Christianity - A Journey from Facts to Fiction — Page 135
The Evolution of Christianity 135 Paul’s followers abandoned the religion of Christ and turned towards the religious doctrines of the Romans. * Of all the various doctrines which evolved during the formative stages of Christianity, only those who believed in the Nazarene philosophy can justifiably be given preference. These early Chris- tians were taught the meaning of Christianity by Jesus as himself. The Role of St Paul Evidently St Paul and his school do not belong there. In fact, from the time of St Paul onwards, as Christianity spread to alien lands and pagan faiths within the Roman Empire, it began to be powerfully influenced and bent by the cultures and mythologies prevalent in those lands and went further away from its nascent purity. St Paul did his bit in influencing the deterioration of the Christian thought by introducing his own brand of mysticism. He was neither of Jewish stocks nor did he have any direct contact with Jesus as , except through his claimed vision. He was already, it seems, under the powerful influence of the alien cultures. Apparently there were two options available to St Paul, either to fight strenuous battles against a world of superstitions, myths and legends prevalent in the lands of the Roman Empire from times immemorial or to give in to them and let Christianity change to suit their requirements and ambitions. This gave them * 'The Hiram Key'. Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, p. 246 (Century 1996)