disagreements between the other disciples and Paul regarding his teachings are recorded in Acts. Experience and observation had taught Paul that preaching among the Jews was not feasible; he, therefore, chose to go to the non-Jews. - Paul's writings take up 50% of the NT, about 80,000 words but...... - Paul never met Jesus in person. - Paul never heard of Mary - Paul never heard of Joseph - Paul never heard of Bethlehem - Paul never heard of Herod - Paul never heard of John the Baptist. - Paul never heard of any of Jesus' miracles. - Paul didn't know anything Jesus said. - Paul didn't know Jesus has a ministry. - Paul doesn't mention any entrance to Jerusalem. - Paul never mentions Pontius Pilate or any mob - Paul doesn't mention any trial of Jesus.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Better question is was John, author of Revelations? He was banished to an island afterall. Let's see if what he then wrote about, and took a while before the Church agreed to canonize it into the Bible, reveals any odd thinking patterns...