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From different discussions (including some on this site) it seems that Paul's teachings were different from the teachings of Jesus and the other apostles in some aspects. In light of this are there any churches that do not accept the teachings of Paul? If there are no such churches today, were there any in the past?

I am asking regarding the teachings of Paul. This has nothing to do about the person Paul. And again, I am just asking for information, not any type of argument for/against Paul.

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May I know which teachings of Paul are different from others? –  Mawia Jun 6 '13 at 7:16
@Mawia Some can be found here- christianity.stackexchange.com/q/3755/3607 and many others are in the internet. –  Gulshan Jun 6 '13 at 7:31
Interesting counter example - Marcion accepted only Paul, Luke-Acts, and rejected the entire Old Testamaent –  Affable Geek Jun 6 '13 at 14:41
@Mawia Adding this comment just for reference. This book "Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity" may should answer your question- amazon.com/dp/1439123314 –  Gulshan Jun 10 '13 at 13:55
In my experience, it seems as though the Protestant church is more focused on Paul than is the Catholic church, although both accept his apostleship. The evangelistic orientation and the emphasis on faith-over-works are very specifically characteristic of both Paul and Protestantism. –  Chris Sunami Dec 28 '13 at 3:34
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4 Answers

There are several levels of "rejection" here.

First, if you mean outright removal from the canon, as in The Jefferson Bible, no large denominational body has done so that I am aware of.

Secondly, since Paul wrote half the New Testament, he is the source of many of our doctrinal writings about items from the nature of salvation to sexual ethics. On matters of salvation, for example, there are those who argue for a distinction between the "original" religion of Christianity and that which came about after Paul ruined it. The former being a nice religion about peace & justice, the latter being an exclusivist religion about avoiding hell in the afterlife. An example is the "Christianity Before Paul" views of James Tabor. I don't know of any denomination who has fully embraced this view, although there surely are large numbers of pastors who would do so.

As far as sexual ethics go, Paul's writing in Romans 1 has been cited as the most authoritative biblical passage condemning (modern) homosexual practice. Thus, much of the discussion in modern denominations has revolved around the applicability, authority, or even sinfulness of Paul's writings on the topic. One such place such debate over Paul's writings could be seen was in the debates that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America had over allowing non-celibate homosexual persons to serve as pastors leading up to a 2009 vote at its churchwide assembly. Neverthelss, I have seen that even among those who explicitly reject Paul's view on sexuality, nearly all still find his writings on other topics, such as communion, to be authoritative.

Examples of rejecting Paul's writings in the ELCA's sexuality debate:
1) Presiding Bishop Hanson was quoted as saying that "we won't let six verses" determine our policy on anything. 2) One of the policy documents from the ELCA charged that "Paul's pre-suppositions are irrelevant." 3) At the plenary debate during the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, one speaker got up and told a story of one of his professors in seminary. It went like this:

"The professor took a large bible and threw it as hard as he could against the wall. Its bindings broke and pages went everywhere. The professor said, 'This is how I feel about the bible." Then the professor lovingly picked up the pieces, cradled them in his arms like a baby, and said, 'This is how I feel about the Word of God.'"

Making a big deal about the distinction between "the Word of God" and bible passages you want to throw against the wall is one way of downplaying the writings of Paul (Romans 1).

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Found the link of James Tabor article informative in this matter. And eventually I found a recent published book "Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity" by him from the article- amazon.com/Paul-Jesus-Apostle-Transformed-Christianity/dp/… which should have been sheded a lot of light on the matter of incompatibility between teachings of Jesus and Paul. However, I was not talking about whole or partial rejection. Rather the cause of rejection is what I wanted to focus- incompatibility between the teachings of two. Other causes were not intended. –  Gulshan Jun 7 '13 at 13:17
Gulshan, fair enough, but maybe that deserves a new question. –  pterandon Jun 7 '13 at 16:00
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I think that depends on what you mean by "church". If you're talking about a building, buildings don't really reject.

I have heard, and continue to see rumors that support, the idea that some people purporting to be Christian have rejected Paul completely. These groups are generally laden with people speaking of bizarre conspiracy theories and even worse theology. Here is one such example.

Once these are put aside we are left with the question "what does it mean to cease to follow Paul?" I know few who would trust a little bit of red wine over alkaseltzer, so that advice is out. All advice about slavery is outmoded in the US. Most of his rules about ecclesiastical organization have been done away with in some form or another by most Protestant denominations.

Then there are those who claim to follow Paul, but they then turn around and say that Paul only was a minor contributor to the New Testament and his works have been edited and revised by uncertain sources. Do these reject Paul when they claim his moral teachings are additions?

And, of course, there are none of us who has not sinned and rejected Paul for that reason.

There was a time when Christianity was less certain of itself. Before the church came out of hiding, it was common to find people picking and choosing among the different texts of the day. Chief among these offenders were the Gnostics. If ever there were a group that rejected Pauline thought outright it was these. Eventually, these died out by lack of followers.

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I don't think your first paragraph was necessary - no one ever asks questions like these and means buildings! –  curiousdannii Dec 28 '13 at 0:17
An attempt at humor. –  Ignatius Theophorus Dec 29 '13 at 3:27
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Here is a guy who rejects Paul and shows you the reasons and causes for his rejection. I think your question is wonderful and it ought to be pursued rigorously. Paul is suspect in every way, but then so is the entire canon called The New Testament. Again, this guy who rejects Paul shows you why.


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This question is asking about churches, not individuals. –  curiousdannii Jan 2 at 6:49
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Before answering your question, Let me ask you one question. How do you define a Church?. In your question you have asked "Is there any church that does not accept teachings of Paul?". The answer is "no" if you are considering only the mainstream churches.

The following main stream churches accept the Pauline epistles:

  • Roman Catholic Church and the 22 Sui juris Eastern Catholic Churches.
  • Oriental Orthodox Churches.
  • Eastern Orthodox Churches.
  • Protestant Churches and the Church of England.
  • Pentecostal churches.
  • Witnesses of JEHOVAH
  • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

And those pretty much cover 99.9% of the population in the world who call themselves Christians. But in a world with people believing in Flying Spaghetti Monsters and a flat Earth you will be able to find any number of fringe groups who calls themselves Christians and doesn't accept the Pauline epistles or the gospels itself for that matter.

However almost every established Church does accept the Pauline epistles.

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