In a way Paul is the author of modern day Christianity --- more than Jesus.
But the pure Message of Jesus was altered over the next three hundred years, with the final 'blow' being struck at the Council of Nicea in 325 ad.
Constantine, in fear of losing control of his eastern Roman Empire saw religion as a useful mechanism of control over disparate populations rife with sedition and a plenitude of cults and sects of every kind. He convened the Nicea meeting to define a whole new set of precepts to the dogma of the budding 'Christianity'.
The Gnostic gospels had been written largely before the Christic, and were at some considerable odds with the line that Constantine was looking for. The main thrust of the council was against the so-called 'Arius heresy', the issue being the 'divinty' or otherwise..... of 'Jesus' ( Yashua bin Jusef ). Arius was an Alexandrian, where a great deal of the early churches scholars and scriptures had been lodged after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ad.
This is also worthy of note because the greatest repository of ancient and current texts was held in the Great Library of Alexandria, which was burned to the ground by the first Christian Fundamentalists, precisely because it contained so many authoritative texts that ran against the tide of Paulian dogma.
There has been wide debate about this for centuries, but the most likely candidate would be the Emperor Aurelian (270–275), whose attack on, and destruction of Alexandria seemed to have been concurrent with the loss of the library.
It is not at all coincidental that just a few years later Constantine was able to, effectively and literally, re-write the 'book' on 'Christianity'.
It should also be taken into account that the Persian deity, Mithra, was the front runner besides 'Christianity' for the new, official religion of the Roman Empire, and the parallels between Jesus and Mithra are remarkable, and also not coincidental.
Virgin birth
Born in a stable
Birthday 25th December
Baptism
Sacrificial meal
Death
Resurrection
Judgement
Heaven and Hell
So who was made to fit whose dogma ?
Roman paganism indeed, except who decides what is 'pagan' and what isn't ?
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2007-07-30
17:48:35
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14 answers
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Anonymous
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Religion & Spirituality