St. Paul

There is the slightest doubt that for Paul. Jesus Christ stood alongside God aS the Creator The in prologue to St. John's Gospel says that this Jesus of Nazareth had a hand in the creation of the universe. Therefore the Church, in formulating her creeds, insisted that Christ should be described as being of the "same" substance as the Father and not of "like" substance.

Of course the secular historian can never arrive at this understanding of the Christian faith by ordinary human reasoning. Nevertheless, when Paul talks of reconciliation and redemption he is talking about things which have been experienced by him. Paul said that from the time he met Christ on the Damascus road his life was changed.

From the day when he completely reversed his attitude to the Church, Paul's life as a leader of the Jews was finished. Yet he endured all this and more because his experience was real.