The jesuswordsonly article that I am putting up today is one of the reasons why I like Paul. Paul is simply, in my opinion, a brilliantly blinding gem of a bad guy. If I ever am able to write a storyline for a comic series, one of those characters will be about Paul. Paul reminds me so much of that emperor guy in ‘Star Wars.’ You know, the guy that was leading the senate and then took power and killed all the jedi. Ok, so it doesn’t go into that kind of gore with the false apostle, at least not in this article, but this article is a perfect example of how a man can single handedly use a divide and conquer technique vs. ‘society.’ Even though Paul was an underhanded liar and manipulator, we can at least give him credit for being talented at it.
*************************************************************************************
Did Paul Ever Deliberately Lie in Court?
I generally do not subscribe to the view that Paul lied deliberately about anything let alone in court. Of course, I accept Paul's own admission of a deliberate lie in Romans 3:7 and use of guile (deception) in 2 Cor. 12:16 to advance the gospel. However, beyond Paul making an admission of lying or deceit for such purposes, I am generally skeptical of claims Paul lied.
But Paul says we should trust his words when quoting Jesus in revelation speaking to Paul, meaning Paul is speaking as a prophet (e.g., 2 Cor. 12:7). As a result, Jesus says we must test Paul “by his fruits” to determine whether he is a true or false prophet.(Matt 7:16.)
Thus even though I am skeptical that Paul lied, especially for selfish motives, and thus had “bad fruit,” I keep an open mind to hear the evidence that this is the case. I believe Paul was a dupe about the Damascus appearance of “Jesus,” and that this was sincere. (See link.) This does not prevent me from agreeing with the arguments in Problems with Apostle Paul when it declares the following are Paul's lies - which I am taking from its History of Paul article. I am excerpting a section where the author claims Paul lied before the Sanhedrin -- a court of law. So let's examine the accusation, and then test it below. We read:
Paul said that when the law was still in force, faith had not yet come, Galatians 3:23. However, he contradicts this in Romans 4:3, 22. Which way is it?
Paul defended a lie because it ‘glorifies God’ and he wondered why he was judged a sinner, Romans 3:7. He was caught lying and tried to wriggle out of it with a song and dance. He doesn’t seem to grasp that a lie is a lie, and never does it glorify Yahweh. Why does Paul keep insisting he’s not deceitful and does not lie? Romans 9:1, II Corinthians 11:31, Galatians 1:20, Philippians 1:18, I Thessalonians 2:1-12, I Timothy 2:7. Why are the real apostles not accused of lying as Paul is? Ask yourself this: Would Yahoshua (Jesus) lie ‘for the glory of God’ as Paul did? I think not!
Paul lied before the Sanhedrin, Acts 23:6-7. He said he was ‘called into question for the hope and resurrection of the dead.’ This was strictly a divide and conquer ploy with no basis in reality. The truth of the matter is he was called into question on account of his anti-Torah teachings, found in Acts 21:27-28.
Let's just focus on whether Paul lied before the Sanhedrin as charged.
Did Paul Lie Before the Sanhedrin?
Acts 23:6-7 (KJV) contains this supposed lie:
6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
Why did this happen? Luke explains the two sects opposed each other over this doctrine:
8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) (Acts 23:8 NIV).
What can we say then about whether Paul lied in court?
It is clear here that Paul wilfully lied in violation of a divine law. And this was to protect his skin, and not to advance the gospel of Jesus, who Paul never even mentions.
Calvin, the famous early reformer of the 1500s, essentially admitted this in his discussion about Paul's appearance before the Sanhedrin: "For the astuteness, which he used, was closely related to a feint, that was not far removed from lying...." (Mark Douglas Given, Paul's True Rhetoric: Ambiguity, Cunning and Deception (2001) at 81, quoting Calvin).
Calvin further commented that: "Paul's stratagem, seems out of keeping with a servant of Christ." Id. Calvin explained why it was a lie: "He [i.e., Paul] says the circumstances of his case turn on the resurrection of the dead. But we know the issue was about other matters, that he abrogated the ceremonies, and admitted the gentiles into the covenant of the Gentiles." Id.
I concur, but I would correct Calvin this far: the charges involved Paul admitting a gentile into the Temple who was uncircumcised, to be more precise.
What else indicates Paul was lying in the court? Luke himself makes this clear by giving us the full context.
