30
votes
According to those holding that Jesus was literally born of a virgin, why did Paul not mention it?
The target audience of the writers of the gospels was to people who did not know about or did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Risen Lord. They included the virgin birth story because it was an ...
30
votes
Did Paul remain a Jew even after his conversion?
I'll offer a response broken into 2 sections:
Was Paul a Jew?
If yes, what kind of Jew?
1. Was Paul a Jew?
There is a risk here of imposing anachronisms on Paul: we are accustomed to thinking of ...
- 13.7k
21
votes
Accepted
According to those holding that Jesus was literally born of a virgin, why did Paul not mention it?
Advocates for the virgin birth make the following arguments for why Paul didn't mention it:
It wasn't controversial and therefore not worth mentioning
It didn't need to be mentioned in order to ...
- 42.6k
17
votes
Accepted
Why don’t the apostles quote Jesus or reference any gospel events?
If there is a narrow view of what "the gospel" is, then that could explain the confusion in the question. There are four gospel accounts, written between the early 50s through till around 85....
- 37.2k
16
votes
Why did James not defend Paul? Does James failing to defend Paul mean that James' faith is one without works?
There's a lot of assumptions in your question that are not born out by the text in Acts 21 and elsewhere.
You say that " James tells Paul to perform the Jewish ritual of purification so that ...
- 32.5k
12
votes
According to those holding that Jesus was literally born of a virgin, why did Paul not mention it?
I much prefer Nathaniel's answer to mine (the accepted answer), as it is considerably more thorough and answers more questions. I still believe the Paul's mission to the gentiles is a piece of the ...
- 1,882
10
votes
Did Paul actually report anything about the life of Jesus?
It's important to note that the video in question is a presentation of the Christ myth theory, which is a fringe academic theory. Very few scholars give it any credence; in fact, New Testament scholar ...
- 15.4k
10
votes
Accepted
According to Catholicism, did St. Paul believe that end of the world was imminent?
The Catholic Church has a nuanced approach to Biblical inerrancy. A dogmatic constitution of the Second Vatican Council states inerrancy applies only to
that truth which God wanted put into sacred ...
- 6,804
10
votes
According to Trinitarians who believe Philippians 2:6 says Jesus is God, why did Paul add the word 'form' ('morphe')?
ος εν μορφη θεου υπαρχων ουχ αρπαγμον ηγησατο το ειναι ισα θεω
Philippians 2:6 [TR - undisputed]
... who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God ... [KJV]
... who, ...
- 26.9k
9
votes
Why does Paul call Peter "Cephas" in his writings?
Πέτρος (Petros) is simply Greek (naturally, because the New Testament was written in Greek) for the name Jesus actually gave him in Aramaic: כיפא (Kefa—Rock).
In Greek, Kepha is transliterated (not ...
- 8,420
9
votes
How do those who hold Jesus = God in the Trinitarian sense account for Paul's reticence to state this clearly and consistently?
Paul clearly states the Deity of Christ and is not at all reticent to do so.
1. Romans 9:5
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ...
- 26.9k
8
votes
Did St. Paul know the doctrine of the Trinity?
Taken from St. Pauls writings:
For in Him (Jesus)all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form Col 2:9
Perhaps one of the clearest indications that Paul thought Jesus was Yahweh comes from the ...
- 920
7
votes
According to Catholicism, what did St Paul mean by "a thorn in the flesh"?
The Catholic Haydock Commentary on 2 Cor. 12:7 says:
A sting of my flesh,[1] an angel, or a messenger of Satan, to buffet me. The Latin word [stimulus] signifies any thing that pricks or stings, ...
- 41.4k
7
votes
Did St. Paul ever claim prophethood?
Paul did not explicitly claim to be a Prophet although there were occasions where he acted as one (cf. Acts 13 & Acts 27), however he did claim to be personally called as an Apostle by the risen ...
- 12.6k
7
votes
Why don’t the apostles quote Jesus or reference any gospel events?
A simple answer is that the epistles are simply that: letters, originally written to specific churches to tackle specific problems. A lot of background understanding between the letter writer and the ...
- 25.6k
7
votes
Why don’t the apostles quote Jesus or reference any gospel events?
Most churches, and most New Testament scholars, believe that the stories of the life of Jesus and his teachings were first passed down as oral traditions. The Gospel of the life and work of Jesus was ...
- 20.8k
7
votes
Did Paul remain a Jew even after his conversion?
It is certainly true that "Paul had a very remarkable role in shifting the Christian faith into a more Gentile and independent religion rather than enforcing Mosaic laws." However, the ...
- 37.2k
7
votes
Why did James not defend Paul? Does James failing to defend Paul mean that James' faith is one without works?
What the Christian Jerusalem council asked Paul to do was to sponsor the purification of 4 men who were fulfilling a vow so that the Jews could see, by Paul's actions, that he was not against the ...
- 21.1k
6
votes
Accepted
How did Paul learn the gospel?
Yes, Paul gives an account of how he learned his gospel several times:
2 Corinthians 12:1 1
"It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.&...
- 2,492
6
votes
How do Evangelicals explain when Paul writes "I, not the Lord"?
Evangelical commentators generally hold that Paul is speaking authoritatively in 1 Corinthians 7:12, and only indicating that he was not aware of any direct teaching on this subject by Jesus during ...
- 42.6k
6
votes
Didn't Jesus return to Earth after the resurrection when he appeared to Paul?
I think you might be overthinking this. Going by NKJV, Acts 9:1-9, Christ did not necessarily "appear" physically. Verses 3-4 only indicate that Paul heard a voice and saw a light, and that light ...
- 161
6
votes
Accepted
How can Christians avoid antinatalist implications of 1 Corinthians 7?
For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. - 1 Corinthians 7:7
In this verse Paul acknowledges that ...
- 21.1k
5
votes
Why aren't all unbelievers given a "Road to Damascus" moment, according to Catholicism?
TL;DR (1) Because He doesn't need to, and (2) it's not His style.
1 Samuel 3:18
What is pleasing in the LORD’s sight, the LORD will do.
If you look at how well the Apostle Paul spread the Faith, ...
- 6,747
5
votes
What was St Paul's age at the time of his conversion and what was his age when he died?
It is somewhat impossible to know for sure how old St Paul was at the time of his conversion and death.
The Apostle Paul according to Wikipedia was born between the years of 5 BC and 5 AD. Most ...
- 74.5k
5
votes
According to Catholicism, why does Paul spend so much time arguing that the law doesn't apply, when Jesus seems to indicate that it does?
Acording to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (as usual, emphasis is mine):
577 At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus issued a solemn warning in which he presented God's law, given on ...
- 2,795
5
votes
Why is Saint Paul considered gnostic? (by some)
Valentinus was a Gnostic. St. Paul was not a Gnostic. Paul simply made mention of common ideas in accordance with Greek Cosmology when writing to the people in Asia Minor. The Logos, Pleroma, ...
5
votes
Are there any churches that do not accept the teachings of Paul?
The Christian group called Swedenborgian, which also goes by the name of the New Church, does not include Paul’s writings in its biblical canon. Many New Thought era (1860 to 1920) founded sects can ...
- 21.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Why are 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus referred to as the “Pastoral Epistles”?
All three of those letters are written by Paul to people who he mentored in the faith and are now leaders of churches (pastors) in their own right. They also deal largely with instructions and advice ...
- 32.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Does the Westminster Confession affirm or deny Luther's predilection for Paul's writings?
First of all, it's important to recognize that "Reformed theology" does not mean "theology of the reformers" – the terminology is a bit confusing, which is why the tradition is ...
- 42.6k
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