₦airaland Forum

Who Was Hermann Detering?
Hermann Detering (1953–2018) was a Hermann Detering was a German Protestant pastor and theologian. He was known for reviving the radical-critical view of early Christianity, arguing that the Apostle Paul as we know him was largely a fabricated figure. His work drew heavily from the Dutch Radical School, which questioned the authenticity of all Pauline letters.

1. Detering’s Core Thesis: The Fabricated Paul
Detering claimed that most, if not all, Pauline letters were either forged or edited in the second century. He believed that the image of Paul was shaped by theological needs and power struggles in the early Church.

According to his postulation Paul was not the founder of Christianity— The idea of Paul as a founder was a later church theological construction.
Most Pauline letters are forgeries.by church elders for theological purposes .Even the so-called undisputed ones were likely edited by church scribes or written later.
Paul is a literary figure~ He was constructed and created to serve the needs of various factions of the early church elders leaders and probably the Roman government of the day for power and control of the populace.

The Book of Acts is unreliable as an historical record or a historical evidence. ~It’s a second-century text aiming to tame and harmonize Paul’s image vis a viz the original apostles.

2. Marcion’s influence~The radical Paul may have originated in Marcion’s canon and was later revised. Marcion an early Christian leader believed in two Gods. The evil God of the old testament and the loving God of the new testament. He was the first personality to create a bibliography of old testament and new testament books which he called a bible. He was declared a heretic and banished from the church but apparently the early church leaders incorporated part of his philosophy to create the literary Paul according to Dettering's postulation.


3. Textual and Theological Evidence

Detering cited stylistic inconsistencies, theological contradictions, and anachronisms in the Pauline letters to support his claim. The Pastoral Epistles reflect second-century church structures such as ranks of Bishops and deacons. Shifts in tone and theology suggest redactions or multiple authors of these missives.

4. Early Christianity Was Divided and was a battleground between various factions such as the Jews/Judaism,the gnostics,the Marcionites, the liberals, the Christians and the Roman government of the day.
The figure of Paul was used and reshaped to resolve these theological conflicts amongst all these diverse warring groups.


5. Connection to the Christ Myth Theory
Detering leaned toward the idea that Jesus, like Paul, was more symbolic than historical. He believed neither Paul or Jesus were historical but were mythical creations of the early church.The gospel narratives were seen as theological fiction, not historical records.


6. Reconstructed Timeline of Paul (Detering's View)


30s–40s CE: A real figure like Paul may have existed.

100–120 CE: Marcion assembles and edits Pauline letters.

120–150 CE: Proto-Catholics react and begin rewriting Paul.

130–150 CE: Acts of the Apostles is written.

150–200 CE: Canonical letters and Pastoral Epistles finalized.


7. Theological and Historical Implications

*Christian doctrine may rest on edited or forged letters.

*The historical Paul is unknowable, or perhaps never existed.

*All Christian faith and theological thought was shaped by ideological editing and theological embellishing and not just divine inspiration.


Detering’s Message
Detering urged scholars and believers alike to distinguish between inherited tradition and historical reality. He believed that honest, critical examination strengthens faith rather than undermining it.

So if Paul's letters could be forged and the Acts of the Apostles is unreliable historical,how can we rely or believe in the gospels of Matthew,Mark,Luke and John that were written latter?

Goosethetruth:
Who Was Hermann Detering?
Hermann Detering (1953–2018) was a Hermann Detering was a German Protestant pastor and theologian. He was known for reviving the radical-critical view of early Christianity, arguing that the Apostle Paul as we know him was largely a fabricated figure. His work drew heavily from the Dutch Radical School, which questioned the authenticity of all Pauline letters.

So your source is a man who was heavily influenced by anti Paul school who obviously was anti Paul? Anybody can claim anything but evidence determines facts.

1. Detering’s Core Thesis: The Fabricated Paul
Detering claimed that most, if not all, Pauline letters were either forged or edited in the second century. He believed that the image of Paul was shaped by theological needs and power struggles in the early Church.

It is easy to put forth an idiosyncratic statement and heap the blame on the church. The question is who are the church and from what source do you get this information? Power struggle within the church could have easily exposed any forgery or altering of the Pauline epistle.
What theological needs of the church?