Luke virtually tells us expressly that Paul is lying as a stratagem, revealing how Paul deliberately made up a different charge than the one that brought Paul there. Luke explicitly identifies Paul's motive in saying what he is saying as a ploy. Luke reveals Paul chose to claim the issue upon which Paul was being tried involved something which Paul knew would divide the court members into two fighting factions. Luke even gives us details about the strategy of Paul. Paul sensed "one part" were Sadducees and one part were Pharisees. So Paul claimed he was a Pharisee on trial over his hope and belief in a doctrine which Pharisees held, namely that there will be a resurrection from the dead. This very issue, Luke says, divided the Pharisees from the Sadducees. The Sadducees denied there was any resurrection of the dead. Thus, in Acts 23:6-7, when Paul says he is on trial about the issue of his belief in the resurrection, Luke explains the Pharisees raised an instant fracas in favor of Paul.
The true charge upon which Paul was "called into question" was stated earlier by Luke in Acts 21:27 (KJV):
28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
As we discuss in our article Trophimus, these charges led to Paul being arrested on a charge that he brought an uncircumcised Gentile into the Temple area where uncircumcised Gentiles were prohibited to enter. In Luke's account in Acts chs. 21-22, Paul provided an alibi for the time of Trophimus' entry in an uncircumcised state at the Temple -- Paul said he was involved in a ceremonial washing at the time, and thus did not introduce Trophimus into the prohibited area. Hence, it was untrue that Paul was taken before the Sanhedrin to be tried on a charge that Paul believed in the resurrection from the dead.
Thus, beyond doubt, Paul lied in a court of law. It was deliberately done to change the issue, and divide the Court. It was no accident. Luke makes that clear. As Werner's Bible Commentary admits even while apologizing for Paul at every turn: "Moreover, he was fully aware of the opposing views to which the Pharisees and Sadducees adhered. So it appears that he deliberately chose to set the members of the court against one another...." ("Acts 23:1-35," Werner's Bible Commentary.) As Visual Bible Alive simply notes: "In this story, Paul deliberately spoke about his belief in the resurrection so he would cause a division between the Pharisees and the Sadducees." ("Pharisees and Sadducees," Visual Bible Alive.) Loveday Alexander in 2007 similarly wrote:
"The Sanhedrin hearing is deliberately highjacked by Paul into a theological debate on the resurrection (23.6-8)." (Loveday Alexander, Acts in its Ancient Literary Context (Continuum, 2007) at 200.)
As Hyam Maccoby says, Paul's use of the resurrection issue demonstrated "great presence of mind," but at the same time it involved "a distinct lack of scruple to play on this situation to escape condemnation." (Hyman Maccoby, The Mythmaker (1986) at 165.)
Here's the nub of the problem: this is a courtroom scene. The Sanhedrin is a court for religious crimes. "The ancient Jewish court system was called the Sanhedrin." (Shira Schoenberg, The Sanhedrin.)
The Ten Commandments prohibit bearing false testimony. This means you cannot lie in court. See "False Witness," Wikipedia. (This is not to permit lying outside of court, but by being placed on the Two Tablets, God put the highest injunction against lying when it takes place in court.)
Jesus equally condemned giving false testimony (in court): "According to Jesus, false testimony comes from the sinful desires of the heart and makes people unclean." ("False Witness," Wikipedia, citing Matt 15:18-19.) Also: "According to the New Testament, Jesus explains that obedience to the prohibition against false testimony from the ten commandments is a requirement for eternal life." Id., citing Matt 19:19; Mark 10:19; and Luke 18:20.
In Matt 15:18-19, we read:
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies
In Matthew 19, Jesus was asked what good thing one could do to inherit eternal life, and among the behaviors Jesus required was not bearing false witness:
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Nowhere in the Bible is lying in court excused, even if one believes there is a greater good achieved by lying. Jesus told us to wait for the Holy Spirit and God will give us the words we need when we are charged before judges and courts. Would the Holy Spirit have devised a lie as the solution? I think not.
Thus, indeed Paul deliberately lied before the Sanhedrin - a court of law.
Whether it is justified or not is not the issue. Someone might analogize it to Rahab's lies to protect the spies. However, this is not an excuse to lie in Court. Nor were we ever told Rahab's lie was justified, although we generally surmise it is so to protect the life of the spies.
Regardless, Paul is here proven to be a false witness, and stands in violation of the Ten Commandments, as clearly indicated by Luke.
Paulinist Rebuttals
Tektonics attempts to rebut this view, shared by Scott Nelson. (I wrote the above before reading Scott's article, which is at this link.)
