If Peter is Pope why so much from Paul?

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eleusis

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My evangelical coworker tossed that one on my desk the other day. Why, if Peter was the leader, did Paul do so much writing? My best answer was as a sign for sinners. Even though we are fallen when we turn our lives over to him he can do great things with the greatest screw ups there are, and Paul was the latest example.

Any other ideas?
thanks,
 
because paul did a lot more travelling and had more people to keep up with. let’s not forget that these writings were letters of correspondence to real people and churches of the time.
 
Amount of canonized letters =/= authority.

Mark, Luke, James, Jude were not apostles yet their writings are in the Bible. Can you say that they have more authority than Andrew, Thomas, Mathias etc?
 
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eleusis:
My evangelical coworker tossed that one on my desk the other day. Why, if Peter was the leader, did Paul do so much writing?
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One answer might be :
Why did Christ select one person for one mission and another person for a different mission? Why does God give one person a certain talent and another person some other give? I guess we’ll have to ask Him when we get there! 😉
 
Different vocations.
Peter, having spent three years with Jesus, was to lead the new church.
Acts 1:15-26, Acts 2:14ff, Acts 11:1-18

Paul was to travel and preach to the Gentiles.
Acts 9:1-32
In preaching and traveling, Paul established churches wherever he went. In those days, there being no faxes or e-mail, he was required to wirte letters to keep up with the churches he established, and these were decreed to be canonical.
 
Paul answered this himself, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Ch 12 verse 4-11
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit;
to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.
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Paul had the gift of writing letters; Peter had the gifts of leadership, decision-making, etc.
 
It’s because your evangelical co-worker doesn’t know his bible. Peter is mentioned 155 times, and the other Apostles are mentioned 130 times **combined. **This is from Matthew right through to Revelation.
Ask your co-worker why Peter is always mentioned first with only two exceptions. (1 Cor. 3:22 and Gal. 2:9)

Ask your co-worker if Paul walked on water, if Paul was the first to confess Christ’s divinity, if Paul or anybody else received the keys, if Jesus preached from Paul’s boat, etc., etc. http://www.scripturecatholic.com/primacy_of_peter.html

Gal. 2:11-14 - non-Catholics sometimes use this verse to diminish Peter’s evident authority over the Church. This is misguided. In this verse, Paul does not oppose Peter’s teaching, but his failure to live by it. Infallibility (teaching without error) does not mean impeccability (living without sinning). Peter was the one who taught infallibly on the Gentile’s salvation in Acts 10,11.
With this rebuke, Paul is really saying “Peter, you are our leader, you teach infallibly, and yet your conduct is inconsistent with these facts. You of all people!” The verse really underscores, and not diminishes the importance of Peter’s leadership in the Church.

I would add that no Pope makes definitive declarations while hiding in fear, (verse 12), so Peter is not teaching at all by such hiding.

If shear volume of writing constitues authority, St. Thomas Aquinas or St. Augustine would have been Popes.:whacky:

The Papacy: God’s Gift to the Church
cin.org/users/james/files/papacy.htm
 
Paul was highly educated, taught by the best Rabbis of his city. His vocation of a tax collector, forced him to write a lot. Peter was not highly educated, he dictated ( some to Mark) his letters.

Which man living today, a carpenter or a college professor will leave behind the greatest volume of writing?
 
WHY? Because the papacy is not based on who can write much. Jesus chose a mere fisherman to become the first chief of the apostles. That’s a great sign that with God nothing is impossible.

Pio
 
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eleusis:
My evangelical coworker tossed that one on my desk the other day. Why, if Peter was the leader, did Paul do so much writing?
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A fine example of the silly objections posed by evangelicals. :rolleyes:

Paul
 
Paul W:
Paul answered this himself, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Ch 12 verse 4-11

Paul had the gift of writing letters; Peter had the gifts of leadership, decision-making, etc.
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I beg to differ. Paul’s letters are confusing.
 
Hasn’t anyone considered the obvious fact that when Jesus established His Church, Paul not only was not an Apostle, but for years persecuted the Church? Paul wasn’t even in the “flock” when Jesus established the leader. Paul persecuted the Christians for years! How could he have been the leader that Jesus selected? It’s just a silly question!
 
Is there historical evidence that Peter was really the first pope, or is this just tradition? I read recently that it was more tradition than anything.
 
eleusis,

Did your co-worker point his finger at you and say “Gotcha” when he posed this question?😃

He may not have said it, but he meant it! Been there, done that.

Many Protestants contrast Paul with Peter every which way to “prove” that Peter wasn’t the head of the Church. Paul is always the hero and Peter is the loser, as they selectively interpret the Scriptures. Some even charge that Peter was never in Rome, disbelieving or disregarding the fact that his body is buried beneath St. Peters Basilica on Vatican Hill.

A little less twisting of the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:16 RSV) and a little more study of the history of Christianty (which is the history of the Catholic Church) would do those folks a world of good.

JMJ Jay
Ex-Southern Baptist, ex-agnostic, ex-atheist, ecstatic to be Catholic!
 
Paul was not one of the original 12 apostles. When Jesus assended into heaven, He picked Peter from one of the 11. At that time Paul wasn’t even a believer but became one years later. Once authority was given to Peter, it remained with him until his death. At which time, it passed to his successor.
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beng:
Mark, Luke, James, Jude were not apostles yet their writings are in the Bible. Can you say that they have more authority than Andrew, Thomas, Mathias etc?
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James WAS an apostle.He was the older brother of John. He was the first of The Twelve to be martyred. The same with Jude. He was called Thaddaeus, also known as “Jude the brother of James”.
 
Paul was, after all, a convert. And we know how those converts can be! How long has Scott Hahn been a Catholic? Look how much he’s written in such a short time! I’ve been a Catholic all my life and never wrote a single thing about the Faith!😉
 
Sir Knight:
Paul was not one of the original 12 apostles. When Jesus assended into heaven, He picked Peter from one of the 11. At that time Paul wasn’t even a believer but became one years later. Once authority was given to Peter, it remained with him until his death. At which time, it passed to his successor. James WAS an apostle.He was the older brother of John. He was the first of The Twelve to be martyred. The same with Jude. He was called Thaddaeus, also known as “Jude the brother of James”.
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I checked, and you are right.
 
The Epistles are to be viewed through the lens of the Gospels, not the other way around. That might explain why some Protestants have it backwards, as there are only 4 Gospels, and more Epistles.

Paul, like Peter, was called by Christ Himself. But Paul did not start his minstry until he first was ordained by a bishop, which is the only way a person can be a legitimate successor to the apostles: sacramental ordination. Acts 9:17-19.
 
My what a prolific group. Thank you all for your replies. Very helpful, execept for that grump who wrote “double post”. I beg to differ, similar topic but I read the other string and this discussion is quite different. Anyway, back to the studies. The prof. is not forgiving.
 
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