Good morning me pal.
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There is another passage I believe in galations? that says that he DID receive this information from others. This is where we have a possible post pauline interpolation (1 or the other). This would justify the idea (paul received it from someone else) that the creed was in circulation around 36 months after Jesus death. Here is where most of the disagreements arise....Either we have an interpolation stating that Paul received this from Jesus himself or that he received it from someone else. That is one argument. The other argument is that Paul went away to be with the Lord, He then came back into town to verify that the gospel he received was true and accurate (which those that seen it agreed that it was accurate..they added nothing to him) and was presented with a very possible formalized statement of that same gospel very similar to what he received from the Lord.
Well, Paul states that everything he received was from the risen Jesus:
Gal. 1:11-12 he declares:
I want you to realize, brothers, that the gospel which I preach is not a human gospel, for I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Then further in verses 15-16 he says:
But when the one who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult with any human being.As for verifying his gospel ... His [Paul] arrival on the scene, with a gospel that he claimed superior to that of the Disciples, caused a real bone of contention between the two camps. In fact, his message could easily be called heretical--and was. The Ebionites despised Paul, calling him an "apostate of the Law". The Diaspora Jews did the same--nearly beat him to a pulp! And the original Disciples had a serious problem with him as well, for he preached abrogation of the Law (no circumcision, eating with gentiles et al) and broke Jesus' commandments in
Matthew 5:17-20. Also, his personal theology
(Galatians 2:2), ruffled the feather of the pillars (James, Peter, John) of the Jesus movement. In fact, and as you well know, they [pillars] called Paul to Jerusalem to answer various charges. The "Jerusalem Council" came to a tenuous agreement regarding the gentile issue, yes, but one that did not last.
Paul ...
1) Paul claims that his Gospel is from the risen Jesus and not from men--including the Disciples:
Galatians 1:16-19 I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas [Peter], and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother.
Galatians 1:11 The good news I preach is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ.2) Paul goes to Jerusalem not for another fourteen years and spends time with some of the Disciples and claims he learned nothing of worth from them:
Galatians 2:6 As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. 3) Paul claims his Gospel is the true Gospel, and that anyone who preaches otherwise are accursed, deceivers and liars:
Gal 1:6-9 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary [Galatians 1:11] (my emphasis) to what you received, let that one be accursed!Paul, a zealot if there ever was one, obviously had a theophany (out of profound guilt?). But his Gospel did not originate, at least IMHO, nor was it accepted, by the Disciples. Paul states this himself.
The "Jerusalem Council"http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/jerucouncil.htmlThe Incident at Antiochhttp://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/antioch.htmlContradictions Between Paul's and Jesus' Teachingshttp://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/paultheology.html#contraAnd it is even possible that the Disciples sent out missionaries to counter Paul's teachings. He makes reference to the "Super Apostles" and their false teachings. Are the SP's the original disciples? It seems to me a resounding yes.
2 Corinthians 11 (New International Version) 1I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that. 2I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. 5But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those "super-apostles." 6I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.2 Corinthians 12:11 (New International Version) 11I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the "super-apostles," even though I am nothing.Again, this is almost certainly in reference to the original disciples.
An excellent article that tackles this/numerous problems with Paul is by Tabor, who is writing a book on where Paul received his authority.
Where Did the Apostle Paul Get His Authority?
... For example, in 1 Corinthians 15 one of the most important chapters for Christian faith in the entire New Testament, Paul writes that he has “received” and then “passed on” (paradidomai) the teaching of that “Christ” (notice he does not say “Jesus”) died for sins, was buried, and was raised the “third day,” and then was seen by various ones–Peter, the Twelve, 500 brothers at once, James (Jesus’ brother), and all the apostles. Most have assumed this means Paul “received” this by some kind of testimony, as if he was told it on a human level, perhaps directly by Peter, or James, or some of the Twelve. That would indeed be a natural and potentially logical reading of Paul’s claims to have “received” this “gospel.”
However, if one begins to examine more carefully just how independently Paul claims to have “received” this or that, it becomes clear that he is not in fact getting these ideas, facts, and narratives, from sources who were eyewitnesses and thus passed them on to him. Rather he makes the explicit claim that he did not get his “gospel,” which he carefully defines in 1 Cor 15:1, from men, or from any human source, but by a revelation from Jesus Christ himself (Galatians 1:11-12). In fact, he uses the very same verb in these verses, namely, paralambano as he does in 1 Corinthians 15.
So if Paul claims that his “gospel,” of the “death, burial, and resurrection” of Jesus did not come from men, does he intend to say, after all, that he talked to James or to Peter or to John and received from them these testimonies he reports?REST HEREhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK2J3MVDRHB4T47As for verifying his gospel so that it was in line with that of the disciples ...
Galatians 2:11-14 11 But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"This indicates to me that--along with the above--This is not the case. If the two had agreed, Paul would not have jumped down the throat of Peter calling him a hypocrite.
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This is the view of alot of critical scholars but Robert Price seems to be one of the few that thinks its a post pauline interpolation.
Yeah, I have read his article. Interesting.
Apocryphal Apparitions: 1 Corinthians 15:3-11 as a Post-Pauline Interpolation by Robert M. Price, Institute for Higher Critical Studies, Drew Universityhttp://depts.drew.edu/jhc/rp1cor15.htmlQUOTE
Im not taking a position on this one as I havent really studied it enough..plus I feel that its so up for grabs that you have to pick a side.
Agreed.
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I do have a good debate audio of Habermas, Mike Licona and Robert Price in regards to this specific creed and their views on the subject. If you would like I can send you the link to it so you can listen for yourself.
Your friend,
Hairston
That would be great my friend. Should be an interesting debate.
Kindly,
Sean
Thank goodness I had just finished my coffee ... lest I would have shot it out of my nose! 
