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Posts Tagged ‘paul’

Question: He's called an "apostle" and a "saint." What was the vetting process for Paul/Saul?

Paul said: "Christ died for our sins."

But Christ said: "I will have mercy and not sacrifice." He was quoting Hosea 6:6 which appears to be a condemnation of the idea of sacrifice for sins. And faced with the merchants selling doves for sacrifice, Christ forcefully overturned their benches!

How is it that a person who was not one of the 12 Apostles got the title of "Apostle" and got his words elevated to the status of "Gospel of Jesus Christ?" Who decided that a person who was not an apostle was one? Which church official started calling him a saint when the Bible tells of his dangerous violent personality?

Is it a bit of a stretch to say that he went form sinner to saint in one instant?

Answer: I tend to discount the Instant conversion "On the Road to Damascus" story in Acts because "Luke" is shown to be "Factually Challenged" in many places in the gospel he wrote and in Acts.
Generally there was little or no vetting process for that group of "Saints" the Catholic refers to as "Red Martyrs": Those killed for being Christian prior to Constantine's instantiation of Christianity as the Roman State religion.
Apostle and Bishop (Episcopo) are somewhat interchangeable terms.

The Life & Letters of the Apostle Paul: (1/3) Saul of Tarsus, A Chosen Vessel