Paul of Tarsus
Paul of Tarsus, also known as
Saul,
Paulus, and
Saint Paul the Apostle (
CE 3-10 â€"
62-68),
[Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1988), 2:1621, 1633.]
"Paul, Saint" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2005. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Virginia Commonwealth University. 28 July 2006. is widely considered to be central to the early development and spread of
Christianity, particularly westward from
Jerusalem. Many Christians view him as an important interpreter of the teachings of
Jesus.
Paul is described in the
New Testament as a
Hellenized Jew and
Roman citizen from
Tarsus in present day Turkey. He was a persistent persecutor of
Early Christians, almost all of whom were Jewish or Jewish
proselytes, until his experience on the
Road to Damascus, which brought about his conversion to
faith in Jesus as the
Christ and the
Son of God. After his
baptism, Paul sojourned in
Arabia (probably
Nabataea) until joining the early Christian community in
Jerusalem and staying with
St. Peter for fifteen days (). Through his
epistles to
Gentile Christian communities, Paul articulated his position on the relationship between
Jewish Christians,
Gentile Christians, and the
Mosaic Law (see:
Early Christianity).
Paul is
venerated as a
Saint by various groups, including the
Roman Catholic,
Eastern Orthodox, and
Anglican traditions, and some
Lutherans. He is the
patron saint of
Malta, the
City of London and has also had several cities named in his honor, including
São Paulo,
Brazil, and
Saint Paul, Minnesota,
USA. He is also venerated as a
prophet by
Latter Day Saints, or Mormons.
Paul's epistles form a fundamental section of the
New Testament, and his efforts to advance Christianity among the Gentiles, for which he is considered to be a significant source of early Church
doctrine, have been subject to various interpretations. Traditional Christianity includes the Pauline Epistles as part of the
New Testament Canon, and asserts that Paul's teachings are in complete harmony with the teachings of Jesus, such as the
Sermon on the Mount, and the
apostles.
Proponents of
covenant theology argue that the Christian Church has
superseded the Jewish people as God's Chosen People, inspiring the ongoing controversy over whether this assertion was itself an invention of Paul's singular interpretation of Jeremiah 31:31 and Ezekiel 36:27, subsequently adopted by Christianity.
Non-traditional views reject the notion of theological harmony between the doctrines of Paul and those of Jesus and the apostles. For example, some
theologians aligned with
hyperdispensation interpretation view the ministry of Paul as the distinctive beginning of the Christian Church and his writings as the key to Biblical interpretation. This line of interpretation holds that the four canonical
Gospels and non-Pauline epistles apply to the pre-Pauline Jewish Church, rather than the predominantly Gentile Church of today.
Others have attacked Paul's teachings for various reasons. The most extreme expression of this is the view that Paul's thoughts are so discordant from Jesus' that they have identify him as the
Anti-Christ. The
Ebionites, according to Irenaeus, disputed Paul's teachings: "But the Ebionites use only that Gospel which is according to Matthew, and repudiate the Apostle Paul, calling him an apostate from the Law."
[Irenaeus, Against Heresies i.26.2] The American founder
Thomas Jefferson was ridiculed as a
heretic by his Christian contemporaries for excising the Pauline books from the
Bible canon as a means of returning Christianity to what he felt were the true teachings of Christ and the Apostles. Jefferson once wrote that "Paul was the first corrupter of the teachings of Jesus."
[Thomas Jefferson, from a letter to W. Short, published in The Great Thoughts, ed. George Seldes (Baltine Books, 1985), p. 208.] The philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche went so far as to claim:
"Deus, qualem Paulus creavit, Dei negatio" (Latin: "God as Paul created him, [is] the negation of God").
[Nietzsche, The Antichrist]In reconstructing the events of Paul's life, there are two sources written either during or soon after the period of his life: Paul's own surviving letters, and the narrative of the
Acts of the Apostles, which at several points draws from an eyewitness source (the so-called "we passages"). Problems with these sources include the following: Paul's surviving letters were written during a short period of his life (perhaps only between
50 and
58), the authenticity of some is questioned (see:
Authorship of the Pauline Epistles), and certain parts of Acts have drawn suspicion (e.g., Paul's presence at the death of
Stephen (, , )). The
apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla is usually dismissed by scholars as a
2nd century novel because it includes events that do not coincide with any of those recorded in either Paul's letters or Acts.
Raymond E. Brown summarized three approaches used by historians when using the sources, explaining: historians take one of three approaches: The traditional approach is to completely trust the narrative of Acts, and fit the materials from Paul's letters into that narrative. The approach used by a number of modern scholars is to distrust Acts, sometimes entirely, and to use the material from Paul's letters almost exclusively. An intermediate approach treats Paul's testimony as primary, and supplements this evidence with material from Acts.
[Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, 1998]The following construction of a possible chronology is based largely on this third approach.
