Does Christianity make sense? (Pt 2)

Hi Aileen, great to hear from you! I find it really impressive that you reached those conclussions! Congratulations! Your story is very interesting to me, as I told you before you strike me as a curious person that is willing to find answers to the big questions in life, I really advise you to always keep searching for answers, always stay curious! Now let's get to the subject at hand, boy is your question good! I had to do quite a bit of research, but here is what I found out: I want to start off by telling you that you are absolutelly right on your statement " if Jesus said to follow the law, who is St Paul to call it a curse?", as a Catholic I think the same thing: Jesus is the truth, so no one can contradict him really, be it St Paul or anyone else. So, is St Paul then a bad follower of Christ? Contradicting his words? I would say no! Let's look at the context in which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians: Paul had visited the Galatians and told them about Jesus Christ, they accepted the Gospel, yet 7 years later they were doubting it and were thinking of returning to the belief that the Law of Moses (this is the Law Paul is talking about in his letter) is the only mean to salvation, which is what jewish people believe. Paul is unable to personally visit them and correct this belief, so he writes them a letter. At this point you might be thinking, "What is wrong with just following the Law?" 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Mathew 5:17) 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mathew 5:20) So, why is Paul calling the Law a curse then if Jesus tells us to follow it? Because it is only fulfilled in Jesus Christ! This means that without Jesus you are doomed to fail at it, that is why it is a curse, it is only through faith in Jesus that you can fulfill it. In other words: The Law is indeed a curse if it is followed without faith in Jesus. As Paul himself says in his letter to the Romans: Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4) Does this mean that we don't need any Law then? Absolutely not! 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Mathew 5:17) Jesus is not against the Law, he is for it. But he is against ONLY following the law without faith in him, only Jesus can show us how to fulfill the law since Jesus IS the Law. So tu sum it up: Why does Paul call the Law a curse in his letter? Because it is a curse to follow the Law without faith in Jesus Christ, since it is only fulfilled in him. Only through Jesus can we know HOW to fulfill the Law. I hope my answer makes sense and helps a little, I hope it is not confusing, keep in mind english is not my first language! ;) Anyway, I am really looking forward to your reply, you raise very interesting questions, I admit I didn't know the answer at first! But through some research on catholic websites I found it, you made me learn something new today! I hope you have a great day, looking forward to hearing from you soon. Fede