Civilization #25: Paul of Tarsus, Messiah of Rome

Why are the teachings of Jesus and his apostle Paul so different? Jesus preached compassion and mercy towards all, while Paul preached that Jesus was the son of God who atoned for our sins with his sacrifice. In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin presents a unique perspective on Paul’s motivations. He argues that Paul was an agent of the Roman empire who wanted to use Jesus to combat messianic Judaism. The Roman empire and the Jews would fight three costly wars, and the fanaticism of the Jews would awe and scare the Romans. The most fanatical Jews believed that a Messiah would arise to lead them to victory against the Romans. Paul taught that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and he had come to redeem us from our own failings, not to wage war against the Romans.