[i]Refuting the claim that Christianity is based on Paul rather than Christ

• A prominent objection from Muslims against Christianity claims that it is not rooted in Jesus Christ’s teachings but in the ideas of the apostle Paul, who allegedly distorted Jesus’ original message.
• Critics assert that Paul introduced doctrines like Jesus’ divinity, the Holy Trinity, and salvation by grace through faith, which they argue are alien to Jesus’ teachings.
• This objection stems from the Islamic view of Jesus in the Qur’an, which portrays Him as a prophet calling for the worship of God alone, with Paul accused of perverting this message to create a new religion glorifying Christ.
• However, historical and biblical evidence demonstrates that Christianity is firmly grounded in Jesus’ teachings, with Paul faithfully extending, not inventing, the gospel message.

The historical context: The origin of the objection and misunderstanding

• The claim that Paul invented Christianity arises from his background: he was not one of the twelve disciples, did not meet Jesus during His earthly ministry, and was a former Pharisee who persecuted Christians.
• Acts 8:3 (NIV): “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.”
• After his dramatic conversion, Paul preached teachings derived from a direct revelation from Christ, not human invention.
• Critics highlight Paul’s emphasis on grace over law, citing: Romans 3:28 (NIV): “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” Also Galatians 5:6 (NIV): “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
• This approach is not a novel invention but an extension of Jesus’ teachings, which emphasized faith alongside the fulfilment of the law, as will be shown.
• The objection often reflects a misunderstanding of Paul’s role, viewing him as an outsider imposing Hellenistic ideas. However, his Pharisaic background rooted him in Jewish theology, and his conversion aligned his teachings with Jesus’ message, contextualized for Gentile audiences.

Paul’s invitation: Christ’s personal revelation

• Paul’s conversion was not due to human persuasion or philosophical adoption but a direct encounter with Jesus Christ.
• Acts 9:3-5 (NIV): “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.”
• This call was confirmed by Ananias, a servant of the Lord: Acts 9:17 (NIV): “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’”
• The Lord Himself affirmed Paul’s mission to Ananias: Acts 9:15 (NIV): “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”
• Paul’s teachings were not self-generated but received through divine revelation, commissioned by Christ to extend the gospel to Gentiles.
• This direct divine call parallels the commissioning of Old Testament prophets (e.g., Isaiah 6), underscoring Paul’s apostolic authority as divinely ordained, not self-appointed.

Theological foundation: Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels

• To refute the claim that Paul invented key Christian doctrines, Jesus’ own teachings in the Gospels demonstrate the foundations of His divinity, salvation by faith, and Trinitarian implications.
• Jesus’ divinity: John 10:30 (NIV): “I and the Father are one.”  This claim was understood as divine by contemporaries, prompting accusations of blasphemy:
• John 10:33 (NIV): “The Jews answered him, ‘We are not stoning you for any good work,’ they replied, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’”
• John 8:58 (NIV): “Very truly I tell you before Abraham was born, I am!” The phrase “I am” echoes God’s self-revelation to Moses:  Exodus 3:14 (NIV): “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.’”
• This divine claim aligns with Paul’s affirmations: Colossians 2:9 (NIV): “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”
• Philippians 2:6-7 (NIV): “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.”
• Salvation by faith: Jesus taught salvation through faith in Him:  John 3:16 (NIV): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
• Paul’s teaching mirrors this: Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV): “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.”
• The Law’s fulfilment: Jesus affirmed the law’s purpose while fulfilling it:  Matthew 5:17 (NIV): “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.”
• This fulfilment is through His redemptive work, as Paul explains Galatians 3:13 (NIV): “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”
• Jesus’ actions, such as forgiving sins without sacrifices, reflect divine authority: John 8:11 (NIV): “She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”
• The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32, NIV) illustrates God’s forgiving love, accepting sinners by grace, aligning with Paul’s teachings on justification.
• Jesus’ teachings prefigure Paul’s emphasis on grace, as seen in His interactions with sinners (e.g., the woman at the well, John 4) and His rejection of legalistic interpretations of the law (e.g., Sabbath healings, Mark 3:1-6).

[ii]The unity of the apostles: The testimony of the early church

• The claim that Paul distorted Jesus’ teachings is refuted by the unity among the apostles, who recognized Paul as a partner in the same gospel.
• If Paul’s teachings were heretical, apostles like Peter, James, and John who knew Jesus personally would have opposed him, but they affirmed his ministry.
• Galatians 2:7-9 (NIV): “On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship.”
• At the Jerusalem Council, Peter supported Paul’s message of grace for Gentiles: Acts 15:8-11 (NIV): “God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith… We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
• Peter declared Jesus as Lord and Messiah, aligning with Paul: Acts 2:36 (NIV): “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
• Romans 10:9 (NIV): “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
• The apostles’ unity and mutual affirmation demonstrate that Paul’s teachings were consistent with Jesus’ gospel, adapted for Gentile audiences.

