(Nota bene; Mea culpa. the article on Saul/Paul as a conman [dated June 14th] should have been posted to coincide with the lengthy build-up about psychedelic experiences, but I was 'moved by the spirit' and jumped he proverbial gun by a few months. My bad. Please proceed...)
“Paul presents his theology in just this way. For those of us not lost in (a) delusional world, it might seem impossible to imagine how Paul could avoid telling even one story or parable, or fail to note even one physical trait or personal quality of Jesus, but Paul’s lack of interest or curiosity about the life of this Jesus, does fit a pattern of paranoid delusion.”
“…no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavors to establish.” David Hume
“When anyone tells me, that he saw a dead man restored to life, I immediately consider with myself, whether it be more probable, that this person should either deceive or be deceived…” David Hume
“I must make it clear to you, my friends, that the gospel you heard me preach is no human invention. I did not take it over from any man; no man taught it to me; I received it through revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11-12)
“I must remind you of the gospel that I preached to you: the gospel which you received… First and foremost, I handed on to you the facts which had been imparted to me: That Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; and that he was buried; that he was raised to like in the third day, according to the scriptures; and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter) and afterwards to the Twelve. (1 Corinthians 15:1-5)
It seems evident that if Paul/Saul of Tarsus hadn’t had his ‘experience’ on the Road to Damascus the proliferation of the new sect of Judaism centered on the mythic Jesus of Nazareth might never have happened. Paul/Saul’s life-changing experience – indeed, world-changing experience – was claimed by him to be a revelation from god; one brilliant, blinding vision - the beginning of nearly 30 years of such visions - which set him on the path to proselytizing the new Faith. As all who are familiar with general psychology and/or those who have experienced the effects of psychotropic substances can testify, such ‘experiences’ generally are short-hand for psychotic breaks and hallucinations.
So, the question arises: Was Paul/Saul schizophrenic? Was he schizotypal; prone to episodes of visions, hallucinations and psychic breaks? We will never know for certain. However, the early Christian sect/cult may very well have been established on the loony back of Paul and those afflicted with Schizotypal Personality Disorder or STPD.
In psychology, ‘schizotypy’ is a theoretical concept that posits a continuum of personality characteristics and experiences, ranging from normal dissociative, imaginative states to extreme states of mind related to psychosis, especially schizophrenia. In other words, schizotypal folks see and hear things that the rest of us don’t experience unless we’re dosed with psychedelic substances.
Since ‘revelations’ such as what Paul/Saul experienced are not considered part of normative behavior and since attributing his Damascus Road Experience to the actions of a deity is mighty far-fetched, we can safely conclude, as reasonable people, that Paul/Saul might well have been afflicted with STPD, Schizotypal Personality Disorder. Believers would scoff and deny that assertion, of course; personal revelation appears to be the keystone which supports the arch of their Belief in god. Nevertheless, STPD offers a more reasonable answer to the reasonable than ‘god did it’.
The quote that prefaced this section is from an anonymous friend of Dr. Richard Carrier, who used that quote in a lecture to explain, by proxy, the behavior of Paul as revealed in his epistles to his various congregations; the Galatians, the Romans, the Corinthians, the Philippians, the Thessalonians, etc. Point of fact, Paul/Saul never met Jesus or knew anything about the guy except by his ‘revelations’. Paul/Saul didn’t begin his ‘ministry’ until 40 or 50 CE; a decade after the purported death and resurrection of Jesus. His only association to Jesus of Nazareth was through what might be considered a psychotic break from reality.
Now, take a moment to re-read that preface again…
It may be assumed that the phrase ‘paranoid delusion’ in the quote might be replaced with ‘STPD, Schizotypal Personality Disorder’.
When compared against the authentic Pauline epistles, that evaluation rings quite true. Paul/Saul never refers to the purported earthly life of the Man from Nazareth, his parables, his sayings or his teachings. In fact, Paul/Saul derived his knowledge of the new Faith from the Talmud and other scriptures prevalent and popular at the time – the New Testament Gospels themselves wouldn’t be written until after he had begun his ministry.
Paul’s disparate congregations seemed also to have had several congregants who might have been similarly afflicted with STPD, for Paul/Saul references their own ‘revelations’ and visions of the Savior as evidence of the truth of the new Faith. That’s quite a leap of logic but ‘Faith’ is notorious for side-stepping rational thought. In fact, Paul/Saul encouraged his followers to side-step logic and to share their own revelations, dreams and visions with him. This is typical cultish behavior; followers – particularly adepts and initiates are encouraged to have ‘episodes’ and ‘revelations’ which support the communal ethos. Such encouragement inevitably prompts ‘revelatory’ episodes within cult-members who are more than eager to comply with the wishes of the cult-leader in order to solidify their commitment and adherence to the tenets of the cult.
The Church, however, once it was more formally organized, long after Paul/Saul’s proselytizing and martyrdom, proclaimed from Rome that no more ‘unauthorized’ revelations, prophetic dreams or visions would be considered as valid. The new Faith had outgrown its cult status and become a religion. (To quote Frank Zappa, “The only difference between a cult and a religion is the amount of real estate they own.”) Seems the church ‘Fathers’, once established as a formal religion, had had it with every Tom, Dick and Ruth professing secret messages from incorporeal deities. Such ‘revelations’ were deemed heretical and denounced.
But, back in the early days, Paul went so far as to rank the members of the nascent ‘church’ by whether or not they had had ‘revelations’ from god. Apostles were ranked first as they’d purportedly been in the presence of Jesus. (Paul figured that his ‘Road to Damascus Experience’- his ‘revelation’ - was to be considered direct personal contact with the ‘Lord’, and so ranked himself as an Apostle. (Paul/Saul’s ranking was as follows: 1. apostles, 2. prophets, 3. teachers, 4. exorcists (ones with ‘power’) 5. charismatic healers, then, 6. a hodge-podge category of aides, administrators and speakers in tongues.) Once, again, we can hearken back to the prevailing structure of the mystery cults of the period which ranked their adherents and initiates.
It has been shown that Paul/Saul chose to rely on ‘revelations’ rather than written accounts. In fact, Paul dismissed written testimony and ‘human traditions’ and chose personal revelation of the only means of understanding and recounting the teachings of the Lord, the Son of Man. Ain’t that curious? He is on record gainsaying written testimony and giving credence to his own visions, hallucinations and dreams and those of trusted followers. His adherents in Galatia would brook no departure from this bizarre creed and were alarmed when accusations were made that Paul had relied on Oral tradition! Paul/Saul forcefully reminded them that he would do no such thing. He respected only the direct, personal revelations (hallucinations, visions, dreams) of the risen Jesus.
And that is what the Church is based on…
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