And before Tektonics gets into a nitty-gritty response, it will say there is such a thing as an honourable lie, and say Jesus even committed this:
Our first chapter of consideration [from Scott Nelson] begins by claiming to find "outright bold-faced lies" perpetrated by Paul. One can well imagine the discord that would follow any explanation of the concept of an honorable lie, such as even Jesus committed, but we'll let that pass. ("Scott Nelson's Judaism v. Christianity, a Critique.")
This typifies Pauline defences where they are willing to throw Jesus under the bus if necessary to save Paul. J.P. Holding did the same to try to undercut my arguments that Paul exercised improper cursing-judgments. Holding claimed Jesus used cursing-judgments too (e.g., "Woe Corazin! Woe Capernaum!"), but of course Jesus is assigned by the Father as the judge of the world, so Jesus can so judge where Paul cannot. See link. (Also, I would not say Jesus used 'curses' / anathemas, as did Paul, contrary to what Mr. Holding asserted.)
Moreover, Tektonic's claims Jesus lied (as a means to excuse Paul) at John 7:8-10 where Jesus merely states his intention not to go to a feast but then he goes anyway. However, one cannot be guilty of a lie about a fact when one merely states an intention and then changes that intention. Nor was Jesus under oath. Thus, Tektonics' example is terrible. You also see how desperate they are to throw Jesus under the bus to save Paul if we perceive Paul deliberately lied under oath.
Regardless, if Tektonics could show Jesus lied in the same way that Paul did -- in court, then Jesus too must be rejected. God's law does not cease to exist because we love Jesus. But Jesus never lied in court. Jesus was mostly quiet and once said He was the Son of Man and would return on the clouds of heaven. Hence, Tektonics made a bogus allusion to our Lord sinning -- God forbid! -- so Tektonics could save Paul -- to prejudice us to excuse Paul if we thought we must find a similar excuse for our Jesus if we believed Tektonics that he too lied.
Next, Tektonics comes to the passage at issue. Tektonics quotes Acts 23:6-7 as follows:
But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!" And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. [World English Bible]
The term "I am being judged" means Paul identifies the issue in question is whether Paul believed in the resurrection as the Pharisees maintained. This is important because Tektonics will twist the passage around to eliminate that point.
The fact Paul identifies the issue involved in the trial as his belief in the resurrection is clear in all competing versions. The Parallel Bible of this verse (see link) says "I am on trial because" ... This is also the translation in the NIV, NLV, ESV, NASB, and ISV. Hence, there is no doubt that Paul is saying he is on trial or to be judged on his hope and belief in the doctrine of the resurrection -- which Luke then explains divides the Pharisees from the Sadducees on the court.
Finally, here is how Tektonics answers Nelson's charge that Paul lied to the Sanhedrin court:
While this is correctly seen as "a divide-and-conquer ploy" it is wrongly stated that "there was not one shred of truth" otherwise, for Paul, it is said, was not "being judged on the issue of the resurrection of the dead..." And Paul says no such thing to begin with. Paul says he has come to trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead, because of his belief in this happening, which is quite true: It is his proclamation of the hope in Jesus that led to him being on trial.
Thus, according to Tektonics, Paul supposedly does not say he is being judged on the issue of the resurrection of the dead which the Pharisees held. (Check what Paul says by reading above -- Paul says he is a Pharisee, and then immediately says he is being judged / tried because of his "hope and belief" in the resurrection.) Oh no! Tektonics says that is wrong, and instead Paul is on trial because of Paul's belief in the resurrection which is then redefined as supposedly Paul's proclamation of Jesus / his "hope in Jesus."
This is incorrect reasoning.
First, the meaning of Paul's words were understood by the audience that the trial was supposedly about whether Paul erred in believing in the resurrection of the dead -- an issue under controversy between Pharisees and Sadducees. Luke lets you know this. So there is no doubt Paul was identifying the issue involved in the trial was his belief as a Pharisee in the doctrine of the resurrection, which Sadducees rejected. Paul never says that he is on trial for his "hope in Jesus," as Tektonics recategorizes Paul's words.
Second, it would still be a lie if Paul had the meaning Tektonics ascribes to Paul, implausible as it is. Paul was not on trial at all over the issue of his belief in Jesus. Rather, it was whether he led Trophimus into the temple in an uncircumcised state. He did or did not do that. Belief in Jesus was never the issue in point. Tektonics is unwittingly helping to prove that regardless of how you try to escape this passage, Paul lied. There is no plausible escape from that fact.
