Richard’s Reviews > The Amazing Colossal Apostle: The Search for the Historical Paul > Status Update

Finished Ch 13. It seems Laodiceans and Ephesians was pieced together from other letters. This may have been intended to serve as a summary or introduction to the other letters. What is interesting is the juxtaposition of Marcionite and Catholic concepts contradicting each other on the same page.

Chapter 12: Now moving on to Galatians.

Chapter 10: 1 Corinthians is a jigsaw "Frankenstein's monster" of a mess. It seems to be various bits of writing from many writers from many point in time.

1 Corinthians isn't a single letter by a single man. It seems like theological patchwork of scraps between various Gnostic and Catholic writers. The ideas shift from Christ the redeemer through sacrifice to Christ the secret knowledge (passwords) to get passed the Archons in order to get to heaven.

Paul's Epistle to the Romans is a conglomerate, redacted, harmonized collection of bits and pieces of various writings from many authors and redactors. The list includes Marcion, perhaps the main writer, Gnostic-Paulinists, Catholic-Paulinists, Paulinists, Jewish writers, and Catholic copyists, scribes, and redactors. This Epistle might serve as an example for all of "Paul's" writings.

Were Peter, Paul, Simon Magus, Apollos, John the Baptist, and Jesus... All Christ figures? Through years of bickering and fighting, did the Jesus character win out? Did the other Christ figures become disciples, apostles, and followers in a effort to pay homage to the losers so as to incorporate their followers? Why did the question of Paul linger longer than the others? The Pauline followers just held out longer.

This last line of Chapter 6 sums it up nicely..."Traditions clash, too. Successors mount turf wars, and we will see them again and again in the Pauline letters." In the beginning, Christianity was not a single religion, as it is not now. There was constant theological battling, and priority positioning among the vast groups/sects/cults of Christianity. These battles are preserved in the New Testament.

Was Paul an historical figure? I'm suspecting not. Letter writing was a fictional genre used to make theological points. What I find interesting so far is the back and forth between the Gnostics/heretics and Catholics found in the letters. What we have preserved in the New Testament is a conglomerate pro Paul and anti Paul writings that demonstrate the struggle for power of the early church.