What is your opinion on this theory (not mine) of Saul / St Paul?
Saul / St Paul was actually Josephus Flavius. I realize this is a bold theory but if you can open you mind to it then it seems to make a lot of sense. Obviously you need to believe that Jesus Christ was a myth and then consider that St Paul is a pseudonym. Enjoy. Saul and Josephus lived identical lives. Here is a starter for you... Saul / St Paul – A Jew of Tarsus, Raised in Jerusalem, Roman Citizenship, Educated as a Pharisee, Became a Rabbi Josephus Flavius – A Maccabean Jew, Raised in Jerusalem, Became Roman Citizen, Educated as_ a Pharisee, Became a Rabbi Saul/Josephus disappeared from public view for a number of years from AD 56 onwards, Saul admits being in prison while Josephus skipped 7 years of his life-story. Both embark on a voyage to Rome in AD 62 - date match exactly. Both voyages end in disaster, both encounter a storm and are shipwreaked then end up in Rome The ‘publisher’ of both of their works was Epaphroditus, secretary to emperors Nero and Domitian. What are the chances of two individuals, two jewish priests, both Roman citizens, both shipwreaked, both writing many letters through the offices of the same ‘publisher’? I would say to you that it is far more likely they where the same person. Your wondering about how I explain the age of Saul/St Paul yes? Saul / St Paul's birth date is unknown. The date given for Josephus birth is AD 37 and is entirely possible for both. There is nothing within the life of Saul, as detailed in the new testament, that would require his missionary tours to start before AD 53, when he was 16 yrs. Even today, missionary tours are most often undertaken by the youth of a sect or community and Saul was no exception to this rule. Also, the epistles or letters of Saul, which form the bulk of the new testament, all date from AD 53 onwards. In addition – William Whiston, 1737 – Famous for translating Josephus’ works into English observed – “Josephus’ work and the letters of St Paul are written in the same styleâ€. There is actually many more similarities, I can add them if you wish. There are also endless explanations of events but i felt this was enough information to create an interest in the theory.
Religion & Spirituality - 3 Answers
People's Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
Answer 1 :
No.
Answer 2 :
It's not a scholarly theory, and it's not very likely. Also, most scholars don't believe that the friend of Paul by the name of Epaphroditus, the secretary of Nero by the same name, and the Epaphroditus whom Josephus dedicated his book to were the same people. It was a fairly common name at the time. I'll see if I can find a full refutation of it (which I was looking for, which is why I'm only just now submitting this answer), and post a link to it. Edit: I found an article that has a response which shows some of the differences in the circumstances surrounding Paul's and Josephus' shipwrecks here (scroll down to see the comment): http://vridar.wordpress.com/2007/04/25/the-shipwrecks-of-josephus-and-paul-part-3/ I'll continue looking.
Answer 3 :
Um. No. Paul was a pagan from Tarsus who moved to Jersualem, briefly converted to Saduceean Judaism and then converted out again and began railing against Judaism, especially circumcision. He had no Pharisee training. (Or, if he did, it was quite quite poor. His writing reveals a total lack of Pharisee training but does show Greek rhetorical training.) Paul never met Jesus and was rejected by Jesus' followers, the Nazarenes. Josephus, Jewish born historian who documented the fighting between the Romans and Jews
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