The Cult of Paul

Contrast #15: Paul's deceitfulness and Jesus' honesty...

Seeing as how Jesus called the devil a liar and the father of lies,^{John 8:44.} openly warned his followers of the yeast of the Pharisees,^{Matthew 16:11-12. Juxtapose with Acts 23:6, Galatians 1:14, Philippians 3:5} and other false prophets who will work to deceive the elect,^{Matthew 24:24. See also Matthew 7:15-21, 23:1-7, 12, 24:3, Luke 6:26, 14:11, 18:14, Revelation 2:2.} and boldly stated that his own primary purpose was to testify to the Truth,^{John 18:37} it is crucial for any earnest student of the Scriptures^{(and/or any devout believer in Christ)} to understand that —— even though he frequently made claims to the contrary^{(Romans 9:1—3, 2 Corinthians 11:31-33, Galatians 1:15-20.)} - Paul was quite obviously a liar, and even openly boasted of being the same.^{(Romans 3:7, 2 Corinthians 12:16, Philippians 1:18.)}

• As proof of this contention, please consider the following:
• * Paul lied about being entrusted with the gospel to the Gentiles^{Galatians 2:7} after Peter had quite clearly and quite publicly laid proper claim to this same task...^{(Acts 15:7.)}
• * Paul lied to James in Acts 21:18-26 about his well documented belief that the Law of Moses was no longer binding on Jews who die daily and are thus crucified in Christ...^{(1 Corinthians 15:31, Galatians 2:20. See also Romans 6:6-8, 7:6, 8:12-13, 12:1-2, Galatians 5:24, 6:14, Philippians 3:8.)}
• * Paul lied when he provoked dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees while being tried before Ananias and the rest of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem; knowingly and falsely proclaiming that he was being judged concerning the resurrection of the dead,^{Acts 23:6-7} when in truth he was being judged as someone who teaches everywhere against the people, against the Law, and against [the Temple]...^{Acts 21:27-28}
• * Paul lied when he wrote to the Galatian Church and told them that the high council at Jerusalem only desired for them to remember the poor^{Galatians 2:10} when in fact Paul knew quite well that the same council had clearly decreed that Gentiles must fully abstain from four points of the Law: from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from whatever has been strangled, and from blood...^{(Acts 15:20-29.)}
• * Seeing as how the Jews in Jerusalem were already receiving direct testimony about Jesus from his actual disciples - from those who^{(unlike Paul)} had actually lived and worked and served with Jesus during his ministry, Paul seemed to lie when he claimed that Jesus had somehow personally told him to get out of Jerusalem quickly, because [the Jews there] will not receive your testimony concerning me...^{Acts 22:17-21}
• * Paul lied in when he claims that his Damascus persecutors were the Jews,^{(Acts 9:22-25.)} when in fact he admits that it was actually the governor under King Aretas who was his primary persecutor at that time and place...^{(2 Corinthians 11:32-33.)}
• * Paul lied about when he met with the disciples after his revelation on the road to Damascus. Acts 9:20 stated that Paul preached in Damascus straight away thereafter and then went on to Jerusalem, whereas Galatians 1:16-17 claimed that Paul went first to Arabia for a time before then avoiding Jerusalem altogether and heading to Damascus instead¹²...
• * Paul lied to King Agrippa about his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, originally telling the Jews in Jerusalem that the spirit of Jesus told him to Get up and go to Damascus, where you will be told everything that has been assigned for you to do,^{Acts 22:10 - an account that generally harmonizes with Luke's regaling of the same event in Acts 9.} and then later telling Agrippa an obvious fabrication; claiming that Jesus had instead told him to getup and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me... I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles - to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.^{Acts 26:16-18}

^{"For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the Law I became as one under the Law so that I might win those under the Law. To those outside the Law I became as one outside the Law so that I might win those outside the Law I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some." - Paul of Tarsus, 1 Corinthians 9:19-22}

^{"Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie." - Paul of Tarsus, Galatians 1:20}

^{"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord' and yet I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by Heaven - for it is God's throne; nor by the earth - for it is His footstool But rather let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No' be 'No', for anything more than this comes from the evil one." - Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:33-37}

12: Interestingly enough, there exists a document in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Q40266 -- called The Damascus Document) which was written around the time of Paul's espoused trip to Arabia. As it turns out, this parchment is an excommunication document that condemns an unidentified man - referred to therein as "the lying adversary, the lying spouter, the tongue, the scoffer" - who had rejected the Law before an entire congregation. Maybe this document refers to Paul, and maybe it doesn't. Still, it adds a great deal of flavor to Acts 9:26-30, where Paul is shown to have great conflict with those in Jerusalem who "did not believe he was a disciple" and then "sent him away to Tarsus."

