Comparative Theology · Pauline Epistles & Early Church
Paul's Invention of the "Dying & Rising Savior God"
In short
- 1.Paul **never met the physical Jesus** — he claimed his gospel came solely by **vision and revelation** (Galatians 1:11-12).
- 2.He transformed a Jewish reform movement into a **Hellenised mystery religion** centred on a divine savior dying for universal sins.
- 3.Paul abolished the **Torah** (Galatians 3:13), while Jesus taught that **not one letter** of the Law would pass away (Matthew 5:17-19).
The claim being examined
Paul faithfully transmitted the teaching of Jesus.
The Islamic position
Paul never met Jesus, claimed private visions as his source, and abolished the very Law Jesus upheld.
Analysis
Paul's letters predate all four Gospels and shaped them. His categories — justification apart from law, dying-and-rising savior, union with a cosmic Christ — draw on Hellenistic religious grammar, not the Torah-observant preaching of a Galilean prophet.
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 3:50
وَمُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ
And [I have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah.
From the Bible
Galatians 1:12
I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Read it in their BibleMatthew 5:17
οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Read it in their BibleSources
James D. Tabor, Paul and Jesus (2012), ch. 3 · Bart D. Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist? (2012) — on the limits of the copycat thesis · Ali Ataie, lectures on Paul and Hellenism (Zaytuna College) · Tabor, Paul and Jesus, ch. 3
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