Tektonics goes on to claim there is uncertainty over what Paul was previously charged with. Tektonics claims that the proof of the charge in Acts 21 depends upon the supposedly flimsy evidence of a mob claim. In restating that claim, Tektonics omits that the 'mob' claim included the charge of letting uncircumcised Gentiles into the temple. This does not deserve any lengthy response because from Acts 21 to 26 Paul is involved in numerous court proceedings over the allegation of the violation of the Temple grounds. The so-called mob is Luke's telling us what led to the arrest, and of this there is no doubt. It certainly did not involve Paul's belief in Jesus nor of the resurrection of the dead. And therein rests the proof of the lie.
Conclusion
Paul violated a command which Jesus said one must not violate to have eternal life.
Thus, clearly Paul had a bad fruit within the meaning of Matthew 7:15-20 (KJV) where we read:
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Hence, Jesus gave us the measure by which to determine whether Paul is a true or false prophet -- as Paul proclaimed he spoke the 'Lord's' words on several occasions -- by examining such fruit. If the fruit of Paul is a deliberate false testimony in court after his supposed true conversion event outside Damascus in Acts 9, I very much believe this is the kind of fruit Jesus would say justifies dismissing Paul's words as inspired from our minds and Bibles.
Please remember, we are not addressing here the salvation of Paul. Of course, Paul could have repented, but we never hear anything about that from Luke. Hence, we have to think Paul was satisfied within himself that he caused the ruckus, and never thought he needed to undo this lie. If Paul died unrepentant of this sin, we feel sorry for Paul.
The Nail in the Coffin. Four years after writing this article, I found that Paul lies again in court in Acts 26:19-23 about the very same issue, contradicting his own claim in Acts 23! This time Paul is testifying in front of King Agrippa about why he was seized in the first place for wrongdoing at the temple. Instead of telling Agrippa the truth was because he supposedly brought Trophimus into the Temple in an uncircumcised state, Paul said it was because he was preaching a gospel of "works worthy of repentance." WOW! That does not even make sense in light of Paul's epistles. Doesn't Paul preach instead a Gospel of "faith, not works." (Eph 2:8-9.) Paul never seems to be able to speak in a straight manner. Here is Acts 26:19-23:
19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple, and tried to kill me.
Paul was incessantly trying to deflect attention away from the true nature of the charge: a violation of the temple's sanctity by entry of an uncircumcised Gentile: his friend from Ephesus -- Trophimus. While circumcised Gentiles were allowed into the Court of the Gentiles, one who was uncircumcised was an "abomination." This violation was treated as one of the highest crimes in all of Israel. No wonder Paul did not want to explain the truth. But for us, we know he is under oath before judges. Paul is repeatedly choosing lying and deception. This is sad, but look how successful this strategem of Paul has been: For when has any teacher in your church ever identified clearly to you that Paul is on trial for Trophimus's breach of the temple's sanctity by entering in an uncircumcised state? The lack of focus and attention to the issue mirrors Paul's deliberate efforts twice to change and misdescribe the issue involved.
More Nails in the Coffin. Also, after observing Acts 26:19-23 as another court lie by Paul, I found a third and fourth one.
Paul in Acts 23 is testifying in front of the Sanhedrin Court. The High Priest is present. After cursing the High Priest, Paul in Acts 23:4 acknowledges he was subject to Exodus 22:28 “you shall not...curse a ruler of your people.” Paul had cursed the High Priest by saying “God will smite you,” also calling the High Priest a “urinal wall” (Acts 23:3)("Whited wall" refers to lime used in urinals of that day. See link.) The High Priest had Paul slapped because he thought Paul lied when Paul said he has “lived in all good conscience” (i.e., without sin) before God till this day." (Acts 23:1.)
So had Paul lived without sin up to that "day"? No, and by Paul's own admission:
“I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor.” (1 Tim. 1:13 NASB.)
One of those "violent aggressions" was against people who were never properly tried. This is in Acts 8 at the stoning of Stephen. Another is Paul's violent attack on James the Just, throwing him down from the temple mount, seriously injuring him, even though James never had a proper trial, as the Law mandates. Paul cannot claim ignorance that executions or attempted executions without a proper trial are unlawful.
There is even a second obvious lie by Paul in Acts 26, but one which Luke could not detect. Paul said he was not guilty of violating Exodus 22:28 because he did not know the High Priest was talking. However, the High Priest in a courtroom setting is known (a) by His distinctive dress that he was commanded to wear outside at all times by a command in the Bible (see link) and (b) by his seating position. If Paul is not lying he was a Pharisee, and studied under Gamaliel, how could Paul so-trained not know this was the High Priest?
