Paul also taught works There is a difficulty for those who think messages of faith and works are in contradiction, but classical theology resolved the tension between James and Paul long ago.

It wasn't only James the Just. u/Thisisnotanexit And the issue was beyond "tension". But, of course you're free to believe anything you want to believe. IMO, a large number of jews in Jerusalem wanted to kill Paul for his teachings. Which were different than Jesus's teachings. Maybe you're not seeing the dichotomy, but I do. Maybe because I'm looking at the outcome in a different way than you do. So, with that in mind allow me to look at what Paul actually teaches and how each of his "innovations" directly undermines one of these three pillars of Jewish fanaticism. First pillar, purity. Purity means absolute obedience to the law of Moses. Purity means circumcision. Purity means dietary restrictions. Purity means Sabbath observance. Purity means not associating with Gentiles. Purity means indulging only marrying within the faith. But what does Paul say? Paul says circumcision doesn't matter. You don't need to be circumcised to be part of God's people. The law of Moses doesn't matter. What matters is faith in Jesus. The external signs don't matter. What matters is the inner belief. Now, why is circumcision such a big deal? jews know why. So many Jews simply stayed separate from mainstream civic life. This maintained Jewish distinctiveness, but it also isolated Jews from the networks of power and commerce and culture. Paul says, "You don't need to be circumcised.". And if you only be circumcised, then suddenly you can participate in gymnasium culture. You can network with Greeks and Romans. You can integrate into civic life. You're no longer visibly marked as separate. So Paul's message breaks down the barrier of purity. It makes assimilation possible. It allows Jews to become Roman while still claiming to maintain their faith.

Second pillar, persecution complex. Jews believe they're persecuted because they're God's chosen people. The world hates them for their righteousness. This creates intense group solidarity, us against the world. But Paul says, you're not being persecuted because you're righteous. You're being persecuted because you're not Roman citizens. Look at me. I'm a Roman citizen. And the Romans protect me. They don't persecute me. I can preach anything I want and no one touches me. So the solution isn't to resist Rome. The solution is to become Roman, get citizenship, participate in the system, then you have legal protection. Then you can practice your religion freely. The Romans don't care what you believe as long as you don't rebel. Paul's own life story becomes proof of this argument. He was persecuted by Jews, not by Romans. Romans saved him. Romans protected him. Romans gave him safe passage to Rome to appeal to the emperor.

Third pillar, the coming of the Messiah. Jews believe the Messiah will be a warrior king who will lead a military revolt against Rome and establish God's kingdom through violent conquest. But Paul says the Messiah has already come. He was Jesus. And Jesus didn't come to lead a military revolt. Jesus came to teach a message of love and forgiveness and spiritual transformation. Jesus had nothing against the Roman Empire. Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesars's.". Jesus told people to turn the other cheek. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers.". So if the Messiah already came and his message was peace, not war, then waiting for a military messiah is foolish. That's not the plan. The plan is inner transformation, spiritual salvation, not political revolution.

I'm not trying to convince you of anything, like I said you're free to believe anything you want. But, at least acknowledge this is a very radical view about Paul you haven't heard before. That he is a spy working for the Roman empire. Why don't you look at the present. Today assimilated jews are disrespected just as much as goyim, if not more. Just ask any assimilated jew. Jews still believe they're persecuted because they're God's chosen people. And if say otherwise you're an antisemite, even if you are a jew. And how about Jewish fanaticism, just look at Chabad Lubavitch. Every day they're praying for the coming of the Moshiach. And then look at things from the Roman empire & Paul perspective. If they deal with these three things, then fanaticism disappears. If purity doesn't matter, then you can assimilate. If Roman citizenship protects you, then you don't need to resist. If the Messiah already came with a message of peace, then you're not waiting for a warrior king to lead you into battle. The theological framework completely neutralizes the political threat. This is Roman propaganda designed to make you weak, to make you surrender, to make you abandon the faith. But Paul's message wasn't targeted at fanatical Jews. They were still a minority. Paul's message was targeted at diaspora Jews like himself. Jews who were stuck between two worlds. Jews who had Greek fathers and Jewish mothers. Jews who wanted to participate in Roman society but felt guilt about compromising their traditions. Jews who were tired of being outsiders who wanted to belong. For these people, Paul's message was liberating. You can be Roman and Jewish. You can participate in civic life and still worship the God of Abraham.

IMO, Paul was cleaver. And I also believe he genuinely believed in his mission. His mission was to save his people. And from his perspective, the path the fanatics were taking led to destruction. Rebelling against Rome was suicide. Rome was the most powerful military force in world history. You cannot defeat them through armed resistance. All you do is get yourselves killed. If you want to survive, if you want to preserve Jewish life and culture, you have to adapt. You have to make compromises. You have to work within the Roman system, not against it. And look, there are advantages to Roman civilization. You can become prosperous. You can be educated. You can have security and stability. Roman peace brings benefits if you're willing to participate. So Paul's mission was assimilation but not assimilation that destroys Jewish identity. Assimilation that preserves a modified version of Jewish identity that's compatible with Roman power. In his own mind, Paul was a savior. He was saving the Jewish people from their own suicidal fanaticism. The irony is that to do this, he had to radically transform what it meant to be Jewish. He had to create a new religion that kept some Jewish elements but abandoned others. He had to make Judaism acceptable to Rome. And whether Paul realized or not, whether he intended it or not, he was doing exactly what Roman imperial interests required. And Romans continued with the Paul Project long after Saul of Taurus's death. If something works why fix it?

Paul also taught works There is a difficulty for those who think messages of faith and works are in contradiction, but classical theology resolved the tension between James and Paul long ago.

