Introduction to Pauline Christianity

Introduction to Pauline Christianity

Although Christianity today attributes itself to Jesus, who was born in the fourth century BC, it is impossible to understand it solely based on Jesus' teachings. Paul is another important figure who must be considered in understanding Christianity, as well as Jesus. While it is possible to trace some of Christianity's tenets of belief and practices back to Jesus, their current accepted meanings derive from Paul's interpretation of these matters. Without Paul's interpretations of these facts, the teachings of Jesus Christ, who declared that he "came not to change the law, but to fulfill it" and was "sent to the lost sheep of Israel," would not have been able to escape being a revivalist Jewish movement. Therefore, just as it is impossible to speak of Christianity without Jesus Christ, so it is impossible to speak of Christianity as a universal religion distinct from Judaism in the current sense without Paul and his interpretations of Jesus's experiences.

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