Conclusion

So what then? Was Paul all that bad? Was he a false apostle, a liar, a hypocrite, a coward? Was he the ‘666’ of Rev 13:18? Did he contradict Jesus about salvation? Was his view about the law contradictory to Jesus’ and the Old Testament’s? Did he misuse the OT Scriptures to prove otherwise unprovable points? I don’t know. And I don’t care either. These are unanswered questions arising out of the text of the New Testament itself, but I no longer have any interest in finding out their answers. I leave it to the Paul-supporters and the Paul-bashers to slug it out. I have firmly decided not even to be a spectator in the Paul-bashers vs. Paul-defenders fight. After a time, it is not even good entertainment; in fact it gets sickening. I am neither a Paul-basher nor a Paul-supporter. To me, Paul is irrelevant. It is Jesus who matters.

What about Paul’s writings? The Christian can live with question-marks over Paul’s character and credentials. After all, all other Biblical writers and heroes have question-marks over their characters, from Abraham and Moses to Peter and John. We can easily have a "Who knows? Who cares?" attitude as far as Paul’s character is concerned. But what about his writings? They are considered the "Word of God!" How can they be rejected? I have come to the conclusion that they are neither to be accepted nor to be rejected. They are to be treated as irrelevant. If anyway we are finally going to be judged by Jesus on the basis of his words, then we have to stick to Jesus’ words and reject everything that does not fit into the theology arising out of them. We build our lives on Jesus’ words alone. If Paul’s words fit into Jesus’ words, fine. There are plenty of good and useful things in Paul’s letters. 1 Corinthians 13 is still one of my favorite passages! But I would certainly not put my weight on the Romans 9 passage on Jacob and Esau. Jesus’ words are like firm steps in a staircase on which you can blindly put your weight on. Some of Paul’s words are also firm steps on which you can put your foot on (e.g. 1 Cor. 13), but not all of them. There are question marks over others, like the Romans 9 passage on Jacob and Esau. Let those who want to spend their time testing them, do so. Since I can happily skip over them and move ahead in following Jesus, I do that. In this write-up, my purpose is to put a warning sign on such steps, a sign which says, "Possibly bad." Note: not "Definitely Bad," but "Possibly Bad." I do not know for sure whether they are definitely bad. Neither do I want to waste my time finding out. My purpose is to move on and follow Jesus. My heart’s desire is that others would do so too. Since such "possibly bad" steps can be easily skipped over, I find no need to waste my time testing them.

Some of the things in Paul’s letters are too difficult to understand (and tomes have been written about them). As Peter says about Paul in 2 Pet 3:16, "His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort." Paul’s writings lead to a myriad of interpretations, and it is too time-consuming to go through the writings of a large number of worthies starting from Justin Martyr and Augustine to Luther and Calvin to Spurgeon and Dr Lloyd-Jones, to find out "what Paul really meant when he said so-and-so thing in this book that verse or that book that verse!". Jesus’ words are not hard to understand and are difficult to distort, and we are going to be judged by them. So why not just stick to them?

Today, Christianity (especially non-Catholic Christianity) is in thraldom of Paul’s writings. When all of Jesus’ statements scream "salvation by repentance" and "salvation by good works" (a phrase Christians hate) loud and clear, how come Paul’s "salvation by faith alone" (a phrase which Christians love) is the one that is heard and believed? When Jesus clearly said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to make them complete. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Mat 5:17-18) and "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law" (Luke 16:17), how come it is Paul’s doctrine that "the Law has been done away with" that is believed? The thraldom of Paul’s writings is strong enough to drown out even Jesus’ words!

Fine language, philosophical terms, a logic that looks unassailable, mark Paul’s writings. Never mind that some of the conclusions drawn from his writings (rightly or wrongly) directly seem to contradict Jesus’ words. Never mind that the logic itself many a times breaks down on hard scrutiny unencumbered by pre-conceived notions and high opinions of his writings. Never mind that his writings are "difficult to understand" as even Peter admitted (2 Pet 3:16), when God’s purpose is to COMMUNICATE in such a manner that even the simplest, most uneducated person would understand easily – the way Jesus communicated – with simple parables, direct statements, and day-to-day live examples which even the simplest could understand. Before 2004, I myself have spent far more time on Paul’s letters than on the four gospels. What a waste of time it was! Part of it was of course honestly to make sense of them; but part of it was also because they did not confront my sin the way Jesus’ direct statements did. I could immerse myself in Paul’s writings, enjoy them, revel in them, glory in them, yet continue with my sins. Their "exhortations" for living a godly life fell far short of the strength and power in Jesus’ words, and could be easily brushed aside in the drunkenness and intoxication of "high" theology. Paul’s letters provided a "way out" for me to continue indulging my sins. I was not indulging in any gross sins of course, but there are many subtle ways in which we continue our sins because "Jesus is there," and "I am going to be saved anyway because I trust Jesus and believe that he has died for my sins." Enthralled by Paul’s fine-sounding arguments, I was ignoring Jesus’ words. I thank God that today I am no longer in the grip of that thraldom and pray that many others who are, will break free to follow the real Jesus as presented in the four gospels.

Today to me, Paul’s writings are irrelevant. It is Jesus’ words which matter. On Judgment Day, we are going to be judged by Jesus, not Paul. On Judgment Day, we are going to be judged according to Jesus’ words, not Paul’s. On Judgment Day, it is Jesus who can help us, not Paul. If Paul is the things described above (false apostle, liar, hypocrite, coward, 666 etc.), if he has contradicted Jesus, if he has misused the OT Scriptures, it’s going to be his and his supporters’ and defenders’ problem on Judgment Day, not mine. If he is not, good for him and his supporters and defenders. Then it’s the Paul-bashers’ problem on Judgment Day, not mine. I am neither a Paul-supporter nor a Paul-basher. In the words of John 21:22, "What is it to me? I follow Jesus". On the Day of Judgment, I neither want to be proved a Paul-supporter (in case he did contradict Jesus and he is all or some of the things described above), nor a Paul-basher (in case he did not); I just want to be proved a Jesus-follower. I wouldn’t waste my time either attacking him, or defending him, or even trying to understand some of the things in his writings. Also, I don’t judge him. I have neither the right, nor the full facts of the case to judge him. Only God has the right and the full facts of the case to judge him. Leave his judgment to God.

 

So what?

So nothing! Have a good night’s sleep. The Paul-bashers’ views of Paul and their attacks, the Paul-supporters’ defense of him and their attempts to understand and explain his writings, the continuous slugfest between the two freely available on the internet, all are more of light, bedside reading for your amusement. When they stop amusing you, throw them into the dustbin. They are going to go into the dustbin anyway on Judgment Day.

Paul is irrelevant.

Follow Jesus.