What the Hell is Paul's Problem?

Did One Man's Deformity Give Birth to an Entire Religion?

Paul emphasizes one belief above all others: that the material world is evil, flesh is given to sin, and only through resurrection can humans be freed from their suffering. On one hand, Paul may have envisioned a heavenly Messiah because no Earthly Messiah was forthcoming. But on the other hand, Paul's derogation of the body may reflect something more deeply personal to his character. Because Paul suffers terribly, and therefore identifies strongly with the crucified Christ.

Paul repeatedly references an unusual affliction that sets him apart from other men. He says: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a herald of satan, to torment me" (2 Corinthians 12:7). This verse must be construed to mean that Paul suffers from chronic pain. The source of this pain does not seem to be anything common or conventional; instead it is a thorn placed in his flesh by satan. Paul interprets his agony in a positive light: he says it keeps him humble despite the great revelations he possesses. He even brags "my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Paul implies that he has been malformed since birth, saying the risen Christ appeared to him last of all, as to an "abortion" or miscarriage (1 Corinthians 15:8). He says "It was because of weakness of the flesh that I first preached the gospel to you" (Galatians 4:13), adding "I am again in the pangs of childbirth until Christ is formed in you" (Galatians 4:19). Thus Paul admits his pain or deformity is what inspired him to first preach the gospel. He compares himself to a laboring woman giving birth to Christ. This strange metaphor evokes a gender dysphoria that may be related to Paul's congenital deformity.

Paul's abhorrence for his own body, and his vitriol toward sexual indulgence, appear to be closely related. He denounces sexual sin, including homosexuality, early and often. He says the human body is sown in dishonor and weakness (1 Corinthians 15:43). He says "I beat my body and make it my slave" (1 Corinthians 9:27). In his frequent discussion of body parts he refers to "the parts that are unpresentable" (1 Corinthians 12:23) and says "we do not wish to be unclothed” (2 Corinthians 5:4). Could Paul possibly be ashamed of his genitals? Is he an involuntary celibate? He also says "God does not judge by external appearance” (Galatians 2:6). But humans, of course, do.

All this body blather has another layer of meaning discussed in my essay about the "head" of the Paul's church, whom Paul calls Cephas. Paul says "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Romans 12:4-5). Paul repeatedly uses the body as a metaphor for the church, but what if he is actually using the church as a metaphor for his body? He admits he learned about Jesus Christ through scriptures and visions. Paul never describes Christ as a wise man, or a healer, or a miracle worker. It could be that his image of Christ achieving perfection through suffering and resurrection is a projection of his own psychic desire. Just as the church is a projection of his own body.

Paul's self-identification with Christ is explicit. He says "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). He says "I bear on my body the stigmata of Jesus" (Galatians 6:17). He says "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful nature" (Galatians 5:24). Let us remember that Paul is the earliest Christian literature in existence. It becomes plausible that Paul invented Jesus Christ to justify his own passion. If the church is a metaphor for his body it would explain why there is no evidence of an early Christian church. It required the fall of Jerusalem, and the composition of the canonical gospels, to transform the revelation of Paul into the alleged ministry of the Nazarene.

The outcome of Paul's salvation is explicit. He says that Jesus Christ will "transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Phillipians 3:21). He doesn't just want to be free of the body; he wants his body to be made glorious. He also says he "would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). Here we have the anti-material foundations of Christendom. Paul longed for resurrection because it was the only thing that would free him from his suffering. He may have invented Jesus Christ to soothe his agony.

But we must always remember to take Paul's writing with a grain of salt. He says "I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews" and "to the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:19-22). Thus Paul admits he is willing to deceive his audience. He pretends to be something he is not in order to achieve his goals. He says "I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved" (1 Corinthians 10:33). This is the pitch of a confidence artist. Paul also says "we do not use deception" (2 Corinthians 4:2) shortly before saying "crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery!" (2 Corinthians 12:16). He is obviously not a reliable narrator.