Paulianity is a Spirit-Possession Cult

 

First, a starting must read is:

•  1 Corinthians 11:3-16: Spirit Possession and Authority in a Non-Pauline Interpolation [click link for PDF] by Christopher Mount (July 2005; Journal of Biblical Literature 124 (2): 313. DOI:10.2307/30041015). 

Also see:

• Spirit Possession and the Origins of Christianity by Stevan Davies

• The Religion of Paul the Apostle by  John Ashton

• Paul in Ecstasy by Colleen Shantz

• Spirit Possession in Christ Cults Associated with Paul and Roman Discourses of Political Power by Christopher Mount

• Paul, Jewish Mysticism, and Spirit Possession (From the book Apocalypticism and Mysticism in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity) by Adela Yarbro Collins

• The Spirit World in the Letters of Paul the Apostle: A Critical Examination of the Role of Spiritual Beings in the Authentic Pauline Epistles by Guy Williams

• Singing in Paul’s Cult of the Possessed by Jesus’ Spirit by Dragana Jeremić-Molnar

• Spirit Possession: Multidisciplinary Approaches to a Worldwide Phenomenon [PDF Link] Edited by Éva Pócs and András Zempléni

Most modern Christians, with the exception of pentecostal churches, ignore the New Testament world of literal spirits possessing human bodies on a regular basis. Modern Christian theologians offer various methods for avoiding the obvious constant talk of exorcisms and being bodily possessed by literal spirits, whether its a demon or the Messiah, in the New Testament. Just one example is A New Paradigm for Spirit Possession (PDF link) by Matthew R. Anderson, where he attempts to ignore all the other scripture  passages about spirits literally possessing people -- from causing harmful suffering, epilepsy, etc., or causing someone to randomly speak in unlearned foreign languages (or the "language of angels") and perform miracles like curing blindness and performing exorcisms -- by instead arguing for an interpretation of the Holy Spirit moving within people to aid them in merely speaking with boldness.

For me, this unfortunately means that the New Testament is an outdated ethical guide for modern living, being filled with just too much outlandish spirit possession phenomena for it to align with today's world of modern science and medicine; including neuroscience and psychiatry essentially debunking most of the claims of "demon possession" as scientifically explainable phenomena we now call epilepsy or mental illness and personality disorders, etc. 

Thus the wild world of malevalent invading spirits in biblical times is now considered by most people today as just primitive superstitions; that was the result of a scary time in history when people did not understand that most diseases were caused by germs and there was no such thing as M.R.I. scans of the brain or psychiatry. 

 The New Testament texts are thus very problematic. For while there are indeed nuggets of good ethical ideas here and there, there are just too many "landmines" waiting to be stepped on at every page causing an explosion of irrational superstious nonsense: from flying demons invading humans to apocalyptic end-times hysteria, etc. These harmful ideas can and do lead to harm, whether it was calling women witches and burning them alive just a hundered or so years ago to even today there being cases of fanatical Christian parents believing their child is literally possessed by a demon and thus causing them harm or even death; which occurs nearly every year even in our modern scienctific age.  

Thus the attempt to cherry pick out or extract the nuggets of ethical goodness in the New Testament, is hampered by the overwhelming number of passages about evil demons possessing people and the alleged claims that spirit possession by a Messiah can allow someone to heal even amputtess or cast out demons from someone having an epileptic seizure.

 The truth is that modern Christians are embarrassed by this possession stuff, which is why the groups like the pentecostals who try to reanct this primitive spirit possession world are considered on the fringe of Christianity and often laughed at as crazy by the majority of more "sober" Christians. This is because most Christians know deep down that they cannot replicate the crazy spirit possession world of the New Testament today.