Alternatively, if you believe Paul is constantly inspired, then Paul knew by the Holy Spirit it was the High Priest, and then lied about it. So either Paul is not always inspired or Paul was inspired at all times, and lied to the High Priest. Either way, the episode discredits Paul as a voice for Christians to listen to.
Hence, there are two lies in Acts 23 -- both under oath because Paul is speaking to the Sanhedrin court.
END
Anonymous Email Comments:
Y Disagrees That Paul Lied
Hi Doug,
I've read the article [about Acts 23].
I don't agree with this. I would not say it's a lie.
Paul was basically meaning to say that: "All your accusions against me are baseless. You don't have any evidence or true testimony to prove I broke the Law or said evil things against Moses, or defiled the Temple. The true reason why you brought me here to be condemned, it's because my faith in Jesus, and because I speak for Him. So the real reason it's because you don't want me to say Jesus is resurrected and alive. It's all about that, "
Even if Paul was wrong and the Sanhedrin really meant to only judge him for his wrongdoings in the Temple, Paul said what he thought was the real reason why he was arrested
Y (12/8/2012)
A's Reply to Y's Comment
Hey Doug,
Long time no talk! I hope all is well with you. I like the new article. Not sure if you are posting comments TO comments, but here is one that I think needs to be said.
I challenge ANY Paulinist to explain the "difficult" sayings of Paul WITHOUT using the phrase " Paul was basically meaning to say that… " (or something similar) as your first commenter did.
That is probably the most annoying thing about discussing Paul issues with a Paulinist. Whenever we get to a difficult topic, the first thing they say is something like, "Well, what Paul MEANT to say was…" to which I respond, "How can you know what Paul meant to say? Do you know more about what he was trying to say than he did? Are you not being presumptuous in inserting words into his writings? What if he wanted to say exactly what he said? Are you not also guilty of 'adding to' what you believe is the word of Yahweh?"
Those questions are never answered.
Blessings brother! A. (Dec. 9, 2012)
My Comment to A's Comment
Thanks for the reply to Y. Yes, Paul's defenders are like evolutionists in that they rely upon just-so stories to fill in gaps / overcome refutations. Just-so stories in both arenas are imagined pathways to overcome problems where pure imagination without foundation is used to place evolution and Paul beyond confuting. They both just imagine any scenario / meaning necessary to preserve the theory despite the overwhelming contrary evidence.
The first comment above is an example of this same kind of fallascious reasoning being applied to Paul's writings. It is pure wishful thinking and speculation. Any re-write necessary is supplied so Paul never appears to lie, or err, or prove embarassing. Paul is thereby put beyond the Berean-like testing of Paul that even Luke shows was proper in the example of the Bereans. Doug (Dec. 9, 2012)
Troubled by Paul
Interesting article. I too have problems with Paul. For example he had his encounter on the Damascus Road, was converted but chose not to spend any time with Jesus' disciples but instead set off for Arabia . Fourteen years later he reappears with disciples of his own and declares his ministry to the Gentiles an assignment that was originally Peter's. There are other examples. Jesus said call no man father, Paul says he is a spiritual father to Timothy. I could go on and on...His In Service
B (12/8/2012)
Jesus Never Lied As Paulinists Claim To Excuse Paul
Roberto sent me some very helpful points to refute Tektonics further on whether Jesus lied, as Tektonics claimed to excuse Paul from the sin of lying in court. Roberto wrote:
Hi Doug:
First of all, Jesus NEVER LIED about going up to the feast. He never said he would NOT GO, what he said was. "I go not up YET unto this feast" (John 7:8). He meant what he said and practiced it too. Ha ha. He went up later, didnt he? So where is the lie???
Second: Look how Jesus acted when being judged:
"Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered... To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the TRUTH" (John 18:37). Could Paul be called a follower of Jesus when he did exaactly THE OPPOSITE of what his (supposed) Master did?
Third: "But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matthew 10:19-20).
And how did Jesus refer to the Holy Spirit???
"Howbeit when he, the SPIRIT OF TRUTH, is come, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).
Would the SPIRIT OF TRUTH help us TO LIE when judged??? Certainly NOT!!! "the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie" (1John 2:27).
Hope it is of some help.
Greetings and blessings.
