In Not Paul, But Jesus Jeremy Bentham offers solid proof that the books of the Bible ascribed to Paul could not have been divinely inspired due to the numerous fallacies and contradictions contained within them. Indeed, argues Bentham, Paul's works even contradict the teachings of Christ. It is likely the books ascribed to Paul, many of which are merely letters to early Christian churches, were added by the church because the doctrine of Paul allows the church to play a far larger role in the life of Christians than would be the case without the books included. Paul wanted the various churches he visited to practice Christianity his way. His letters tell them to do so, and apparently some influential leaders of the early and latter church approved. Bentham offers convincing proof that an infallible God could not have inspired the writings of Paul, which are far from infallible. In Bentham's view, Paul plays the role of an anti-Christ by making Christ subservient to Paul in the doctrine of Christianity. In this Watersgreen House Classics Edition, hundreds of problems in punctuation and spelling that frustrated reading have been corrected (British spellings have been left alone). This volume also contains a new foreword by Tobias Skinner...........Watersgreen House is an independent international book publisher with editorial staff in the UK and USA. One of our aims at Watersgreen House is to showcase same-sex affection in works by important gay and bisexual authors in ways which were not possible at the time the books were originally published. We also publish nonfiction, including textbooks, as well as contemporary fiction that is literary, unusual, and provocative. watersgreen.wix.com/watersgreenhouse
About the Author: Jeremy Bentham was both radical and brave, and he was years ahead of his time on social issues. His ideas helped lead to the Social Democratic welfare state adopted by the countries of Europe that today enjoy the highest standard of living. He wrote in favor of legalized homosexuality, equality for women, the right to divorce, prison reform, police reform, separation of church and state, freedom of speech, the abolition of slavery, the abolition of the death penalty, children's rights, and animal rights. Bentham is known as the founder of utilitarianism, a political philosophy that encourages public officials to adopt policies that provide the greatest good for the greatest number. His principles on economics, philosophy, statesmanship, and law influenced governments not only in Europe but also in the Americas. Several Central and South American governments called upon him to help draft their constitutions. Indeed, in Latin America he became known as "the legislator of the world." Much of Bentham's reputation rests on his Principles of Morals and Legislation, published in 1789. Even Napoleon called it a work of genius. Many of Ben-tham's works went unpublished, however, because they were simply too radical to find an audience, much less a publisher. To our knowledge, no other Englishman of his day was writing in defense of homosexuality, a subject never discussed in the England of his day except when necessary to convict and publicly hang someone accused of engaging in a homosexual act. The historian Louis Crompton, who presumably saw much of Ben-tham's unpublished material, claims Bentham wrote more than five hun-dred pages arguing for homosexuality in which he relied heavily on classical Greek literature to make his case. None of Bentham's essays defending homosexuality could be published in his lifetime. The first to appear was Offences Against One's Self, first published in 1931. Bentham was a radical in his religious beliefs, as well. He did not believe that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah was a treatise against homosexuali-ty, as indeed it is not, and he believed the story of David and Jonathan was a homosexual romance, as was the story of Jesus and the "beloved disci-ple."