It wasn't only James the Just. u/Thisisnotanexit And the issue was beyond "tension". But, of course you're free to believe anything you want to believe. IMO, a large number of jews in Jerusalem wanted to kill Paul for his teachings. Which were different than Jesus's teachings. Maybe you're not seeing the dichotomy, but I do. Maybe because I'm looking at the outcome in a different way than you. Like David Icke says "It's crucial to uncover what the agenda's outcomes are planned to be. Because once you know that, you can see the stepping stones, the totalitarian tiptoe to those outcomes.". There might be some truth to that, but I'm not an Icke's follower. So, with that in mind allow me to look at what Paul actually teaches and how each of his "innovations" directly undermines one of these three pillars of Jewish fanaticism. First pillar, purity. Purity means absolute obedience to the law of Moses. Purity means circumcision. Purity means dietary restrictions. Purity means Sabbath observance. Purity means not associating with Gentiles. Purity means indulging only marrying within the faith. But what does Paul say? Paul says circumcision doesn't matter. You don't need to be circumcised to be part of God's people. The law of Moses doesn't matter. What matters is faith in Jesus. The external signs don't matter. What matters is the inner belief. Now, why is circumcision such a big deal? jews know why. So many Jews simply stayed separate from mainstream civic life. This maintained Jewish distinctiveness, but it also isolated Jews from the networks of power and commerce and culture. Paul says, "You don't need to be circumcised.". And if you only be circumcised, then suddenly you can participate in gymnasium culture. You can network with Greeks and Romans. You can integrate into civic life. You're no longer visibly marked as separate. So Paul's message breaks down the barrier of purity. It makes assimilation possible. It allows Jews to become Roman while still claiming to maintain their faith.

Second pillar, persecution complex. Jews believe they're persecuted because they're God's chosen people. The world hates them for their righteousness. This creates intense group solidarity, us against the world. But Paul says, you're not being persecuted because you're righteous. You're being persecuted because you're not Roman citizens. Look at me. I'm a Roman citizen. And the Romans protect me. They don't persecute me. I can preach anything I want and no one touches me. So the solution isn't to resist Rome. The solution is to become Roman, get citizenship, participate in the system, then you have legal protection. Then you can practice your religion freely. The Romans don't care what you believe as long as you don't rebel. Paul's own life story becomes proof of this argument. He was persecuted by Jews, not by Romans. Romans saved him. Romans protected him. Romans gave him safe passage to Rome to appeal to the emperor.

Third pillar, the coming of the Messiah. Jews believe the Messiah will be a warrior king who will lead a military revolt against Rome and establish God's kingdom through violent conquest. But Paul says the Messiah has already come. He was Jesus. And Jesus didn't come to lead a military revolt. Jesus came to teach a message of love and forgiveness and spiritual transformation. Jesus had nothing against the Roman Empire. Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesars's.". Jesus told people to turn the other cheek. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers.". So if the Messiah already came and his message was peace, not war, then waiting for a military messiah is foolish. That's not the plan. The plan is inner transformation, spiritual salvation, not political revolution.

I'm not trying to convince you of anything, like I said you're free to believe anything you want. But, at least acknowledge this is a very radical view about Paul you haven't heard before. That he is a spy working for the Roman empire. Why don't you look at the present. Today assimilated jews are disrespected just as much as goyim, if not more. Just ask any assimilated jew. Jews still believe they're persecuted because they're God's chosen people. And if say otherwise you're an antisemite, even if you are a jew. And how about Jewish fanaticism, just look at Chabad Lubavitch. Every day they're praying for the coming of the Moshiach. And then look at things from the Roman empire & Paul perspective. If they deal with these three things, then fanaticism disappears. If purity doesn't matter, then you can assimilate. If Roman citizenship protects you, then you don't need to resist. If the Messiah already came with a message of peace, then you're not waiting for a warrior king to lead you into battle. The theological framework completely neutralizes the political threat. This is Roman propaganda designed to make you weak, to make you surrender, to make you abandon the faith. But Paul's message wasn't targeted at fanatical Jews. They were still a minority. Paul's message was targeted at diaspora Jews like himself. Jews who were stuck between two worlds. Jews who had Greek fathers and Jewish mothers. Jews who wanted to participate in Roman society but felt guilt about compromising their traditions. Jews who were tired of being outsiders who wanted to belong. For these people, Paul's message was liberating. You can be Roman and Jewish. You can participate in civic life and still worship the God of Abraham.

IMO, Paul was cleaver. And I also believe he genuinely believed in his mission. His mission was to save his people. And from his perspective, the path the fanatics were taking led to destruction. Rebelling against Rome was suicide. Rome was the most powerful military force in world history. You cannot defeat them through armed resistance. All you do is get yourselves killed. If you want to survive, if you want to preserve Jewish life and culture, you have to adapt. You have to make compromises. You have to work within the Roman system, not against it. And look, there are advantages to Roman civilization. You can become prosperous. You can be educated. You can have security and stability. Roman peace brings benefits if you're willing to participate. So Paul's mission was assimilation but not assimilation that destroys Jewish identity. Assimilation that preserves a modified version of Jewish identity that's compatible with Roman power. In his own mind, Paul was a savior. He was saving the Jewish people from their own suicidal fanaticism. The irony is that to do this, he had to radically transform what it meant to be Jewish. He had to create a new religion that kept some Jewish elements but abandoned others. He had to make Judaism acceptable to Rome. And whether Paul realized or not, whether he intended it or not, he was doing exactly what Roman imperial interests required. And Romans continued with the Paul Project long after Saul of Taurus's death. If something works why fix it?