Roberto (Dec. 9, 2012)
Ed's Commnent
Hi Doug,
Great article and links! I had read a similar article sometime ago on Scott Nelson's site and agree totally that Paul lied outright to the Sanhedrin in the hopes of escaping judgment. When he was brought before the court and was smote on the face he lashed back at those who hit him instead of turning the other cheek as Yehoshua taught.
http://nycbiblestudy.com/
recognizing-bad-fruit/reason-3/ Another hint that he never knew the Master and his teachings.
It's also interesting to note that he did not recognize the high priest, considering how he constantly boasts about being this great Pharisee of the law, how could he not know who he was? It appears to me his rank in the Pharisaical order is questionable. Ed (12/10/2012)
Liz' Comment on Why Paulinists Throw Jesus Under the Bus
Hello Doug,
Great article! I don't find it hard to believe that anyone would throw Jesus under the bus if necessary to save Paul. I've seen it happen too many times in my life. The reason is quite simple - "Father Paul" is the one that allows his children to run wild and not worry about any laws or regulations - no need to clean your room, do your homework or eat your vegetables.
On the other hand, Jesus keeps reminding his children to obey his Father's law. And guess what? He also reminds them that there will be consequences to pay if the rooms or homework are not done when he returns. Any spoiled child would run to the lawless father and throw the other under the bus. Liz
Further Studies On Other Lies in Court by Paul
Boulanger in 1746 wrote a book entitled A Critical Examination of Paul. We excerpt and draw out many excellent points raised by Boulanger -- relying upon a scan at books.google.com of this very rare book -- at this link. In this work, Boulanger claims that Paul lied again in the Sanhedrin court proceedings -- another proceeding where testimony is taken under oath. In this passage in Acts, Paul claims to not know he disrespected the High Priest, and Boulanger says this evinces much disingenuousness. Also, Paul's retort was not in keeping with Jesus's command to turn the other cheek. Boulanger writes:
He first declared that in all he had done, he had followed strictly the dictates of his conscience. At these words the High Priest gave him a box on the ear, at which Paul being irritated, instead of turning the other cheek, according to the precept of Jesus, abused the High Priest, treated" him as a hypocrite, or whitened wall. But as he perceived that he had given offence by his insolence to a man respected by the Jews, he moderated himself, and alleged that he was ignorant that it was the High Priest whom he had thus addressed in such terms; an ignorance, however, which cannot fail to excite surprise, considering that he was a man, who must have been informed respecting the place where he was, and the quality of those before whom he was speaking. Id. at 23.
************************************************************************************
I’m so glad I have the opportunity to comment at the end of this article! It seems to me that for the longest time I wanted to work on some of the finer details of this jesuswordsonly article because while it, along with a few others, mentions a lot of truths about Paul, it ultimately leads the reader back to submitting to the yoke of Old Testament (OT) law. I personally believe that Jesus Christ came upon this earth to liberate us from having to entirely bear this set of laws (mosaic law), a yoke which the Apostle Peter declared “unbearable” (Acts 15:5-11)
The author of this article makes the premise that bringing Trophimus into the Temple was morally wrong because it broke mosaic law. I wish to make the point that the mosaic law was already fulfilled and now we live in a period of ‘natural law,’ given to us by the WORD. Our bodies are temples or ‘houses’ of God, and there is scriptural proof of that in the words of Jesus himself:
“Jesus answered and said to him, “whoever loves me will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” John 14:23
As well as in the first letter of Peter:
“like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” 1 Peter 2:5
We must realize that since the biggest ‘tall tales’ are absolutely unbelievable, a person who is “good” at lying will mix in lots of truth with the lie. That is what is called a “limited hangout” in modern terms, a place where 80% truth is mixed with 20% lies in order to create confusion and sow discord and Paul’s theology is a classic example of a limited hangout. He says some truths about the body being a temple of God, but he leaves out the greatest commandment (love the lord your God with all your heart mind and soul.)
What did Paul’s actions result in? What kind of name did he give to followers of Christ among the people who had read Moses in the synagogues every sabbath? What would Mohammedans think of Christians if a Paul like ‘Christian’ figure went on a ‘mission’ to the black cube in Mecca to shake everyone’s hand while he was smothered in bacon grease as if it were sunscreen? Do you think it might be hard to actually convert people to Christianity if certain cultural norms of cleanliness are not respected? Yes, Paul worked hard to give Christians a bad name among the ‘jews.’
You might think you’re clean if you don’t wash your hands after going to the ‘whitewashed wall,’ and Jesus probably wouldn’t argue with you, but if you go around shaking other people’s hands like that, is that loving your neighbor as yourself? Although it is possible that he did it unwittingly, that second greatest commandment is what I assert that Paul broke.
