Letter to the Reader

Are you open to a Word of advice?...

Considering the consequence, nothing is more important, or more controversial, than questioning the basis of popular religious beliefs. Therefore, since the world’s most popular religion is based upon the letters written by Paul, this systematic evaluation of his epistles may be among the most valuable and challenging books you have ever encountered.

The underlying questions this book strives to answer are: is Paul’s message consistent with Yahweh’s Word and Yahshua’s testimony, and if not, could Paul’s letters have been inspired by the God and Savior he contradicted? In other words: is Paul believable?

The tendency of most people is to evaluate evidence they are uncomfortable with, not on its merits, but instead based upon the background and motivations of the messenger who bears disquieting news. So while Questioning Paul isn’t about me, you are entitled to the following pertinent information.

At the onset of this study I was inclined to believe Paul’s testimony. I thought that Sha’uwl (Paul’s given name which was based upon she’owl, meaning "to question")  was an Apostle, that he encountered God on the road to Damascus, and that he spent three years in Arabia in preparation for his mission—just as he had claimed. While still in the starting blocks of what would become an extraordinarily thoughtful evaluation of Sha’uwl’s veracity, based at least upon the comprehensive review I had previously completed of Colossians, I was predisposed to think that scribal error, misleading translations, unsupported interpretations, confusion over which "Law" Sha’uwl was assailing, and an overall ignorance of the Torah’s purpose, had collectively abetted religious doctrines which were inconsistent with the self-proclaimed Apostle’s intended message.

But it will be Paul’s letters, not my preconceived notions, which will ultimately determine whether or not one of the world’s most famous religious characters had the audacity to contradict God, undermine His Word, and establish a "New Testament" in place of the "Old Testament" he may have sought to supersede. If he did, and if he made his case, then Christianity is right. If he didn’t, billions of Christian souls have been misled.

To arrive at the truth, we will have to resolve which "Law" Paul was assailing: Natural Law, Roman Law, Rabbinic Law, or Mosaic Law—known as the Torah. We will have to closely compare the oldest textual witnesses to our modern-Greek manuscripts to determine if Sha’uwl’s words have been affected by scribal error, attributing things to him that he did not actually say. And after presenting Paul’s letter in English, rendering it as accurately as possible from the oldest manuscripts, we will compare these findings to other translations to ascertain whether or not translational errors have artificially altered our impression of Sha’uwl’s purpose in writing his epistles.

By way of background, Questioning Paul was composed after I had compiled the first 2,000 pages of a collection entitled Yada Yahweh – A Conversation with God. In this seven-volume study, I provide an amplified translation of the oldest Scriptural manuscripts and then share insights into what Yahweh revealed based upon the words He chose to use. As a result, I have come to understand God’s nature, purpose, and plan far better than most scholars and theologians. And that perspective is pertinent because Paul purports to speak on behalf of this God. If Sha’uwl contradicts or misquotes Yahweh’s Word I am in a position to hold him accountable.

Having personally met with Islamic terrorists from al-Qaeda in the immediate aftermath of September 11^th, 2001, I wrote Tea With Terrorists – Who They Are? Why They Kill? And What Will Stop Them? Thereafter, I compiled Prophet of Doom – Islam’s Terrorist Dogma in Muhammad’s Own Words, the best documented, most comprehensive, chronological, and contextual presentation of Islam’s five oldest scriptural sources ever written. As a result, I have come to understand Muhammad and Islam. That’s important because Sha’uwl and Muhammad share many traits in common, making Paul’s epistles, and especially Galatians, remarkably similar to the Qur’an in substance and style.

I don’t say these things to brag, because I have no basis for pride. Apart from being willing to invest the time to learn, and then share what I’ve discovered, I possess no other qualifications which would impress anyone. I’m not a scholar nor am I a theologian. And since we are discussing labels, I have no affiliation with any political party or religious group. I do not seek a following and I do not profit from this research (at least not materially). And since it seems to be of interest to many, racially I’m a mutt, part Sioux, Irish, Scottish, and English. I am therefore, not Jewish.

