Who are St. Paul & Constantine to make modifications in Jesus' Teachings?

Question

Both of them never met Jesus Christ ............ Even Apostles (who were very close to Jesus Christ) didn't make any modification to Jesus' Teachings, then who gave the right to those two to make such changes in Jesus' Teachings.
I m sorry, if i hurt any Christians feelings, but i need to know the answer sincerely.

Most Basic Jesus' Teaching:-
GOD is One and Alone, and Has NO Partners. GOD is the only Deity to be Worshipped.
Jesus NEVER asked to be Worshipped, nor did He Say "I m GOD", rather He Said To Worship God as He said something like "O Israelities! My Lord is Our Lord" (It isnt the exact translation, neither i can give u the reference of it, but Its there and u know it).

Also, Jesus NEVER Preached anything such as 'Trinity', its a concept added centuries later (In 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea).

Answer 1

Paul was one of the leaders of the first century church. He wrote over a dozen letters that explain the person and purpose of Jesus. Paul's letter date from 50 to 67 AD. Most of Paul's writings predate the gospel. They were already written and well know before Matthew, Mark, Luke or John were written.

If Paul had "changed" the teachings of Jesus, or was teaching false things, any one of the gospel writer - especially John who adds a lot of commentary and explanation to his gospel - could easily have included material, sayings, etc. to correct that mistakes that Paul was bringing into Christ teaching. You will notice that they did not.

Constantine was a Roman empire who live in the early 300s AD. During his reign, he removed the death penalty on Christianity, allowing the first church council to be held in 325AD. It was this council that made official the books of the New Testament. It has been popularized in the fictional novel the DiVinci Code that this concil changed the words of the Bible.

The truth is that we have fragments of the New Testament dating back to within 15 years of the time the original books were written. We have a fragmented manuscript from which 808 of the 897 verses of Paul's writings can be reconstruction. The manuscript dates about 60 years from the original. We have a fragmented manuscript of the gospel of John from which we can reconstruct about 70% of the book. The manuscript dates from around 150AD, with John having been written between 95 and 110AD. We have fragment manuscripts that contain portions of Matthew, Luke, Acts, etc. that all date within 50-100 years of the original. We have a fragment of the 8th chapter of John, recently discovered, that scholars are saying dates from 117AD (John was written between 95 and 110AD)

There still exist an fragmented manuscript of the complete New Testament that contains all 27 books in the official NT. It dates from between 175 and 200 AD (more then a century before the time of Constantine and the alledged changing of the New Testament).

Using existing manuscripts, commentaries, books and letters that quotes the NT, prayer books that quote the NT, early inscriptions, etc., it is possible to reconstruct all but 11 of the 23,145 verses of the NT. All these manuscripts PREDATE the Council of Nicene in 325AD.

If this council managed to alter the words of the Bible, it would be the biggest fraud ever pulled off in history. They somehow manged to altered thousands of manuscripts, letters, prayer books, inscriptions etc. spread all across the know world. Many were already in fragments, and buried away, before the council ever meet. Hundreds where not even know to exist until the last two centuries.

There still exist a copy of the minutes that were kept at the Council(s) of Nicene. I would be neglient if I did not admit that in one of the later councils in the 390's there was a debate about the wording of the NT. One single verse in I John, which the council attempted to alter by adding nine words. However the chairman of the council, after first allowing the one verse change, then reversed the council's decision and removed the add words from the official version of I John. That was the total decision of the wording of any of the NT books by the Nicene Council.

Once Constantine left the ban on Christianity, it only took a few years for the "official" religion of the Roman Empire to become Chrstianity. And with that come thousands of "new converts" with no Christian training (or even beliefs) who brought many fo their former ideas and customs with them. That did have an influence on Christianity including the moving of Christmas to December 25, the day of the largest Roman holiday, etc. But none of these changes altered the words of the New Testament, which are the foundation of the Christian faith.

Answer 2

Paul was an apostle of Christ. As such, he had access to revelation from God. Therefore, the "alterations" that he made were not of his own accord. Rather, they were guided by revelation. Additionally, Paul would not have been able to make any changes without the consent of the other Apostles. BTW, Paul did meet Jesus. You are forgetting that incident on the road to Damascus (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/acts/9/1-6).

