معرفت ادیان

Christian theology is influenced more than anything else by the specific ideas of Paul concerning Jesus Christ and his salvation. Pauline theology differs significantly from what Christ and his official successor, Peter, insisted upon. In Paul's theology, Christ, the Son, is the power and wisdom of God and possesses complete divinity, albeit at a level subordinate to the divinity of the Father. Christ is the image of the invisible God, and he created all things. Pauline theology does not have an intra-religious origin because Jesus never presented himself as God. Furthermore, the Synoptic Gospels emphasize the historical Jesus and his human aspect. This article seeks to investigate the origins of Paul's thought and theology using a descriptive-analytical method. Based on the findings of this research, historical evidence indicates Paul's significant familiarity with Greek thought and Platonic philosophy, particularly the ideas of Philo of Alexandria. Additionally, Gnostic theology influenced Pauline theology, and some of its concepts were borrowed from it. However, the degree of influence from these two sources is not equal. Although Paul was capable of using philosophical concepts, he made minimal use of them; instead, he was influenced primarily by Gnostic literature and content and utilized them extensively.