You should know that I have rewritten this book three times, because the evidence I discovered did not conform to my expectations. I began this project defending Paul, and therefore I positioned his every word as favorably as the manuscripts and lexicons would allow. I then emphasized the positive aspects of what he had said, and all too often glossed over those things which were of concern, remaining silent when I should have spoken. Frankly, it wasn’t until the end of the fourth chapter of Galatians that I realized that I had been fooled. But even then, I was blind to the ploy Sha’uwl was using to manipulate his audience. It wasn’t until I had lived with this material for many months, twelve hours a day, six days a week, that finally I came to understand the author’s strategy. And even then, my eyes were opened as a result of a daily barrage of hints from people all around the world, most of whom I’ve never met. So when I warn you that this will be hard to accept, I speak from experience.

Confession aside, I knew that Paul’s letters were not Scripture, in the sense of being inspired, word-for-word by God, long ago. And yet I still believed that he told the truth, that he had personally met with the risen Messiyah and then had spent three years with Him before he embarked upon his mission. Therefore, I considered his insights to be profoundly important. As a result, I initially skipped over his propensity to misquote Scripture. I missed the significance of what he changed, and thus I was blind to the strategy he was deploying. This is especially painful for me to admit, because rationally evaluating rhetoric was the one thing I had thought I had a propensity to do reasonably well. But with Sha’uwl, that was not the case.

However, two thirds of the way through the text of Paul’s first epistle, it gradually became obvious that something was wrong. And while I immediately recognized the character flaw which was being manifest before my eyes, as being the same one that had made Muhammad, the founder of Islam, easy to manipulate, I still couldn’t put my finger on exactly what Paul was trying to accomplish.

Then I compared Sha’uwl’s review of a meeting he had participated in with Yahshua’s ("Jesus’" real name, meaning Yah Saves) Disciples in Yaruwshalaym (the city’s actual name, meaning Source of Salvation) with the detailed history of that same event in Acts and found the differences to be alarming. But when I reached the preamble to the crescendo of Paul’s manifesto at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth chapters of Galatians during my second pass through this material, the charade was finally over. My eyes were opened and I came to understand the edifice he was establishing. And it was then that I discovered four very specific prophecies whereby Yahweh and Yahshua admonished us to be skeptical of Sha’uwl. After that, I found Paul’s ultimate confessions lurking in verses I had read many times before. Then everything fit. There were no longer any loose ends, any mysteries, or questions.

Frankly, I was deceived initially by the purported relationship between Sha’uwl and Yahshua, and between Sha’uwl and Ya’aqob (James’ actual name), Shim’own (Peter’s actual name, meaning To Listen), and Yahuchanan (John’s actual name meaning Yah is Merciful), as well as Paul’s place as the author of half of the Renewed Covenant. Questioning such an individual was well beyond my comfort level.

Also challenging is that we have all been conditioned to think in terms of black and white, believing that everything a false prophet says must be wrong. And yet that is not how deceivers deceive. Wrong is made to appear right by blending that which is not true with that which is true. A counterfeit is worthless, and yet it prevails because it looks real on the surface, fooling the unsuspecting into believing that it is the genuine article. Credible lies are woven side by side and intertwined with strands of truth, which makes them vastly more beguiling. And that is precisely what we will find throughout this review of Sha’uwl and his first letter. But that’s only half of the story.

If you are an atheist, agnostic, Secular Humanist, Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim, while you are welcome to read Questioning Paul, your time would be better spent reading Yada Yahweh. It is more important to know what is true, than what isn’t.

If you are a Christian, this is not the right place to start your journey of discovery either. If you have been given this material by a friend, out of context, please visit www.YadaYahweh.com and read what God has to say, in the order He revealed it. His story will make a great deal more sense if you begin where He began. This is especially important advice as it relates to your salvation, but it is also essential to this evaluation, because it consistently compares Paul’s words to God’s Word to see where and if they differ.

