What difficulties are involved in reconstructing Jesus' and Paul's religious views? Being as specific as possible, discuss whether you believe Jesus and Paul preached the same religion.

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The Answer is We do not have anything written by Jesus himself. Our only knowledge of his religious views comes from Christians who wrote decades after his death. Although we do have Paul's own writings, they are occasional in nature, not systematic. Nonetheless, there are some aspects of Jesus' and Paul's religious views that we can be fairly certain about. Both were Jews and believed in the Jewish God. Both were apocalyptically minded and expected the Kingdom of God to come soon. Jesus and Paul, however, had different understandings of some of these points. Jesus, for example, believed that the Son of Man would come during his disciples' lifetimes; Paul believed that Jesus would come during his (Paul's) lifetime. Jesus believed that following the heart of the Law, to love God and one's neighbor, brought salvation; Paul believed that faith in Jesus, not the works of the Law, brought salvation.

What Difficulties Are Involved in Reconstructing Jesus' and Paul's Religious