Testimonies of the Church Fathers: Early Christian Tradition

• Early Church Fathers, writing soon after the apostles, confirm that Paul’s teachings were a faithful extension of Jesus’ and the apostles’ message, not a deviation.
• Ignatius of Antioch (martyred ~107 AD), a disciple of John, wrote in his Letter to the Ephesians: “Jesus Christ is one doctor, body and soul, born and unborn in the flesh, who became both man and God at the same time.”
• This echoes Paul’s teaching: 1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV): “Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”
• Justin Martyr (~150 AD), in his First Apology, wrote: “We do not follow vain fables, but declare to you what we have heard and lived from the Word that was from the beginning.”
• This aligns with John’s Gospel and Paul’s teachings: John 1:1 (NIV): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
• Clement of Rome wrote: “We are justified not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.”
• This reflects Paul’s doctrine: Romans 3:28 (NIV): “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.”
• Irenaeus, in response to Gnostic heresies, wrote: “The Holy Scriptures are perfect because they came from God, and they clearly speak of Christ crucified, the resurrection, and salvation by faith.”
• These early testimonies affirm that Paul’s teachings on Jesus’ divinity, salvation by faith, and redemption were consistent with the apostolic tradition and Jesus’ own words.
• The rapid acceptance of Paul’s letters as Scripture (e.g., 2 Peter 3:16) and their use in early Christian worship further confirm their alignment with the broader apostolic witness.

Reply to sub-objections:

The Law, Jesus’ mission to the Jews only, The doctrine of the Trinity

• Firstly: Critics claim Paul abolished the Jewish law, contradicting Jesus’ affirmation of it, but this misinterprets both Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings.
• Jesus stated: Matthew 5:17 (NIV): “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.”
• Jesus’ “fulfilment” refers to completing the law’s purpose through His life, death, and resurrection, not perpetuating its rituals: Luke 24:44 (NIV): “He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
• Paul echoes this: Romans 10:4 (NIV): “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”
• Jesus demonstrated divine authority by forgiving sins without sacrifices, fulfilling the law’s intent: Mark 2:5, 10-11 (NIV): “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven. ‘But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the man, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
• Paul’s teaching on the law’s fulfilment through Christ’s redemptive work aligns with Jesus’ actions and words.
• The law’s ceremonial aspects (e.g., sacrifices) were fulfilled in Christ’s ultimate sacrifice (Hebrews 10:12), while its moral principles remain, as Paul affirms (Romans 13:8-10).

Secondly: Jesus’ message to the Jews only

• Some argue Jesus’ mission was exclusively for Jews, and Paul’s outreach to Gentiles was a betrayal, but the Gospels show Jesus’ universal intent.
• Jesus commanded: Matthew 28:19 (NIV): “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
• Jesus praised the faith of Gentiles: Matthew 8:10 (NIV): “Truly I tell you; I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” John 4:26 (NIV): “Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you—I am he.’” (to the Samaritan woman).
• This fulfils Old Testament prophecy: Isaiah 49:6 (NIV): “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
• Paul cites this: Acts 13:47 (NIV): “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
• Paul’s Gentile mission was a continuation of Jesus’ universal vision, not a deviation.
• Jesus’ initial focus on Israel (Matthew 15:24) was a strategic priority to fulfil messianic prophecies, but His broader mission included all nations, as seen in His parables (e.g., Luke 14:23).

Thirdly: The Trinity is a Pauline doctrine

• Critics claim the Trinity originates with Paul, not Jesus, but Jesus Himself affirmed the Trinitarian framework: Matthew 28:19 (NIV): “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
• Paul echoes this: 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV): “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
• Jesus’ teachings on His unity with the Father (John 10:30) and the Spirit’s role (John 16:13-15) lay the foundation for Trinitarian theology, which Paul articulates but does not invent.
• The Trinity’s roots are also in Old Testament hints (e.g., Genesis 1:26, “Let us make mankind in our image”), developed explicitly in the New Testament by Jesus and the apostles.

Conclusion:

• Jesus is the foundation of Christianity, not Paul
• Biblical evidence, apostolic unity, and early Church Fathers’ testimony confirm that Christianity is rooted in Jesus Christ, not Paul’s innovations.
• Jesus called Paul, commissioned the disciples to preach in His name, revealed His divinity, forgave sins, and taught salvation through faith in Him.
• John 14:6 (NIV): “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
• Peter affirmed Jesus’ redemptive work: 1 Peter 3:18 (NIV): “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
• John declared Jesus’ divinity: John 1:1 (NIV): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
• Paul’s teachings explain and apply Jesus’ gospel to Gentiles, not deviate from it.
• Attempts to separate Paul from Jesus ignore the Gospel’s testimony, historical evidence, and the Holy Spirit’s work, lacking an objective basis.
• Paul himself clarified his role: 2 Corinthians 4:5 (NIV): “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
• Christianity is founded on Christ, the incarnate God and only Savior, with Paul and other apostles as His faithful servants.
• The coherence of the New Testament, the rapid spread of Christianity, and the consistent witness of early Christian communities across diverse regions (e.g., Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome) affirm that Paul’s teachings were integral to, not divergent from, the apostolic faith centred on Jesus.

[i] https://st-takla.org/books/helmy-elkommos/biblical-criticism/new-testament/102.html

 In Arabic

[ii] https://st-takla.org/books/helmy-elkommos/biblical-criticism/new-testament/103.html in Arabic