Innovations by Paul
Then we have
two very important
points, regarding which the
Qur’an and Hadith as well as the four Gospels are unanimous, but which have
been radically changed by St. Paul during
the period immediately
following the departure
of Prophet Isa (AS). These innovations have transformed what was only a
reform movement among the Jews into a philosophical religion full of pagan
conceptions.
(1) It is abundantly clear from Matthew 5:17-19, Luke 16:17
and Mark 13:31, that Jesus Christ had no intention whatsoever to give any new
law, nor to rescind and abolish the Mosaic law, as he was sent by Almighty God
only to renew and reinforce the law of the Torah, to purify his people from
spiritual and moral degeneration, and to revive the authentic spirit of Deen.
He was, obviously, one of the Jews and was not supposed to become the founder
of a new religion and a new community. However, preaching in the name of Jesus
Christ, the actual founder of Christianity, St. Paul, simply abrogated the
Mosaic law (Romans 4:15).
The historian Michael
Hart has the following to say in his book “The
Hundred”:
Paul, more than any other man, was
responsible for the transformation of Christianity from a Jewish sect into a
world religion. His central ideas of the
divinity of Christ and of justification by faith alone have remained basic to
Christian thought throughout all the intervening centuries ... Indeed, the
influence of Paul’s ideas has been so great that some scholars have claimed
that he, rather than Jesus, should be regarded as the principal founder of the
Christian religion.
(2) According to the Holy Qur’an, Prophet Isa (AS) was
appointed a prophet only for the Israelites (Aal-e-Imran 3:49 & Al-Saff
61:6), and this is confirmed by his sayings which appear in the Gospels
(Matthew 10:5,6 & 15:24), where he forbids his disciples from extending
their evangelistic activity outside that circle. However, a controversial step
was taken in this respect by St. Paul, who persuaded the small number of early
followers of Prophet Isa (AS)
— after a
period of serious
dispute — to preach among the non-Jews as well. As it
happened, Paul had met with little success among the Israelites, but his
sweeping innovations made the new faith much more palatable for the neighboring
pagan people, and thus his brand of Christianity rapidly gained popularity
among these nations.
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