If Christianity is man made, why does everything about it go against man’s desires? Does Christianity go against man’s desires? If so, is that evidence for Christianity? I answer this question, discussing the history of Christianity, the cognitive science of religion, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and more.
The whole “atheists can’t answer this question” and “atheists can’t explain this” thing is really getting old.
Because Paul was a vulnerable/covert narcissist, which is characterized in part by a focus on shame and unworthiness.
People with this personality talk about themselves significantly more than other people do in their writing.
Paul’s undisputed letters have him talking about himself way more than the other letters, to the point other contemporary people even appear to have commented on it. As he wildly varies from “I’m the least of the apostles” to “I’m not less than the greatest.”
Literally the pre-Pauline attitude in Corinth is “everything is permissible for me” which was in line the with apocryphal attitude that you shouldn’t pray, fast, or give alms and should just be honest and not do the things you hate, and to focus on self-discovery as the religion owes you and not the other way around.
The problem is Paul’s the most influential figure in what survived, including his reversal of “everything is permissible” or his push back on the reluctance to allow religious officials to profiteer, which ultimately led to a religion that looks exactly like what you’d expect from a vulnerable narcissist figurehead.
This is really interesting, I’d love to read / listen to more about this, do you have any resources?