As human beings, we’re inevitably influenced by the culture we grow up in.
But when someone grows up in a pagan culture and suddenly claims to be receiving revelations from God,
we’d better not see the imprint of pagan theology on those revelations.
During the time of the judges and the kings of ancient Israel, the Jews often turned to
pagan gods and pagan forms of worship.
But by the first century AD (the time of Jesus and Paul), the Jews were done flirting with false gods.
They had utter contempt for the beliefs and practices of the pagans.
The Apostle Paul had a strict Jewish upbringing, and would’ve therefore shared the general
Jewish view of polytheism.
But Paul was no ordinary Jew.
He was a Pharisee (a member of the most rigid sect), and even among Pharisees,
Paul was considered especially zealous.
Why is this relevant?
Well, there are Muslims who try to explain the origin of Christianity by claiming that
Paul was influenced by Greco-Roman polytheists.
“Paul was so mesmerized by all of the gods of the pagans that he deified Jesus as a form
of compromise.”
And that might make sense to certain people, assuming they know absolutely nothing about
the Apostle Paul, especially the fact that he would’ve rather died a hundred thousand
horrible bloody deaths than compromise his worship of the one true God.
Paul became a Christian because he met Jesus, and his encounter with Jesus caused him to
reexamine Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, ultimately convincing him that the
Law and the Prophets were all looking forward to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
There’s no room in Paul’s reasoning for even a hint of pagan influence.
But there was no shortage of pagan influence on Muhammad.
For instance, one of the Five Pillars of Islam is the Hajj (the annual pilgrimage to Mecca),
which is saturated with paganism and idolatry.
Before Muhammad conquered Mecca, the pagans would take a pilgrimage to Mecca, where they
would visit the Kaaba, and walk around it seven times.
They walked seven circles around the Kaaba to honor the seven planetary deities, which,
they believed, circled the earth.
They would kiss the Black Stone, one of the many stones in the ancient Near East
that received worship.
They would run back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwa.
Remind me, what do Muslims do when they take the pilgrimage to Mecca?
They visit the Kaaba, and walk around it seven times, just like the pagans did.
They kiss the Black Stone, just like the pagans did.
They run back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwa, just like the pagans did.
But let me guess: If it looks like paganism, and walks like paganism, and talks like paganism,
it must be pure monotheism in disguise, right?
Hi everyone.
Thanks for watching.
In case you stumbled upon this video while browsing or searching, I wanted to let you
know that it’s part of a series comparing Paul and Muhammad.
So if you’d like to see the full series, be sure to click on the playlist.
If you’re already in the playlist, you’re about to see that Muhammad’s message flowed
directly from his surroundings and his psychological state,
while Paul’s message required a radical transformation.