Early life
Paul described himself as an
Israelite of the
tribe of Benjamin,
circumcised on the eighth day, a
Pharisee (
Rom 11:1;
Phil 3:5), and of the "Jews' religion … more exceedingly
zealous of the traditions" (
Gal 1:14 KJV). He was born as
Saul in
Tarsus of
Cilicia and received a
Jewish education. The Acts of the Apostles records that Paul was a
Roman citizen—a privilege he used a number of times in his defence, appealing convictions in Judea to Rome. (Acts 22:25 and 27-29)
The issue of Roman citizenship has given rise to various views. The reference to Paul's Roman citizenship derives from Acts 22:26-28 and 16:37, inherited from his father. Some scholars have expressed skepticism over this rare privilege since Paul did not mention it in his surviving writings. On the other hand, the
Ebionites and some
Restorationists have argued that Paul was a Roman who tried successfully to convert to Judaism so he could take a Jewish bride. They state that citizenship would have required participation in the Imperial Cult, which would have been in conflict with Hebrew religious ideals.
The common assumption is that Paul was never married. Paul himself confirmed this writing: "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am" (1 Corinthians 7:8). No historical source mentions Paul having a wife. However, some argue that the social norm of the time required
Pharisees and members of the
Sanhedrin to be married. If Paul was a Pharisee, and some think even a member of the Sanhedrin, he might have been married at one point[
2][
3].
According to Acts 22:3, Paul studied in
Jerusalem under the Rabbi
Gamaliel, well known in Paul's time. Thomas Robinson depicts Paul as coming to study in Jerusalem under
Gamaliel, when
Shammai became
Nasi of the
Sanhedrin, and during the rise to supremacy of the house of Shammai from
20. However, some scholars, such as
Helmut Koester, have expressed their doubts that Paul either was in Jerusalem at this time or studied under this famous
rabbi. Paul supported himself during his travels and while
preaching â€" a fact he alludes to a number of times (e.g. 1 Corinthians 9:13â€"15); according to Acts 18:3, he worked as a tentmaker. According to Romans 16:2 he had a
patroness (
Koine Greek prostatis) named
Phoebe [
4].
Some have speculated [
5] [
6] that Paul suffered from
Ophthalmia neonatorum, a disease common in the East in his day (and today) which causes painful eye weakness and partial blindness. They cite his frequent use of an
amanuensis, his comments in the
Epistle to the Galatians on how large his own handwriting was (Gal 6:11), and his compliments of the Galatians' charity: "I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me." (Galatians 4:15) Further possible allusions include his self-description as unimpressive in person (2 Cor 10:10), and, more speculatively, his remarks about a "
thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor 12:7-10).
Some think that Paul had at least one brother,
Rufus, on a literal rather than a figurative reading of
Romans 16:13.
Conversion and early teachings
Paul himself admits that he at first persecuted Christians to the death (
Phil 3:6), and Acts places him at the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60, 22:20), but later Paul embraced Christianity:
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. (Acts 1:1-9; c.f. Paul's explanation to King Agrippa, Acts 26, and Galatians 1:13-16).
Following his stay in Damascus after conversion, Paul first went to live in the
Nabataean kingdom (which he called "Arabia"), then came back to Damascus, which by this time was under Nabatean rule. Three years after his conversion (the exact distribution of this between Arabia and Damascus is disputed), he was forced to flee from that city, via the
Bab Kisan /
The Kisan Gate (Gal 1:17, 20), under the cover of night (Acts 9:23, 25; 2 Cor 11:32ff.) because of the reaction to his preaching by some of the strict Jewish authorities. Later Paul traveled to Jerusalem, where he met
James the Just and
Saint Peter, staying with the latter for fifteen days ().
Following this visit to Jerusalem, Acts records that Paul went to
Antioch, whence he set out to travel through
Cyprus and southern
Asia Minor to preach of Christ â€" a labor that has come to be known as his "First Missionary Journey" (). In Derbe he and Barnabas were called "gods ... in human form" {14:11). Paul's own letters only mention that he preached in
Syria and
Cilicia (Gal 1:18â€"20). Acts records that Paul later "went through
Syria and
Cilicia, strengthening the churches" (15:41), but is not explicit concerning who or when the churches were founded.
For these missionary journeys, often seen as defining activities of Paul, he usually chose one or more companions for his travels:
Barnabas,
Silas,
Titus,
Timothy,
John, surnamed Mark,
Aquila,
Priscilla, and his personal physician:
Luke. He endured various hardships on these journeys: imprisonment in
Philippi, lashings and stonings, and an attempted murder (2 Cor 11:24â€"27). Some have speculated, based on this and 2 Corinthians 12:2-5, that Paul died as a result of stoning but was miraculously raised to life.
