Why should anyone trust Paul ? He is the most obvious false apostle in history.
Paul turned the Messenger into the God, abandoned the Law, and replaced the gospel of Jesus with a gospel ABOUT Jesus. Christianity today is literally just Paulinism.
Paul was a liar and a false prophet, as per Christian scholars like C K Barrett!!
Muslim polemicists attack Paul because his early writings destroy the Quran's claim that Jesus was merely a Unitarian Islamic prophet.
The 1st-century historical records prove early Christians worshipped Jesus and believed in His resurrection, apologists accuse Paul of inventing a false, paganized religion.
By targeting Paul, they hope to invalidate the New Testament, divide the early Apostles, and distract from applying biblical standards of prophecy to Muhammad.
Dawah arguments attempt to drive a wedge between Paul and the Jerusalem pillars (Peter, James, and John). However, the historical record proves Paul was thoroughly vetted and fully endorsed by those who walked with Jesus. Paul did not abandon the Law in a vacuum; he taught that Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant (Matthew 5:17), a conviction shared by Peter and James at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1–29).
Paul traveled to Jerusalem specifically to present his message so he would not run "in vain" (Galatians 2:2). Far from condemning him, Peter, James, and John extended to Paul and Barnabas the "right hand of fellowship" (Galatians 2:9).
Galatians 2:9:
And when James and Cephas [Peter] and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised."(Context: Paul records an official summit in Jerusalem where the original eye-witness Apostles explicitly validated his gospel without adding a single requirement to it.)
In 2 Peter 3:15–16, Peter explicitly classifies Paul’s letters as inspired Scripture ( / graphas), placing them alongside the Old Testament.
2 Peter 3:15–16:
And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him... There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.(Context: Peter confirms Paul's apostolic authority, warns against twisting Paul's theological writings, and officially equates Paul's letters with Holy Scripture.)
The claim that Paul replaced the gospel of Jesus with a gospel about Jesus ignores the early oral creeds recorded in Paul’s epistles. Paul routinely passed down creeds that predated his own conversion.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3–5, Paul uses technical rabbinic terms for tradition transmission ("delivered" / and "received" / ). Critical scholars (including atheist scholar Gerd Lüdemann and Jewish scholar Pinchas Lapide) date this creed to within 1 to 3 years of the Crucifixion—originating in the Jerusalem church long before Paul wrote his letters.
Philippians 2:5–11 contains a pre-Pauline hymn (Carmen Christi) affirming Jesus' pre-existence and divine nature ("being in very nature God"), proving that Christ's deity was established Christian orthodoxy before Paul began his missionary journeys.
Polemicists often quote C.K. Barrett out of context to claim that Christian academics view Paul as a "liar" or "false prophet." This is a severe academic mischaracterization.
Charles Kingsley Barrett (1917–2011) was one of the 20th century’s premier New Testament scholars and a dedicated Methodist minister. He affirmed the apostolic authority and integrity of Paul throughout his lifetime.
When Barrett analyzed the shift from Jesus’ historical preaching of the Kingdom to Paul’s preaching of the Risen Christ, he was detailing the theological progression of early Christianity—not accusing Paul of fraud. Barrett concluded that Paul was deeply faithful to Jesus’ mission:
"The gospel of Paul is the gospel of Jesus; it is the gospel about Jesus, which is what the gospel of Jesus becomes when Jesus has died and risen again."
— C.K. Barrett, Freedom and Obligation: A Study in the Epistle to the Galatians
A primary biblical test for a true servant of God is selflessness, humility, and the rejection of worldly status or financial exploitation (1 Thessalonians 2:5–9). Paul’s entire life was characterized by self-erasure: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).
| Alleged Objection | Historical & Biblical Reality | Key References |
|---|---|---|
| "Paul invented Christ's Deity" | Pre-Pauline creeds and hymns confirm Christ's deity and resurrection were taught by the original Jerusalem Apostles prior to Paul's conversion. | Philippians 2:5–11; 1 Corinthians 15:3–5 |
| "Paul acted independently of the Twelve" | Paul submitted his theology to Peter, James, and John in Jerusalem; they gave him their full endorsement ("right hand of fellowship"). | Acts 15:1–29; Galatians 2:1–10 |
| "Paul abolished the Law illegally" | Paul taught that Christ fulfilled the Law, completing the Old Covenant transition explicitly promised by Jesus and the prophets. | Matthew 5:17; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Romans 10:4 |
| "Paul sought personal power and wealth" | Paul refused salary, worked as a tentmaker, accumulated zero wealth or wives, endured beatings/imprisonment, and was martyred in Rome. | 2 Corinthians 11:23–28; 1 Thessalonians 2:9 |
To provide a complete apologetic response, apply biblical criteria for true vs. false prophets directly to Muhammad.
The Apostle Paul issued a specific prophetic warning regarding future claims of angelic revelations:
Galatians 1:8
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Six centuries later, Muhammad claimed that an angel in a cave (Jibril) delivered a revelation. That revelation directly contradicted the core saving truths established by eyewitnesses:
Denies the divine Sonship of Christ (Surah 9:30).
Denies the historical Crucifixion of Christ (Surah 4:157).
Replaces salvation by grace through faith with works-based righteousness.
Under biblical standards, the Quran fits the definition of a "contrary gospel" forewarned in Galatians 1:8.
The Apostle Paul's character far outshines that of Muhammad.
| Metric | The Apostle Paul | The Prophet Muhammad |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Gain | Worked as a tentmaker; refused financial burden on churches (2 Cor 11:7–9). | Claimed a 20% share (Khums) of all war booty/spoils taken by his armies (Surah 8:41). |
| Marriage & Status | Remained celibate, owned no property, held no civil or military office. | Accumulated 11+ wives (Surah 33:50), acquired land, and ruled as political head of state. |
| Suffering & Fate | Suffered beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, and execution by Roman authorities. | Led over 80 military expeditions, exacted tax (Jizya), and ruled as a monarch. |
| First Revelation Response | Yielded to Christ with immediate conviction (Acts 9:5–6). | Feared demon possession (Majnoon); contemplated leaping off a cliff (Sahih al-Bukhari 6982). |
The attack on Paul is a strategy born of historical necessity for Islamic polemics. Because 1st-century documents confirm that the earliest Christians proclaimed Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord, Muslim apologists must attempt to frame Paul as a corruptor.
The historical evidence refutes this narrative:
Paul was authenticated by the original eyewitnesses (Peter, James, and John) and recognized as an author of inspired Scripture.
Paul was faithful to pre-existing creeds that proclaimed Christ’s deity, death, and resurrection long before his conversion.
Paul demonstrated true apostleship through self-sacrifice, refusing financial gain, and laying down his life as a martyr in Rome.
Muhammad, by contrast, brought an angelic message 600 years later that fulfilled Paul's warning in Galatians 1:8, established a political empire, and denied the central historical fact of salvation: the cross of Jesus Christ. Paul did not invent Christianity; he simply spent his life testifying to the Lord who saved him.