The Apostle James even tried to save Paul from the mob violence that would occur when the general public (‘jews’) found out that Paul was in Jerusalem. James did this by telling Paul to purify himself (shave his head) so everyone could see that he (Paul) lived in observance of the mosaic law.
“You see our brother, how many tens of thousands are in Judea who have believed, and they are all zealous of The Law. And they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. Do what we tell you; we have four men who have vowed to purify themselves. Take them and go be purified with them and pay the cost with them to shave their heads, and it will be known to everyone that whatever was spoken about you is false, and that you fulfill and keep The Law” (Acts 21:20-24)
From what I understand, conversion of a people into believers of Christ does not necessarily involve giving up all the customs and traditions a culture has. ‘Jewish’ believers in Christ obviously still wanted to continue the circumcision ritual as sort of an initiation into their society, but the Apostle Peter prevented them from spreading this barbaric custom to the gentiles in Europe:
“some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the mosaic law.”
The apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter. After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to them, “My brothers, you are well aware that from early days God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by granting them the holy Spirit just as he did us. He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts. Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.” (Acts 15:5-11)
Later on, we see James including the prohibitions from eating blood, eating the meat of strangled animals, eating meat from animals sacrificed to idols, and ‘unlawful marriage’ (in other bibles, fornication) in a message that was to be sent to gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:23-29).
Why would James include these prohibitions if mosaic law had already been fulfilled and we are now living under the WORD of Lord Jesus? Antioch, Syria and Cilicia are all places in Asia. They are all near modern day Palestine, which means they all would have had a heavy saturation of a ‘jewish’ population within their borders. James was basically telling the gentiles in those areas to abstain from doing things which would make them look impure in the eyes of the ‘jews’ because they had been brainwashed by Moses in every town around there for generations:
“Therefore I say, let us not trouble those who are being turned to God from the Gentiles. But let it be sent to them that they separate from the defilement of sacrifices and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For from the first ages there have been preachers for Moses who read him on every Sabbath in every town in the synagogues.” (Acts 15:19-21)
Imagine if an uncircumcised gentile falls in love with a ‘jewish’ woman of that time and in an area near there; a gentile ignorant of the fact that generations of people have been conditioned by the story of Genesis 34, when an uncircumcised ‘prince’ raped Dinah (the sister of the 12 sons of Jacob, one of the ‘jewish’ patriarchs) and 2 of those brothers killed all the males of that kingdom as retribution. Yes, the main point of the story was that Dinah was raped and yes, rape is a mortal sin. However, the underbelly of that story, the insult to injury was that the ‘prince’ was uncircumcised. Yes, the circumcision ritual causes babies unimaginable pain and it can cause massive psychological damage (that is why Peter made the point that both gentile and ‘jew’ are saved through the grace of Lord Jesus instead of the unbearable yoke of mosaic law) but still, if an uncircumcised gentile married a ‘jewish’ woman of that time and place, it is not a stretch to believe that the men of that woman’s family (a family steeped in the brainwashing of mosaic law for generations) would probably feel like killing their brother-in-law, at the very least. How the Apostles may have planned to reverse the centuries of traditional infant circumcision brainwashing within that culture is beyond the scope of this article; it seems that whatever plans they may have had were not according to God’s will.
Also notice that eating swine is not on the list. This omission tips the scales in the favor of the interpretation that James was not trying to command a return to mosaic law, but he was simply trying to make sure these gentiles that likely lived among a majority of ‘jews’ would not have an angry mob of people running after them trying to kill them. If James was trying to command a return to mosaic law, then swine would most certainly be added to this letter. Since the swine is not on the list, we can conclude that James did not foresee these gentiles being able to purchase pork to eat in these ‘jew’ saturated areas. Thus, the reasoning of James to include abstaining from eating blood, eating strangled animals, eating sacrificed animals, and practicing ‘unlawful marriage’ was specifically so that the ‘foreigners’ (gentiles, likely the Greek and Roman conquerors) to Palestine would not piss the local ‘jewish’ people off or gross those locals out so much that they wouldn’t want to talk to them. Which, as fate would have it, is exactly what happened with Paul.
James apparently didn’t think it was necessary to warn uncircumcised gentiles not to go into the temple area. Maybe James thought that was obvious, and maybe the mob of people that were angry at Paul jumped to conclusions when they saw Trophimus in Jerusalem, I don’t know. What we do know is that when concerning the letter to the gentiles referred to by the Apostle James in Acts 15:23-29 and Acts 21:25, it is 100 times more likely that James was trying to prevent a riot rather than promote a return to mosaic law under a covenant which had already been fulfilled.