If you elect not to heed that advice, consider this a friendly warning: having responded to over ten thousand emails from religious individuals over the past seven years, I’ve come to realize that evidence and reason are irrelevant to those who are passionate about their faith. So if you define yourself as a Christian (as I once did), especially an Evangelical or Catholic, if you believe that everything in your "Bible" is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, if you go to church most Sunday mornings, if you celebrate Christmas and Easter, if you are unwilling to recognize that God’s name is not "the Lord," and that His Son’s name is not "Jesus Christ," and if you believe that your faith or religious affiliations determine your salvation, then you aren’t ready to read this book. It won’t do you any good, because you won’t be able to process the evidence.

The reason I say this is that the preponderance of Christians are predisposed to believe that Paul’s letters are Scripture, and thus truthful. And by that definition, they are beyond reproach—and thus cannot be questioned. And as evidence of this mindset, while Christians will say that their faith is predicated upon "Jesus Christ," when asked to explain it, they will almost always cite Pauline Doctrine rather than the words of the Messiyah Yahshua. But the notion that Paul’s teachings differ substantially from "Christ’s" is lost on these Christians.

If your mind is open, if there are aspects of your faith that trouble you, if you realize that there are serious problems associated with the religions of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and/or Secular Humanism, if you really want to know God, even at the expense of your faith, then what follows is for you.

The evidence you are about to consider, however, will be shocking. It leads to a place I could not have imagined before I embarked upon this voyage. And that is why I had to completely rewrite Questioning Paul three times based upon what I learned along the way. Words are insufficient to express how divergent my preconceived notions were from what I discovered. I would have been much happier if I could have resolved the differences. But since I cannot, while ninety percent of what I had written in Yada Yahweh had nothing to do with Sha’uwl, based upon what I have learned, it will now take me a year to cleanse those seven volumes of Paul’s epistles.

While Yada Yahweh recounts the greatest story ever told, this particular episode is not pleasant. In fact it saddens me to forewarn you that there is something horribly wrong with the written legacy of the most influential person who ever lived. But in due time, he will hang himself with his words, not mine. What you are going to read is the truth, which I define as that which is in accord with Yahweh’s testimony. But if you find fault with my translations of the oldest extant manuscripts, or with my reasoning, feel free to express your concerns and I’ll address them. But please, don’t quote a conflicting passage from one of Paul’s epistles to negate something he said elsewhere, as this would only prove that he contradicted himself. Yahweh’s Word (the Torah, Prophets, and Psalms) and Yahshua’s testimony (as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Revelation) comprise the lone reservoir of reliable evidence worthy of our consideration relative to evaluating Paul’s veracity.

If you are a Christian and are still contemplating whether you should turn the page or close this book, I have a proposition you might want to consider. Suppose I told you that by comparing Paul’s words to God’s Word, and to Yahshua’s testimony, that I could prove beyond any doubt that Paul was a false prophet, and therefore the religion predicated upon his letters was unreliable, would you be willing to risk considering the evidence if it meant losing your faith? What’s more important to you: your religion or the truth? And if it can be shown that these things differ and are irreconcilable, which one would you choose?

But that is not all. What if in addition to proving that Paul’s epistles, and thus Christianity, are neither trustworthy nor reliable, I could also prove beyond any doubt that there is someone who and something which is trustworthy and reliable, would you sacrifice your religion for a relationship with Him through it?

These propositions are not hypothetical. What lies before you will do both. It will take from you something which is wrong and it will replace it with something extraordinary.

If you are ready for the exchange of a lifetime, here is something for you to consider: "Yahuweh’s (YaHuWeH’s) Towrah (towrah – law and prescriptions for living) is complete and entirely perfect (tamym – without defect, lacking nothing, correct, sound, genuine, right, helpful, healthful, beneficial, and true), returning, restoring, and transforming (suwb – turning around) the soul (nepesh – consciousness). Yahuweh’s testimony is trustworthy and reliable (‘aman – verifiable, confirming, supportive, and establishing), making understanding and obtaining wisdom (hakam – educating and enlightening oneself to the point of comprehension) simple for the open-minded." (Psalm 19:7)