Pyro to Kosta [Post #772] "Care to comment?"
Yes I do. First, common sense would have led Dr. E to write "an Orthodox" instead of "the Orthodox."
Second, common courtesy would have led Dr. E to include me in her reply because she was referring to me, simply because I am the only Orthodox Freeper with whom she had a discussion on this topic.
Third, she owes the rest of "the Orthodox" an apology for falsely accusing them of something none of them can be charged with.
Fourth, people actually holding academic and theological degrees, who are much more educated and knowledgeable when it comes to +Paul, have pointed to the fact that +Paul was particularly dear and near to the Gnostics (let's not forget Marcion as well) and that many of his writings carry concepts and terminology used by the Gnostics—beginning with his conversion on the way to Damascus onward.
An average bible reader could not tell a Gnostic "gospel" from a real one because both use the same terminology and style of writing, and sometimes the only thing that betrays a heretical text from the orthodox one is one key word used in a specific context in a verse.
Personally I don't believe +Paul was Gnostic, but I do believe that his way of thinking was akin to theirs and that probably a singificant number of his followers may have been Gnostics.
And you know that for certain how?
Further, while I don't have the posts at hand, and I'm sure not going to spend the time looking for them, there was some mixture of agreement by various Orthodox on your contention that "Paul was gnostic." Months and months of agreement.
You're correct, however, that your voice was chief among them.
Personally I don't believe +Paul was Gnostic, but I do believe that his way of thinking was akin to theirs and that probably a singificant number of his followers may have been Gnostics.
And that is why there actually are some things Bible-believing Christians agree with Rome over the objections of the Orthodox.
Such as Paul not leaning toward Gnosticism, and the correct understanding of the Filioque.
Oh please -- these backhanded slaps at scripture by implying that Paul might have been a gnostic are too much. Since Luke's Gospel was a favorite of Marcion's, then he too must have been a gnostic or had gnostic followers according to your reasoning. The same could be said of all the writers of scripture that the gnostics quoted.