December 19, 2004 / Volume 8, Issue 51
Was Paul A Deceiver
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Recently, I was pointed to a web site which very strongly affirms that Paul was not an apostle of Christ, but rather a deceiver. This is by no means a new doctrine. The first I was introduced to it was a few years back at a booth we had in the local fall fair. It sorrows my heart that people who claim to be servants of the Lord Jesus have sought to tarnish the reputation and writing of this man of God, and in the process, draw disciples unto themselves rather than to the Lord and His pure doctrine.
Over the next number of weeks, we will address the claims made by Sherry Shriner against Paul. Visit justgivemethetruth.com to find Shriner's material in it's entirety. Shriner at times is prone to make unsubstantiated accusations (ie. Paul was Satan in the Flesh). I will not be answering such reprehensible slander, but will only address charges that have some semblance of support.
| SHRINER'S CLAIMS | ANSWERS |
| I can prove to you that Paul was a Fraud using his own words. Of course, if you're a female, and you're in the ministry, you already know he was, you probably just didn't realize it! For to be a female and in the ministry of the Lord, you had to turn your back on Paul to follow Jesus. Congrats! You figured it out! You refused to buy into the lie pie Satan tried to sell you as Paul! | Though she claims to be able to prove that Paul is a fraud by using his own words, Shriner fails to quote a single word from the apostle in this argument. The texts of contention here are 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-12. Does Paul in these contradict a teaching of Jesus, or has he simply offended Shriner? If it is the former, why did she fail to identify the teaching of the Lord which Paul negates? If it is the latter, all that Shriner has established is that she disagrees with Paul, not that he is a fraud. |
Paul was never trained by the disciples, the men who walked, talked, and broke bread with our Saviour. He received his knowledge from "revelations." |
Again, Shriner fails to supply a reference for her readers. The text in question is Galatians 1:1, 11-12. His claim to knowledge by "revelations" neither proves nor disproves his apostleship. Shriner makes the same claim (revelations) for herself. Why should we trust her "revelation" rather than his? |
Paul's account of his Damascus Road Experience changed every time he told it, thus the disciples knew he was lying. |
Interestingly, there is no record of any disciples reporting Paul's Damascus Road Experience as a lie. Shriner seems to have dreamed this one up.
There are three accounts of the apostle's Damascus Road Experience, Acts 9, 22 and 26. Shriner suggests that the accounts do not agree, but fails to show us where. It should be noted that the first of these is not Paul's account, but rather a record given by Luke. There may be details which appear in one account and not in another, but that does not make them contradictory, nor does it establish Paul as a liar. There are slight differences in the gospel accounts of the crucifixion as well. Does Shriner on this basis reject the writing of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or has she reserved such for her personal vendetta against Paul?
If the change in the accounts Shriner refers to is whether the men with Paul heard the voice which spoke or not, please visit here. |
Paul declared he was teaching another Gospel of which he himself was the Father |
Again, Shriner claimed to prove Paul as a deceiver by his own words, and yet she persists in failing to tell us where he says the incriminating statements. On two occasions the apostle Paul spoke of "another gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6).
In neither case does Paul claim to bring another gospel. In the first, he expresses his concern that if someone were to bring another gospel to the Corinthians, they may well put up with it. In the second, he voices his grief over the Galatians turning from the Lord to another gospel, which is not really another, but a perversion of the gospel of Christ. |
Paul was never repentant for being the greatest persecutor of Christians at that time! He boasted about it! Over and over! |
For Shriner to say that Paul was not repentant involves a judgment on her part of his heart. How does she know that he didn't repent? She would have us believe that he boasted about his former conduct, and thus demonstrated his lack of repentance. Did he boast about persecuting Christians?
In both Acts 22 and 26, as Paul recounts the details of his Damascus Road Experience, he speaks of his former conduct. In neither case does he do so to brag or boast, but simply states the facts of his past.
To the Corinthians, Paul said, "...I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." (1 Cor 15:9). To Timothy, he confessed, "...I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man..." (1 Ti 1:13). He did not boast in his former conduct, but in making mention of it, displayed the mercy which God had bestowed. |
Paul said God's law was a Curse. Jesus said it was a blessing. Who's lying? |
Again, Shriner fails to give her readers the text references in question. Paul calls the law a curse in Galatians 3:10, 13. However if she had bothered to read the text, she would realize that Paul was quoting from the law, for the law referred to itself as a curse to those who did not keep it (Deut 11:26-28; 27:26; 29:20).
Though the word bless (and it's derivatives) can be found 56 times from Matthew through John, not once does Jesus use it to describe the law. Shriner asked, "Who's lying?" Yes, indeed! |
Paul condemned Jesus and His disciples for false teachings, he condemned Jesus Himself for having long hair in 1 Corinthians 11:14, something approved in Numbers 6:5 and Judges 13:5. |
Numbers 6:5 commands that one under vow as a Nazarite not cut his hair. Judges 13:5 speaks of Samson, who was a Nazarite. Jesus was not. The Nazarite was not to consume grape products or approach a dead body (Num 6:3-4, 6-9). Jesus did both.
Shriner assumes that Jesus had long hair. Fact is, the Bible does not say.
Regardless, Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 11 does not condemn long hair. See here. |
Click here for this week's Answering The Atheist
How much did David pay for the threshing floor? Did he pay fifty shekels of silver (2 Samuel 24:24) or did he pay six hundred shekels of gold (1 Chronicles 21:25)? Is there a contradiction?
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