What’s that you say? How is St. Paul a DEI agent?

Well if it wasn’t for Paul you would’ve had to be of Jewish decent to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Paul was Jewish but he was also a Roman citizen and fluent in Greek culture which was all the rage back in the Roman days of the beginning of the first century AD.

Before his transformation, Paul was a zealous persecutor of Christians, a role fitting for a Pharisee of his time. If you’ve been reading the Bible, you’ll recognize the Pharisees as the antagonists in the Gospels, often portrayed as scheming figures akin to mustache-twirling villains like Snidely Whiplash. Their opposition to Jesus culminated in handing him over to the Romans for execution.

Or a more relatable analogy would be to consider the Pharisees the modern equivalent of Fundamentalist Christian Nationalist. If it weren’t for Paul, Christianity might have remained exclusively tied to Jewish heritage and traditions. No opportunity for the inclusion of Gentiles.

Persecuting Christians came naturally to Paul—or Saul, as he was known during his days of vehement opposition to the early church. Unlike modern claims of persecution, such as those made by figures like Josh Hawley—who equate a loss of privilege with oppression—Saul’s actions were literal and brutal. He actively sought to harm and suppress those who followed Christ.

But, according to the story, fate took an unexpected turn. Saul, the fervent adversary of Christianity, was struck—not by the whip he might have wielded against believers, but by a divine vision. As the tale goes, a blinding light from Christ confronted him, asking, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:3-9).

So after he came down off of whatever he was tripping on he contemplated and reflected on his hallucination in Arabia. Galatians 1:7-18

After his mediation he came up with the concept of expanding the brand. Why keep this to only the Jews when there are even more Gentiles and if we want to get this faith going let’s employ some Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Heck we’ll even let them eat Shrimp and go without getting their penis chopped. Acts 15:1-21

With his diverse background and global perspective, he was able to transcend the boundaries of Jewish culture. Coupled with the Roman Empire’s vast dominion over much of the Western and Near Eastern world, the stage was perfectly set for the emergence of a groundbreaking new religion.

Paul’s unique background and eventual calling allowed him to break barriers, spreading the message of Christ far beyond the confines of Jewish tradition and opening the faith to people of all cultural and social backgrounds. His work laid the foundation for Christianity to become a global faith, embracing diversity in its earliest days.

A good thing that Paul was operating in a time before Hitler, *cough* I mean Trump. Who wants to destroy DEI. Fearful it might pollute the Master Race.