The attempt to "rescue" Jesus from Christianity is a hopeless one. It depends on the idea that Paul corrupted the "original" message of Jesus and his followers. Paul supposedly turned Jesus the Jewish holy man into a pagan demigod. It's an idea that has been roundly rejected by NT scholars.
In reality there is no reason to think that Paul was preaching anything at odds with the Jerusalem church or with the spirit of Judaism. The one thing that stands out in the Old Testament is that Israel was under constant threat from idolatry. Israel was surrounded by idol-worshippers who might lure the people into idolatry themselves or destroy them. Israel could never be safe as long as it was surrounded by idolaters.
The only solution to the problem was to destroy the idols. But how could that be achieved? What could Israel do against such overwhelming odds? The answer was Christ. After the Resurrection, the process of conquering the idols began and it continued until they were more or less all wiped out. This was an extraordinary achievement and it was done in Christ's name.
The attempt to "rescue" Jesus from Christianity is a hopeless one. It depends on the idea that Paul corrupted the "original" message of Jesus and his followers. Paul supposedly turned Jesus the Jewish holy man into a pagan demigod. It's an idea that has been roundly rejected by NT scholars.
In reality there is no reason to think that Paul was preaching anything at odds with the Jerusalem church or with the spirit of Judaism. The one thing that stands out in the Old Testament is that Israel was under constant threat from idolatry. Israel was surrounded by idol-worshippers who might lure the people into idolatry themselves or destroy them. Israel could never be safe as long as it was surrounded by idolaters.
The only solution to the problem was to destroy the idols. But how could that be achieved? What could Israel do against such overwhelming odds? The answer was Christ. After the Resurrection, the process of conquering the idols began and it continued until they were more or less all wiped out. This was an extraordinary achievement and it was done in Christ's name.