Archiver's Note: I've reproduced footnote 12^{(Actually 18 in original document.)} exactly, without any fixes or additional formatting. In my due diligence, I've found that the footnote has several issues. Since I am not going through the Damascus Document in full any time soon, I will just write down what I've found instead:

• . First, Q40266 doesn't exist, presumably Scaughdt meant 4Q266.
• . Second, The Damascus Document found at Qumram composed of several documents from 4Q266 to 4Q273, and also 5Q12, 6Q15. 4Q266 itself does not contain even fragments of Scaughdt's claim.
• . Third, The Damascus Document was not an excommunication document. It is split into two sections, an Admonition^{(Itself containing History, Legal, Warnings, and a Supplement.)} and Laws. Admonition included such topics like moral instructions, exhortations, warnings, and so forth. Law talked about the "new covenant" that was taught by the "Teacher of Righteousness," who is unknown.
• . Fourth, There was, in fact, an unidentified "scoffer" condemned in CD-A I:13-II:2, page 33.^{("CD" is short either for Covenant of Damascus or Cairo Damascus, "A" is the document, the Roman Numerals represent column 1 or 2, and the final numeral is the line. "Page 33" is the page reference in the source I used to read the Damascus Document in English.)}
• . Fifth, the text is written in a "Hasmonean" style, which indicates that the document was probably conceived 150BC-37BC. The discovered papers themselves date to the 10th and 12th centuries AD. A majority of scholars think that, "The Damascus Document is a composite text edited together from different sections of a larger source."^{Ian C. Werrett (2007). Ritual Purity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Brill. pp. 20. ISBN 978-90-04-15623-4.} Different sections were likely written at different periods, maybe even after Paul had come and gone. If so, then perhaps Scaughdt does have a point.
• . Sixth, With the exception of "scoffer", none of these terms appear in the Damascus Document: "the lying adversary, the lying spouter, the tongue, the scoffer." But we do get the beautiful imagery of, "This is the time about which it has been written: "Like a stray heifer, so has Israel strayed",^{[Hosea 4:16.]} when 'the scoffer' arose, who scattered the waters of lies over Israel and made them veer off into a wilderness without path, flattening the everlasting heights, diverging from tracks of justice and removing the boundary with which the very first had marked their inheritance, so that the curses of his covenant would adhere to them, to deliver them up to the sword carrying out the vengeance of the covenant."^{CD-A I:13-18, page 33}
• . Seventh, Considering Hosea 4 and 5's prophecies about this time period is very enlightening. If we assume that Hosea 4:16 was indeed talking about the times The Damascus Document indicates, we receive some insightful prophecy. Hosea 4 talks in general about the abhorrent spiritual and physical whoredom that God's people were committing. My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.^{Hosea 4:12-13} So because of spiritual whoredom, the women turned to physical whoredom, which God said he wasn't going to punish.^{(Hosea 4:14.)} If we consider the Hasmonean times, they conquered Idumea^{(The Greek term for Edom.)} and forcibly assimilating them into their Judean country. This eventually led into Herod ousting the Hasmoneans from power and assuming government with the coming Roman occupation, perhaps exactly as the Lord prophesied, The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.^{Hosea 4:19} In the next verse, we see God say, They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. They have dealt treacherously against the Lord: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.^{Hosea 5:6-7} Are these "strange children" Isrealite/Edomite mixes? It sure is true that God has withdrawn himself from the whole world, Jesus declared such, so we know that this prophecy is already accomplished. It also makes sense to understand these two chapters as being in this time period because of the messianic prophecy, Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.^{Hosea 6:1-3. Also note that I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, which Jesus loved to quote, appears just three verses later in Hosea 6:6a.} If the authors of the Damascus Document understood this section of Hosea as applying to their time, then if this section was also written after Jesus and Paul came, as seems possible, then they would have regarded their "Teacher of Righteousness" as Jesus Christ.