As for Constantine, I agree with you there. He did not have the authority to make or alter Christian doctrine.

Answer 3

Constantine is said to have met Christ spiritually when he became a Christian. I do not know if the "in this sign conquer" story is true. In any event, its not in the Bible. The book of Acts tells us that Saul (who was later renamed Paul) met the Risen Christ physically, when he was knocked blind on his way to Damascus (to persecute Christians), and Jesus said to him, "It is hard for you to kick against the pricks." God the Son, Jesus, worked miracles in Paul, to show that he was real, and afterwards, God did many, many miracles through Paul, to confirm his apostleship.

Paul didn't change Jesus' teaching, he built on it. Jesus first came as a man to the Jews only, to see if they would accept him as Messiah. In general, they didn't. So after the Jews' final rejection (which was the Crucifixion) God appointed Saul (Paul) as the apostle to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews. Paul was the one who convinced all the other Jewish friends of Jesus, that the Gospel of Jesus was for Gentiles AND Jews. That wasn't a contradiction to Jesus' teaching--it just wasn't the right time for it when Jesus was walking on earth, as he came to God's Chosen People first. (although he did heal several Gentiles living with the Jews, when they asked him to.)

Trinity--I've heard the claim before that Constantine invented the Trinity. I think you should see for yourself that the Bible teaches the Trinity. Go through the Gospels, and count how many times "the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" are mentioned all together, as a unity. Even the Old Testament gives hints of the Trinity. Elohim (plural for God) is used in Genesis, and yet God speaks as One. How many "men" came to announce to Abraham and Sarah that they would get their long-awaited child the next year? Three. There are others, dig into the Bible and see where they are!

Also other close friends of Jesus DID add to Jesus teachings, not to contradict him, but Jesus had more things that he wanted in the Bible after he went to Heaven. Paul wasn't the only one who wrote books for the New Testament. Jesus' close friends John and Peter also did.

Answer 4

Paul didn't MODIFY Christ's teachings. What he did was guide people in setting up churches.

Paul was visited by Christ. He had been a persectuer of Christians, and got a commission from the chief priest to go to Damascus to help suppress Christianity there in A.D. 33. As he approached Damascus he saw a blinding light and heard Jesus ask, “Why persecutest thou me?” Paul was temporarily blinded and was led into Damascus, where he was found (on the Lord’s direction) by the disciple Ananias. On regaining his sight, Paul was baptized and immediately began preaching.

I don't see any of Constantine's writings in the Bible. Constantine and his council compiled the Bible, but he did not contribute to it. So how is this modifying the teachings?

Answer 5

The apostle Paul DID meet Jesus ( Acts 9 ),but he DID NOT modify His teachings. He wrote as he was inspired by the Holy Spirt. However, you may be right about Conststatine.

Answer 6

First off, Paul said "I" will not let women teach, he never said "Jesus said" not to let women teach. With Paul you have to look for who is saying what. Constantine, on the other hand, had no right to change the sabbath, though he did it for a good purpose, to make it easier to convert pagans, but that doesn't make it right. Jesus celebrated the sabbath on Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, at all Jews did, and it did not change. We have no right to change any of the commandments. "Honor the sabbath and keep it holy" does not translate to "it's okay to change it to Sunday if you want".

Answer 7

Paul was chosen by God. I'm not too sure about Constantine. But I never read where he got to edit Matthew Mark Luke or John or wrote any Epistles.

Answer 8

Constantine is the one that leaned doctrine toward paganism.

Paul was indeed an apostle of Jesus Christ.
He did no changing. His admonitions are indeed inspired by God.

Answer 9

I wish I knew the answers, sincerely. All I have are opinions.

In my humble opinion, these men obtained power over the teachings of the Young Christian Church. They filled it with their theologies, their regulations, and called it "from Our Lord."

As Jesus (aka God) will not violate Free Will, She allowed them to continue with these false teachings. Essentially, Revelations warnings of false teachings began to manifest with Paul (aka Saul).

Answer 10

hey, Paul had some books to sell and Constantine had an empire to hold together. Why pick on those two guys when so many others have written 'the word' to suit themselves and their patrons?