This quiet Friday afternoon, I watched lectures by a Yale University teacher (Prof. Martin) about the New Testament. By cutting up and comparing the historical text, he arrives at an understanding of what may have happened. Paul (Shaul) from Tarsus had great success among the Greeks. The main community of Jerusalem was strictly national Jewish, and Paul - in his letters - tries to demonstrate that he was equal to the apostles and leader of the nascent Church. Interestingly, the Greeks easily discarded their gods and philosophy and adopted a narrative (i.e. religion) based on revelation. They liked the story of Moses coming down from the mountain with two tablets with commandments more than Plato's reasoned dialectics.
aMy opinion: Paul's movement ultimately seized power in the Roman Empire, which proves that from the beginning it had been a subversive POLITICAL movement. In retrospect, this outcome justifies the Roman occupation's execution of Jesus for being a political rebel, intent on becoming King of Judea.
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