Paul vs. Luke

How Reliable is the Acts of the Apostles?

John Knox: (personal letter to Gerd Lüdemann, Colloquy on New Testament Studies, ed. B. Corley, p. 290)

1. the vastly inferior value of Acts as a source for Paul's career in comparison to Paul's own letters
2. the barest hint in the epistles is of more worth than even the most explicit statement of Acts
3. any statement in Acts that conflicts with the letters should thus be deemed in error
4. Acts merits full credibility only where the letters provide a supporting statement; never where an assertion is not confirmed by the epistles
5. particularly suspect are the statements in Acts that serve a special interest or purpose of the author

F. C. Baur: (Lüdemann, Colloquy, 290, nte 3)

"It would appear natural to suppose that in all the cases where the account in Acts do not altogether agree with statements of the Apostle, the latter must have such a decided claim to be considered authentic truth that the contradictions would scarcely be worth attention . . . The comparison of these two sources leads us to the conclusion that, considering the great differences between the two statements, historical truth must be entirely on one side or entirely on the other . . . For the history of the Apostolic Age the Pauline Epistle must in any case take precedence of all the other New Testament writings as an authentic source."

A Test Case:  Paul's Conversion

According to Paul's Own Letter to the Galatians (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11)

According to Luke's Book of the Acts of the Apostles

Where Did Paul Get His Gospel?

Paul gives two versions:

Originally Paul seems to have been Content to associate himself with the "tradition"
that must have originated in Apostolic Circles 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

But once the Controversy began, Paul Disassociated himself from the Apostles,
Claimed his "Gospel" was a Revelation of Jesus and not from any Human Source;
Paul Denied even going to Jerusalem until Three Years after his "Conversion"
and Stated that he Interacted only Briefly with Peter and James Galatians 1:1-24

Luke gives another version:

But Luke Narrates a Different Version of Paul's Activity after his "Conversion";
Luke Tells a Story of Close Collaboration between Paul and the Jerusalem Community,
Apparently beginning Shortly after Paul's "Conversion" in Damascus Acts 8:3-9:31

Paul vs. the "Pillars"

The Jerusalem Council

Paul's own version in his angry letter to the Galatians

Luke's whitewashed version in the Book of Acts

The Incident at Antioch

Paul's own version in Galatians

Luke's whitewash in Acts 15:30ff.

The Conflict between Paul and the Apostles Continues and becomes even more Severe. For more on the Conflict between the Self-appointed "Apostle" Paul and the Historical Disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, the "Pillars of the Church," Peter, John, and James the Just (one of Jesus' four brothers), See Paul vs. the Apostles.