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BUT to understand that, to fully nake that comparison, one would have to read something other than the Bible, and most "Christians" are afraid to do that.
If someone was referred to me and told me how they were blinded by some talking light and had this "Conversion" and this "Divine unique calling" as a result, Then I'd be picking up the phone and getting a psychiatrist consult scheduled....... Then I'd be pulling out tests , starting with the MMPI and going from there ......
Paul's dialogs Mimic that of someone who has mental illness...and in Paul's time, mentall illness was misunderstood and like Siezures, often attributed to demonic superstitions....
The fact is, if we read the works of enlightened thinkers, like Buddha, COnfuscious, even later commentary like the Yogananda and dare I say Jesus Christ (Who actually wrote nothing himself and as far as we can tell, never asked anyone else to do so) we can compare and see that Paul was NOT amongst the enlightened elite. Paul was legalistic, like a lawyer, he was also so focused on the emerging religion of Christianity and the workings of it, that he never reached the spiritual "AH-HA" Moment that others have reached....Both before and after his writings. His focus was always on himself and getting "his way" pushed over everyone.
That remains one of the many flaws in Christianity today
I really do not see how people think that something that represents such a narow view of the Christian experience some 1900 years ago really pertains to them today, especially in such legalistic terms. There were many versions of what Christianity meant to many different people. Read your history books and you will see that politics and the sword brought about the version Rome eventually adopted.
So Paul wrote his narcissistic version of how the church should be run. Big deal. I tried Paul's version of a religion many many years ago and it did not work for me at all. So I moved on. I still have trouble at times understanding why people want to follow his version of Christianity, but we all have that freedom, And to each their own. If someone says "Well it works for me" then I can respect that, unless I observe otherwise.
(I am sure all the Christians will be showing their true colors telling me how "Wrong" " lost" "Satanic" etc I am for even daring to post this!)
If he had proven himself along the way as someone who had true knowledge of "God" as opposed to just some emotional "Claim" then perhaps some of us would give him credence. But his poor showing in several books of the New Testament prove otherwise......
BUT to understand that, to fully nake that comparison, one would have to read something other than the Bible, and most "Christians" are afraid to do that.
You have no idea what i've read...You'd be surprised what i've read as a Christian and what things I still read today...What I don't read anymore is other's views on Truth...Unless it can be logically and reasonabley layed out...You would probably be happier in the Philosophy forum...Why come here?....
You have no idea what i've read...You'd be surprised what i've read as a Christian and what things I still read today...What I don't read anymore is other's views on Truth...Unless it can be logically and reasonabley layed out...You would probably be happier in the Philosophy forum...Why come here?....
Well, someone else asked "What's Wrong with Paul?" so I wanted to throw my opinion in. (Even if someone does not agree, which is fine)
I do enjoy the philosophy forum more, and I often find myself being attacked and abused online by "Christians" Kind of like in real life
(Nice to see that some things never change)
I would welcome anyone at all regardless of faith who wishes to engage in a serious intellectual philosophical discussion, someone who is well read, educatedm insightful, and cannot end every argument with "Well f-you .... you are going to hell" or "The Bible says this" which is about 90 % of the time what I find with "Christians" .
In all fairness, you can't expect Christians to ignore the Bible.
I do not expect Christians to ignore the Bible.
I am simply to you perhaps, and Richard1965 IF you ahve read things other than the Bible, if you have a philosophical idea to share and you wish to engage in a logical and reasonable discussion them I would welcome that.
Yes I love philosophy. And I find religion fascinating, even if I do not myself partake in it. I am fascinated with why people believe as they do, even if they themselves do not know "Why"
As for the original post, even when I was attending church long ago and having the Bible forced on me weekly if not daily, I could tell even then that something about Paul's teachings just did not add up. As I got older, spent more time reading and countless hours in college psychology and anthropology classes, I came to see that Paul was a disturbed individual and did in fact suffer from what we would now classify as mental illness.
While there are countless many Christians who want to make Paul's experience their own, for me this had no appeal. I could never get a straight answer from a Christian as to why the political and orthodox course followed the Pauline Model, but examining and historical and political course, things made more sense.
Sadly, the "religious conversion" and "Word of God" Myths have no bearing in the face of this logical discovery.
So Paul becomes overrated, under-enlightened an still, at the end of the day, suffering from a mental illness that until recent years was thought to be curable by the religious expoerience.
Perhaps that is why science, and even psychology, has replaced religion in the quest for self-actualiztion.
I do not expect Christians to ignore the Bible.
I am simply to you perhaps, and Richard1965 IF you ahve read things other than the Bible, if you have a philosophical idea to share and you wish to engage in a logical and reasonable discussion them I would welcome that.
Yes I love philosophy. And I find religion fascinating, even if I do not myself partake in it. I am fascinated with why people believe as they do, even if they themselves do not know "Why"
As for the original post, even when I was attending church long ago and having the Bible forced on me weekly if not daily, I could tell even then that something about Paul's teachings just did not add up. As I got older, spent more time reading and countless hours in college psychology and anthropology classes, I came to see that Paul was a disturbed individual and did in fact suffer from what we would now classify as mental illness.
While there are countless many Christians who want to make Paul's experience their own, for me this had no appeal. I could never get a straight answer from a Christian as to why the political and orthodox course followed the Pauline Model, but examining and historical and political course, things made more sense.
Sadly, the "religious conversion" and "Word of God" Myths have no bearing in the face of this logical discovery.
So Paul becomes overrated, under-enlightened an still, at the end of the day, suffering from a mental illness that until recent years was thought to be curable by the religious expoerience.
Perhaps that is why science, and even psychology, has replaced religion in the quest for self-actualiztion.
This is the Christianity forum, not the philosophy forum. Unfortunately the non-Christians tend to congregate here and try to philosophy Christianity.
How very immature of you to point that out. What was the point? You and others make many grammatical errors in your posts, but I certainly wouldn't make a post for the only sake of pointing them out.
How very immature of you to point that out. What was the point? You and others make many grammatical errors in your posts, but I certainly wouldn't make a post for the only sake of pointing them out.
Ha-Ha...
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he was also so focused on the emerging religion of Christianity and the workings of it, that he never reached the spiritual "AH-HA" Moment that others have reached....Both before and after his writings. His focus was always on himself and getting "his way" pushed over everyone.
