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Briefing 378
March 2010
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Did Paul invent Christianity?

Issue 378: March, 2010

Paul Grimmond

It's nearly Easter. So it must be about time for someone, somewhere to publish their take on Jesus. Wait, what was that? Philip Pullman is selling his new book, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ starting in April. What a surprise!

Pullman has this to say about his new book:

I've always been fascinated by the two parts of the name of Jesus Christ, and by the difference between them. Another thing that's interested me for a long time is the way in which the Christian church began to formulate its beliefs and establish a canon of scripture: there were many more gospels than four, but why were those four chosen and others left out? When did Paul begin to write his epistles? Was what he said different from what the gospels say? Do the gospels even agree with one another? Was there a difference between Jesus and Christ?1

We thought that rather than giving Pullman the first word, we'd ask historian Paul Barnett to share his thoughts on whether the apostle invented Christianity. We hope that you'll find it helpful.

Unlike many of our recent Briefings, which have been strongly themed, this one is a bit eclectic. Hopefully there's something for everyone: there's a fascinating interview with Carl Trueman about everything from the local church to the value of theological education, and there's a wonderful article on discipling women by Jean Williams. Scott Newling also shares some interesting reflections on his reading of Tim Keller's The Reason for God.

We hope, as usual, that this Briefing will stimulate you to godly thinking and holy action. PG

Endnote

1 http://www.philip-pullman.com/pages/news/index.asp?NewsID=39.

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