St. Paul
Hans Moleman 8/2/2012
Many people believe that Paul is in fact the founder of Christianity, and not Jesus. Of the twenty seven documents that constitute the New Testament, thirteen are letters attributed to Paul. Also, more than half of the Acts of the Apostles describes Paul’s conversion and subsequent activities on behalf of the spread of the good news about Jesus (the Gospel). This gives us an indication as to how important Paul was to the religion. Paul is one of the most prominent people in history and his importance to Christianity, although crucial, is often misunderstood. Paul’s influence on the New Testament has to be considered in the same light as Jesus’, there are the letters that were undoubtedly written by him, the letters that were written years after his death and put in his name, and the Acts of the Apostles. All of these sources give us a better description of Paul and the work he did and what he believed in.
Paul came a long way and endured a total transformation since his birth in and around the same time as Jesus in the city of Tarsus. That is, of course according to the Acts. In the Acts it is claimed that Paul was born around this time in the province of Cilia where he was influenced by the city of Tarsus. His parents were both Jews and part of the tribe of Benjamin. Although there is some suggestions as to what Paul’s father did for a living, it has always been unclear whether he was a Pharisee or if Paul became a Pharisee after moving to Palestine. In tarsus, there was always a strong Jewish presence throughout the region which is where Paul would have been influenced. One thing which is quite clear is that Paul was a well – educated man. Before Paul’s conversion, he felt extremely strongly about persecuting early followers of Jesus as Messiah. As well as this, he would often preach the gospel among the Gentiles, in Asia Minor and Greece. It is important to mention the fact that Paul and his family were Diaspora Jews. This
Many people believe that Paul is in fact the founder of Christianity, and not Jesus. Of the twenty seven documents that constitute the New Testament, thirteen are letters attributed to Paul. Also, more than half of the Acts of the Apostles describes Paul’s conversion and subsequent activities on behalf of the spread of the good news about Jesus (the Gospel). This gives us an indication as to how important Paul was to the religion. Paul is one of the most prominent people in history and his importance to Christianity, although crucial, is often misunderstood. Paul’s influence on the New Testament has to be considered in the same light as Jesus’, there are the letters that were undoubtedly written by him, the letters that were written years after his death and put in his name, and the Acts of the Apostles. All of these sources give us a better description of Paul and the work he did and what he believed in.
Paul came a long way and endured a total transformation since his birth in and around the same time as Jesus in the city of Tarsus. That is, of course according to the Acts. In the Acts it is claimed that Paul was born around this time in the province of Cilia where he was influenced by the city of Tarsus. His parents were both Jews and part of the tribe of Benjamin. Although there is some suggestions as to what Paul’s father did for a living, it has always been unclear whether he was a Pharisee or if Paul became a Pharisee after moving to Palestine. In tarsus, there was always a strong Jewish presence throughout the region which is where Paul would have been influenced. One thing which is quite clear is that Paul was a well – educated man. Before Paul’s conversion, he felt extremely strongly about persecuting early followers of Jesus as Messiah. As well as this, he would often preach the gospel among the Gentiles, in Asia Minor and Greece. It is important to mention the fact that Paul and his family were Diaspora Jews. This
Bibliography: Gorman, Michael J, Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul & His Letters (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004) Harrington, Daniel J, Meeting St [ 2 ]. Michael J. Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul & His Letters (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004) pg