Rhetoric Race and Religion
It’s not rare to encounter people who claim that Paul “invented” Christianity. The basic idea is that Jesus taught a pure and ethical form of Judaism that focused on God and gracious living, while Paul developed a religion that worshiped Jesus rather than God. Though this idea literally makes no sense historically, it’s gotten a lot of run. Even the occasional serious academic book “blames” Paul for perverting Jesus’ message in inventing Christianity.
One easily appreciates the appeal of this position. In the first three Gospels — Matthew, Mark and Luke — Jesus speaks continually about the kingdom of God. He does not ordinarily speak about himself. In the fourth Gospel, however, Jesus talks about himself all the time. Even ancient Christians recognized this phenomenon. Writing around the year 200, Clement of Alexandria described John as “a spiritual Gospel” on the grounds that it relayed not the literal history of Jesus’ career but its spiritual and theological significance. How did followers of Jesus move from a religion focused upon Israel’s God and God’s kingdom to a religion devoted to the person of Jesus? For many, the Apostle Paul fills that gap.
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