Saul Of Tarsus: Paul The Apostle

Saul of Tarsus was also known as Paul the Apostle. He was believed to have been born in c. 5 and died in c. 6. Saul was born in Tarsus of Cilicia, in a Greek-speaking area of the Roman Empire and was a Roman citizen by birthright. This area is what is now known as Turkey. He was also known as Saul the persecutor of the Christian church. Saul of Tarsus hated Christians (harvardhouse.com). While on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians, Saul received visions from Jesus Christ and this experience led to his conversion to Christianity.
Paul is the name taken by Saul of Tarsus after his dramatic conversion to Christianity. After changing his name, Saul became widely known as the Apostle Paul, a missionary, spreading the message of Christianity in the first-century world. Saint Paul, the Apostle (formerly Saul) is regarded as one of the leaders of the first generation of Christians, and often considered to be the second most
important person in the history of Christianity (Sanders, 2016). Paul’s written words are the testimony of a man that violently persecuted the early Christians, then became a Christian due to a supernatural spiritual experience. The Apostle Paul is credited for writing many of the books of the New Testament. He was executed in Rome around AD 62.
Constantine the Great was Roman Emperor (A.D. 306-337). He was born in Naissus which is modern day Serbia. He was born roughly AD 285. Constantine was born during a time of widespread persecution of Christians and much conflict between both Pagan and Christian ideas. As a child he grew up in the Roman West but later preferred the Hellenized East. It is said that visions from Jesus ignited Constantine’s sway to Christianity.
As Emperor, Constantine sought to recognize and support Christianity. A critical factor in Constantine’s success was his religious conversion (Dutton, Marchand, Harkness, 2014). He was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity (Biographyonline.com). He and his family openly supported Christianity. He built churches and slowly sought to transform Rome from mostly Paganism to Christianity. Most notably, Constantine and Co-Emperor Licinius issued an edict of Milan in 313 that proclaimed universal religious toleration by which Christians and others could practice their religions openly and without state restraint. By the end of Constantine’s reign, Christianity was not just tolerated; it was the preferred, patronized, protected, and defined religion of the empire and its emperors (Dutton, Marchand, Harkness, 2014). Constantine died on 22 May AD 337.
In comparing both Saul of Tarsus (the Apostle Paul) and Constantine, it is easily recognized that both were reared during a time of great religious conflict and persecution within the Roman Empire.
While circumstances were different for each, both Saul and Constantine converted to Christianity as a result of visions from Jesus. Like Saul (Paul), the Roman Emperor Constantine left a lasting impact on the role of Christianity in Rome. Apostle Paul is credited with writings and books of the New Testament as well as spreading the message of Christianity through his missionary journeys. Emperor Constantine built churches and is credited with the transfer of state patronage from Paganism to Christianity. Through their works, both the Apostle Paul (Saul) and Constantine the great provided lasting contributions to the spreading of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. In addition to their tributes to Christianity, Constantine continued to pay respect to old pagan traditions while Paul (Saul) also leaned toward a wider pagan
world.
In contrast, before his conversion to Christianity, Saul of Tarsus engaged in the persecution of Christians. Although his motives were questioned, Constantine had always sought to support Christianity. Upon receiving visions from Jesus, Saul converted and immediately began spreading the message of Christianity. According to Dutton, Marchand, and Harkness, Constantine did not become a complete Christian himself until he was on his deathbed 25 years after proclaiming Christianity the official religion of Rome in 312 (Biographyonline.net). Because cause of this and contrary to Paul (Saul), Constantine seems to have been constantly in the process of his own transformation thus allowing skepticism regarding his own allegiance to Christian belief.