Editing Paul the Apostle (section)

=== Modern theology ===
{{See also|Pauline Christianity|Jesuism}}
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 |quote = Visit any church service, [[Roman Catholic]], [[Protestant]] or [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]], and it is the apostle Paul and his ideas that are central – in the [[hymns]], the [[creeds]], the [[sermons]], the invocation and [[benediction]], and of course, the rituals of [[baptism]] and the [[Holy Communion]] or Mass. Whether birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage or death, it is predominantly Paul who is evoked to express meaning and significance.|source =Professor [[James D. Tabor]] for the ''[[Huffington Post]]''<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-d-tabor/christianity-before-paul_b_2200409.html|title=Christianity Before Paul|website=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=August 27, 2017|date=2012-11-29}}</ref>
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In his commentary ''[[The Epistle to the Romans (Barth)|The Epistle to the Romans]]'' ({{langx|de|Der Römerbrief}}; particularly in the thoroughly re-written second edition of 1922), [[Karl Barth]] argued that the God who is revealed in the cross of Jesus challenges and overthrows any attempt to ally God with human cultures, achievements, or possessions.

In addition to the many questions about the true origins of some of Paul's teachings posed by historical figures as noted above, some modern theologians also hold that the teachings of Paul differ markedly from those of Jesus as found in the Gospels.{{sfn|Maccoby|1998|p=14}} [[Barrie Wilson]] states that Paul differs from Jesus in terms of the origin of his message, his teachings and his practices.{{sfn|Wilson|2011|loc=chapters 9, 10, 12}} Some have even gone so far as to claim that, due to these apparent differences in teachings, that Paul was no less than the "second founder" of Christianity (Jesus being its first).{{sfn|Dwyer|1998|p=27}}{{sfn|Wrede|1907|p=179}}

As in the Eastern tradition in general, Western humanists interpret the reference to election in Romans 9 as reflecting divine foreknowledge.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|loc=St Paul}}