“I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.” –Paul

Saul the Rabbinic theologian converts to the Way, a sect of Judaism that believes a recently crucified, unorthodox Jewish rabbi, is the promised deliverer of Israel; who, after being brought back to life and flying into the air out of sight, will return one day to overthrow those who oppress Israel and lead the world into peace, harmony, and devotion to the God of Israel — Yehowah. This savior and redeemer was Yehoshuah (Y’shua/Jesus) of Nazareth.

Saul was the Apostle’s Jewish name and Paul was his Roman name.

He believes Jesus has tasked him (by implanting in his thoughts, like telepathy) with explaining to the gentiles (non-Jews) how they can become part of the Kingdom of God to come by following the teachings of Y’shua.

Saul’s new students are not Jews, and have not been raised Jewish. They neither know nor understand the history of the relationship between the Jewish people (Israel) and their God. They do not understand the concept of The Messiah; however, they are very cognizant (as subjects of Roman society) of the religions of Hellenism (Greek society), which held that there were many Gods. Many of the gentiles were eager to accept this new god *too.*

The gentiles are used to stories about the gods of Rome. They hear the stories about Jesus and try to make sense of them in the same way they’ve made sense of others. They have the preaching of Paul as their sole guide.

Paul’s method of teaching was to go to an area where there were men gathered and begin to explain Jesus (the good news of the Kingdom) to them from his perspective. Paul, who never walked and talked with Y’shua while he was on earth, and never sat to hear his teachings, tried to teach the complexities of the Kingdom, the Messiah, and Salvation by the Messiah to people who did not have the background to properly grasp it. He did so in a Jewish theologian’s method to which the Gentiles were not accustomed. His desperation and frustration were evident in his letters back to those whom he left as believers.

My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,”or “I follow Christ.”

I am astonished how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.

Paul’s message was obviously confusing to them. It was also confusing for some of those who walked and talked with Jesus and learned directly from Jesus, prompting Peter to pronounce how difficult it was to understand him, and he seemed exasperated to relate that people had twisted what Paul was trying to say with detrimental results.

“Some parts of [Paul’s] letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort (as they do the rest of the Scriptures) to their own destruction.” — Apostle Peter

It is this misunderstanding and twisting, and the relating of the misunderstood and twisted messages from Paul, which evolved into the Christianity of today. Gentiles were compounding their misunderstandings with their own interpretations and explanations. People couldn’t understand their misunderstandings, yet they continued to build their understanding upon them.

After Paul taught, as students usually do, his students reasoned among themselves and tried to figure out what it meant. As they did so, Paul was off to another area to spread the good news. What we know of his teachings and his travels comes from letters that he wrote back to those places where he had already taught, and some to places he longed to teach.

Copies of his letters are some of the earliest manuscripts of the Christian Canon. Scholars believe his letters may have influenced even the content of “the Gospels.”

100% of those who followed the Way of Y’shua at the beginning were Jewish, while Christianity is approximately 2% Jewish today. Christianity split from Judaism as early as the first century  — split from the Way.

To follow Y’shua is to follow the Way, which is not Christianity.