GOD, MAN AND BOOK REVIEWS

Re “Not the Stuff of Sermons,” (Larry Stammer’s review of A.N. Wilson’s “Jesus: A Life,” Dec. 20), it is obvious that both are missing a very important point. Neither Jesus nor Paul were interested in founding a new religion.

Jesus preached of the coming of the kingdom of Heaven, as prophesied in the Old Testament. Paul did the same, but said the Kingdom would be established upon the return of the Christ. Each were Jews, and if anything, this would be another sect of the Jews, the sect that believed Jesus was the Messiah.

Also, “Christian” was a derogatory term used by those to disparage the followers of Jews. It was only centuries later that a new religion, known as Christianity, came into being, when the gulf between the Jews and the followers of Jesus became unbridgeable.

This new religion did not follow the tenets of Paul. Paul taught that all are saved through the Grace of God, because of Faith--the faith of Jesus, not through the efforts of man.

As an actor, I have portrayed both Paul and Jesus for more than 13 years, and I have acquired an understanding of both.

ROBERT MACKLIN, LOS ANGELES