Paul active in Jesus cult (1 gen 35 anni – 31 dic 49 anni)

Descrizione:

Paul is a fundamentalist in Judaism who persecutes the Jesus cult in the diaspora. He has a vision of Jesus and a new idea of a path to salvation for the gentiles. Paul goes “at once” from Damascus to Arabia and back again. At some point here, Paul “receives” the core mythos that Jesus had died for humanity’s sins, was buried, and rose on the third day, all in accordance with the scriptures, and that he had appeared to multiple people after his death. Paul possibly originates the idea that Jesus will be the one to judge the world. At some other point, the governor of Damascus under King Aretas seeks to seize Paul while he is in the city. Paul escapes via a basket let down through a window in the wall.

Three years (after his revelation?), Paul goes to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stays with him for fifteen days. He also sees James the Lord’s brother. Then Paul goes into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

Paul's particular marketing genius (his “gospel”) lies in making the promise of salvation as broadly accessible as possible, rather than the province of what he sees as an exclusionary elite. This involves completely doing away with any expectation that gentile participants in the Jesus cult needed to obey the standard customs of Judaism (circumcision, kosher, etc.). This would have been very appealing to gentile “God-fearers” and appears to have met with success in multiple cities. Due to this approach, however, Paul’s sect develops a reputation in the larger (Jewish) Jesus cult for promoting lawlessness, and possibly slandering his own people. These critics may have been forerunners of the Ebionites, who rejected Paul as an apostate from the law.

After fourteen years (from conversion or from departing Jerusalem?), Paul has another revelation, and returns to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus to confab with the leaders of the Jesus cult there (including James, Cephas, and John). The topic is his teaching the gentiles that they do not need to adhere to Jewish religious law to be saved by Jesus. This is a contentious meeting, but the factions part semi-amicably, agreeing to separate spheres of action, and Paul agreeing to collect money for the poor in Judea. Later, in Antioch, Paul confronts Cephas over his “hypocrisy” after Cephas is intimidated by people sent from James (“the circumcision faction”) into eating separately from gentile believers, which influences other Jewish believers to act the same, including Barnabas. There is no statement from Paul that this disagreement went in his favor; is this the reason he pushed out further into the eastern Mediterranean?

After being waylaid by a recurrent physical infirmity in Galatia and tended to by the people there, Paul preaches to them and sets up multiple Jesus clubs. He doesn’t share with them his past as a persecutor of the Jesus cult.

Paul in Philippi during the “early days”/“first day” of the gospel; he suffers and is shamefully mistreated there, but still apparently manages to plant a loyal Jesus club.

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