So that means that we can all enjoy our bacon and our blood pudding guilt free, as long as it is not made with human blood, but that should be obvious. Sadly, some people can’t even begin to think about enjoying a feast on one of the tastiest kinds of meat ever known in history to man, the turtle.
That too is a result of mind control similar to the trauma-based mosaic mind control placed upon the ‘jews’ in Palestine today. The richly flavored and sumptuous turtle has been largely forgotten as a key dish in haute cuisine as a result of govern-ment or mind control (govern=control and ment=mental or mind). Anyone in America who wants to enjoy a dish of luxurious turtle soup runs the risk of being arrested and hauled off to jail by the authorities or at the very least has the risk of being ostracized by friends, family and neighbors because of the stigma involved with eating an ‘endangered animal.’ The endangered status of the turtle is a flat out lie, but that is beyond the scope of this article. I hope to explain this in detail with my Turtle Power Fishing book, but it isn’t done being written yet, unfortunately. There’s nothing like a good ‘sky is falling’ scare or ‘turtles are going to go extinct if we keep eating them’ panic to manipulate people in the USA into enforcing an unreasonable taboo.
Lastly, I would like to point out that in the email above from Roberto, it was written that Jesus said he would not yet go up to the feast. My own bible did not include the word yet, but thanks to the internet, I was able to find quite a few translations that did have this time qualification word: ‘yet.’
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“You go up to this feast; I am not going up now to this feast, because my time is not yet finished.”
King James Bible
Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.
New King James Version
You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.”
Legacy Standard Bible
Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not yet going up to this feast because My time has not yet been fulfilled.”
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to the festival yet, because My time has not yet fully come.”
English Revised Version
Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not yet fulfilled.
GOD'S WORD® Translation
Go to the festival. I'm not going to this festival right now. Now is not the right time for me to go.
International Standard Version
Go up to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival yet, because my time hasn't fully come yet."
Literal Standard Version
You—go up to this celebration; I do not yet go up to this celebration, because My time has not yet been fulfilled”;
Majority Standard Bible
Go up to the feast on your own. I am not yet going up to this feast, because My time has not yet come.”
New Heart English Bible
You go up to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled."
Webster's Bible Translation
Go ye up to this feast: I go not yet to this feast, for my time is not yet full come.
Weymouth New Testament
As for you, go up to the Festival. I do not now go up to this Festival, because my time is not yet fully come."
World English Bible
You go up to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled.”
Young's Literal Translation
Ye -- go ye up to this feast; I do not yet go up to this feast, because my time hath not yet been fulfilled;'
It's amazing how a simple deletion of this word could make a liar out of Jesus, isn’t it? (By the way, there was no link to the supposed ‘honorable lie’ that Jesus told according to the above article. I don’t believe that the argument, whatever it was, was strong enough to show Jesus was lying) That doesn’t mean that all of the above translations don’t have errors in different places than the other bibles that obviously mistranslated that one verse though. It looks that just about every translation, save the original documents, was commissioned to benefit someone politically. For instance, the new international version has some type of mistranslations in some of their verses which are used to accept homosexuality into the ‘church’ even though homosexuality was forbidden in Christianity for over 1000 years since the early Church. Now, the slur ‘Christianity is gay’ is common throughout many atheist circles, a thought that was unthinkable in the previous century. Doesn’t anybody remember all the Christians telling homosexuals that they can’t get married because homosexual marriage is an abomination? I do. Nowadays I see some ‘churches’ flying rainbow flags. In my opinion, Christianity is only ‘gay’ if you are immersed in ‘clown world’ cultural destruction that is in the process of choking Western civilization to death. As a side point, the changing of the meaning of the word ’gay’ has caused us to ignore, forget and lose a huge segment of our shared cultural history, at least for Americans…. But that’s a whole ‘nother story. Just like the video I saw where the formerly gay guy witnessed his unnatural urges completely cease after cleansing his body from parasites. There was a lot of creepy stuff in there, from what I remember, when he examined what he expelled, he saw some gray worm like thing looking back at him!
Anyway, just remember, when reading the bible, in my opinion, it’s a good idea not to be entirely committed to one translation of the bible. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater though! The truths that are present in the bible shine through all the mistranslations and discovering error is merely the first step in polishing those truths.