According to his postulation Paul was not the founder of Christianity— The idea of Paul as a founder was a later church theological construction.
Most Pauline letters are forgeries.by church elders for theological purposes .Even the so-called undisputed ones were likely edited by church scribes or written later.

No where in the Pauline Epistles was it stated that Paul was the founder of Christianity. So what evidence do you have to say the church scribes edited or wrote the Pauline letters?

Paul is a literary figure~ He was constructed and created to serve the needs of various factions of the early church elders leaders and probably the Roman government of the day for power and control of the populace.

why will the Roman government create a figure that proclaim Jesus Christ a Jewish man as Lord instead of one of their own? It does not make sense, and also the Roman society is an elitist society, so why would the subvert their society by creating a figure that declares everybody as one?
Your myth is easy to dismiss. Every society government, tribe and ethnic group always promote or create a system, story that put their society, emperor etc as a superior. But not so in the Pauline Epistles Jesus a Jewish Messiah is glorified.

The Book of Acts is unreliable as an historical record or a historical evidence. ~It’s a second-century text aiming to tame and harmonize Paul’s image vis a viz the original apostles.

stop lying, Acts is generally regarded as reliable.

2. Marcion’s influence~The radical Paul may have originated in Marcion’s canon and was later revised. Marcion an early Christian leader believed in two Gods. The evil God of the old testament and the loving God of the new testament. He was the first personality to create a bibliography of old testament and new testament books which he called a bible. He was declared a heretic and banished from the church but apparently the early church leaders incorporated part of his philosophy to create the literary Paul according to Dettering's postulation.

marcion was a gnostic, which is a religion on its own.

3. Textual and Theological Evidence

Detering cited stylistic inconsistencies, theological contradictions, and anachronisms in the Pauline letters to support his claim. The Pastoral Epistles reflect second-century church structures such as ranks of Bishops and deacons. Shifts in tone and theology suggest redactions or multiple authors of these missives.

what are the evidences, how do you know the first century do have te structure? What is your source?

4. Early Christianity Was Divided and was a battleground between various factions such as the Jews/Judaism,the gnostics,the Marcionites, the liberals, the Christians and the Roman government of the day.

what is your source? So when has Judaism become a faction of Christianity or gnosticism? Or the Roman government? Or the marcionites? Or liberals?

The figure of Paul was used and reshaped to resolve these theological conflicts amongst all these diverse warring groups.

what conflict? If the figure of Paul was created to resolve conflict, why does it contradict gnosticim, liberals, Judaism and the Roman government?

5. Connection to the Christ Myth Theory
Detering leaned toward the idea that Jesus, like Paul, was more symbolic than historical. He believed neither Paul or Jesus were historical but were mythical creations of the early church.The gospel narratives were seen as theological fiction, not historical records.

Do you even know the meaning of historical, all the people mentioned in the gospels were real people and real places, in your other thread you ran away from you claim the gospels were not written during the times of the Apostles, meaning the apostles really exists.

6. Reconstructed Timeline of Paul (Detering's View)


30s–40s CE: A real figure like Paul may have existed.

100–120 CE: Marcion assembles and edits Pauline letters.

120–150 CE: Proto-Catholics react and begin rewriting Paul.

130–150 CE: Acts of the Apostles is written.

150–200 CE: Canonical letters and Pastoral Epistles finalized.


7. Theological and Historical Implications

*Christian doctrine may rest on edited or forged letters.

*The historical Paul is unknowable, or perhaps never existed.

*All Christian faith and theological thought was shaped by ideological editing and theological embellishing and not just divine inspiration.

what is your evidence and source?

[Detering’s Message
Detering urged scholars and believers alike to distinguish between inherited tradition and historical reality. He believed that honest, critical examination strengthens faith rather than undermining it.

So if Paul's letters could be forged and the Acts of the Apostles is unreliable historical,how can we rely or believe in the gospels of Matthew,Mark,Luke and John that were written latter?

