Thanks for the comment. So good to know that such brillant apolgogists like you is dropping in on my blog.

I think Hirsch and Frost’s comment could apply to Paul, depending of course on how we define the fringe and fringe of “what.” The whole nascent Christian movement was a fringe thing when compared to the Jewish religious establishemt.

But I think the quote is more accurate and applicable when we look at the overall history of the church through its stages of expansion and decline, particularly as it has institutionalized over the centuries.