Why I don't care for Paul...

I have mentioned in this blog that I am not a fan of the Apostle Paul. My friend Connie asked me to say more about why I don’t like Paul.

Actually, I have never met him, so it is unfair of me to say that I don't like him.

First of all, I would say that if the apostle Paul knew that many of the things that he wrote we’re going to be turned into Scripture, He would’ve been much more careful about what he said, and what he wrote.

It’s not that I don’t like Paul. It’s that I don’t like what people do with Paul's writings. No one uses the words of Jesus to heap guilt on others, but many of the sayings of Paul are used by various churches to pile on the guilt.

I am not a fan of guilt. Jesus never guilted or shamed people.  But the writings of Paul are used, unfortunately,  for this purpose.

While Jesus is loving people and throwing out principles of the kingdom, the Apostle Paul is trying to correct and straighten out members of the church. It’s like he has the angry parent role.

He’s also very inconsistent. You can get one version of this and another version of that.  He speaks of love, but he also speaks in judgmental ways.   His approach to the second coming is inconsistent.  His treatment of, and comments about the role of women in the church are also inconsistent.

There are a number of contradictions in the books attributed to Paul.  In 1 Corinthians the church is organized by spiritual gifts.  In 1 and 2 Timothy there are elders and deacons.  Hmm.  Which is it???

Mostly, I would say it’s not that I don’t like him. It’s just that I so much prefer the stories of Jesus to the ramblings of Paul.

The church would be far better off if it spent less energy on Paul and more time with the classic stories of Jesus like the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.

In other words, we all, in my opinion, should stop focusing on doctrine that well meaning preachers extract from the writings of Paul and instead focus on the loving caring teachings of Jesus.

Paul complicates things.  The stories that Jesus told stand alone, need no interpretation and lead us into a life of love.  

I hope that helps.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

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