All of these is hinged on "if" meaning not certain. The overwhelming evidence actually is that the the epistles of Paul were written by actual Paul, there is no evidence that the Roman fathers, church leaders edited the Bible why there are overwhelming copies of the new testament that would make it impossible to alter. The Roman catholic Church was founded in 590 CE and the scriptures predates the Roman catholic church, hence the Roman catholic church cannot alter the scripture at the early stage.
With the assume different sects of Christianity one would have seen different gospels and letters of Paul reflecting each view but however this is not so, as all copies of scripture are similar with just minor divations called copies error.
Op is obviously bitter and enrage against Christianity that he grasped at straws and anything he sees is against Christianity not minding its evident contradictions and inaccuracies.

Paul vs. the Disciples: The Cold War Over Teaching the Gentiles

1. Paul’s Radical Independence Begins
After his dramatic encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), Paul insists that his gospel was directly from Christ, not from human teachers.
Galatians 1:11–12 – “The gospel I preached is not of human origin… I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
He also avoids Jerusalem for years after his conversion.
Galatians 1:16–17 – “I did not go up to Jerusalem… I went into Arabia.”
This shows Paul’s early distance from the original apostles.
2. Limited Contact with the Disciples
When Paul finally visits Jerusalem three years later, he only meets Peter and James briefly.
Galatians 1:18–19 – “I stayed with Cephas fifteen days… I saw none of the other apostles.”
This minimal contact sets the stage for future disagreements.
3. Gentiles and the Crisis in Antioch
In Antioch, Paul and Barnabas welcome Gentile believers without circumcision. But others from Jerusalem insist that Gentiles must obey Jewish laws.
Acts 15:1 – “Unless you are circumcised… you cannot be saved.”
This leads to a serious dispute and the need for intervention from Jerusalem.
4. The Jerusalem Council: A Fragile Truce
At the Council (Acts 15), Peter surprisingly sides with Paul, saying even Jews are saved by grace, not by the Law.
Acts 15:10–11 – “Why do you try to put on the necks of the Gentiles a yoke…?”
Still, the apostles only give limited approval to Paul’s mission. Paul reflects on this:
Galatians 2:7–9 – “They recognized that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised…”
It was an uneasy “you preach to Gentiles, we to Jews” agreement — not full unity.
5. The Antioch Showdown: Paul vs. Peter
Soon after, Peter visits Antioch and at first eats with Gentile believers. But when some arrive from James, he pulls back, afraid of criticism.
Galatians 2:11–14 – “I opposed Cephas to his face… He stood condemned… he was afraid of those from the circumcision group.”
Paul calls this hypocrisy — and directly blames influence from James in Jerusalem.
6. Paul Becomes Increasingly Isolated
In his later letters, Paul speaks of so-called ‘super-apostles’ (sarcastically) and warns against those insisting on circumcision.
2 Corinthians 11:5 – “I do not think I am in the least inferior to those ‘super-apostles.’”
Philippians 3:2 – “Watch out for those dogs… the mutilators of the flesh.”
Paul now sees himself as the true apostle to the Gentiles, distinct from the Jerusalem crowd.
7. The Final Rift in Jerusalem
When Paul returns to Jerusalem, James and the elders ask him to take part in purification rituals — to calm tensions with Jewish Christians.
Acts 21:20–21 – “They have been informed that you teach Jews to turn away from Moses…”
But the plan fails. Paul is arrested, and none of the apostles speak publicly in his defense.

Conclusion: A Divided Mission
Though united in faith in Jesus, Paul and the original disciples had deep divisions:
- Paul preached freedom from the Law and equal access for Gentiles.
- The Jerusalem leaders were more cautious, rooted in Jewish tradition.
Paul's vision would eventually shape global Christianity. But the quarrel with the disciples reminds us that the early church was not a monolith — it was a movement wrestling with identity, culture, and direction.
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” — 1 Corinthians 3:6





This is written with quotations of bible passages to counter the persons claiming there was no cold war between Paul and the disciples of Jesus. I write for people who are ready to research knowledge not people who want to be spoon fed.
Finally be informed the fact I am quoting your religious book does not mean everything inside it is not made up myths. Understand this before you start quoting me.