Paul's Dog and Pony Show

[ghost]

Has it occurred to you that there might have already been funeral processions before Paul, so that the "dog and pony show" is redundant?

[theomise]

By many twists of fate, are one man's ‘donor-letters’ now revered by millions as the unerring word of God?

Hi robert j,

Good stuff. I'm on the same page regarding this overall approach to Christian origins, 'the Pauline letters', etc.

Putting aside the question whether 'Jesus' existed as an 'earthly historical person', the most reasonable default assumption is that whoever actually kick-started the Christian cult belonged to the category of "itinerant cynic-philosophers, faith-healers, missionaries, magicians, evangelists, preachers, prophets, sophists, pneumatics, charlatans, con-men and hucksters of all stripes".

Peruse the accounts of incipient religions of the 2nd century in Lucian of Samosata et. al., and compare to modern examples like the Mason Family, the Symbionese Liberation Army, etc.

It's remarkable how human nature doesn't change all that much.

Theo

[Darth_Abominatio]

Great discussion. I have thought a lot about whether Paul may have been a liar. I summarize my thoughts on the issue in a blog post here: http://palpatinesway.blogspot.com/2018/ ... il-of.html