Consultations with the other Apostles
About
49, after fourteen years of preaching, Paul traveled to Jerusalem with
Barnabas and
Titus and met with the leaders of the
Jerusalem church â€" namely,
James the Just,
Saint Peter, and
John the Apostle; an event commonly known as the
Council of Jerusalem. This event, and its subsequent decision regarding Christianity's use of the
Mosaic Law, has been the subject of much interest and many interpretations.
Acts states that Paul was the head of a delegation from the
Church of Antioch that came to Jerusalem to discuss whether gentile converts needed to be circumcised. (Acts 15:2) This question had ramifications concerning observation of the
Mosaic Law in general, a matter partially addressed already by Peter in his decision concerning
dietary laws and gentile Christians (Acts 11:2-9). Paul states that he had attended "in response to a revelation and to lay before them the gospel that I preach among the gentiles." (Gal 2:2) The decision, however, was Peter's: "[God] put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith," (Acts 15:9) echoing an earlier statement: "of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). James issued the
Apostolic Decree: "we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who are turning to God" (Acts 15:19), and a letter was sent back with Paul enjoining them from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality (Acts 15:29).
Despite the agreement they achieved at the Council as understood by Paul, Paul recounts how he later publicly confronted Peter (accusing him of
Judaizing) over his reluctance to share a meal with gentile Christians in the "Incident of Antioch"
[Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers see section titled: "THE INCIDENT AT ANTIOCH"]. Paul later wrote: "I opposed [Peter] to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong" and said to the
apostle: "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" (Gal 2:11, 14). Paul also mentioned that even Barnabas sided with Peter. Acts does not record this event, saying only that "some time later", Paul decided to leave Antioch â€" usually considered the beginning of his "Second Missionary Journey" () â€" with the object of visiting the believers in the towns where he and Barnabas had preached earlier. However, contention between Paul and Barnabas over whether they should take
John Mark (Barnabas' cousin) with them, and thereupon they went on separate journeys (Acts 15:36â€"41) â€" Barnabas with John Mark, and Paul with Silas. Evidence of later reconciliation includes Paul mentioning that John Mark was in prison with him, telling the church in
Colossae to welcome him if he comes to them. (Col 4:10)
Some scholars, such as Michael L White, have argued that the "Incident of Antioch" was more disastrous, as opposed to the description in Acts. White wrote::Paul persuaded no one, not even Barnabas, who, according to later legends, became a protégé of Peter. (cf. Acts 12:12-17; 15:36-41) ...The blowup with Peter was a total failure of political bravado, and Paul soon left Antioch as
persona non grata, never again to return... For Paul the immediate result was clear. He had to leave Antioch. He chose to embark on a new mission where there was not such a strong and traditional Jewish community".
[L. Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity (Harper Collins Publishers, 2004) pp. 169-171.]This interpretation stands in contrast with the
Catholic Encyclopedia's view that Paul's relating of the incident "leaves no room for doubt that Peter was persuaded by his arguments.
[Catholic Encyclopedia, entry on St. Paul. [7]]Founding of churches
|
Statue of St Paul, south portal of St Mary's, Aylesbury, UK. |
Paul spent the next few years traveling through western
Asia Minor, this time entering
Macedonia, and founded his first Christian church in
Philippi, where he encountered harassment. Paul himself described his experience: "we suffered and were shamefully treated" (1 Thess 2:2); Acts, perhaps drawing from an eyewitness (this passage follows closely on one of the "we passages"), adds here that Paul
exorcised a spirit from a female slave, ending her ability to
tell fortunes and reducing her value â€" an act the slave's owner claimed was "theft"; wherefore he had Paul briefly sent to prison (Acts 16:22). Paul then traveled along the
Via Egnatia to
Thessalonica, where he stayed for some time before departing for
Greece. First he came to
Athens, where he gave his legendary speech in the
Aeropagus, where he made known to them the "
Unknown God" whom they already worshipped (17:16â€"34). Thereafter he traveled to
Corinth, where he settled for three years and wrote
First Thessalonians, likely the earliest of his surviving letters.
Again he ran into legal trouble in Corinth: on the complaints of a group of Jews, he was brought before the
proconsul Gallio, who decided that it was a minor matter not worth his attention and dismissed the charges (Acts 18:12â€"16). From an inscription in
Delphi that mentions Gallio, the year of the hearing is known to be
52, which aids in reconstructing an accurate chronology of Paul's life.
Following this hearing, Paul continued his preaching, usually called his "Third Missionary Journey" (), traveling again through Asia Minor and Macedonia, to Antioch and back. He caused a great uproar in the theatre in
Ephesus, where local silversmiths feared loss of income due to Paul's activities. Their income relied on the sale of silver statues (i.e. idols) of the goddess
Artemis, whom they worshipped; and the resulting mob almost killed him (Acts 19:21â€"41) and his companions. Later, as Paul was passing near Ephesus on his way to Jerusalem, Paul chose not to stop, since he was in haste to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost. The church here, however, was so highly regarded by Paul that he called the elders to Miletus to meet with him (Acts 20:16â€"38).
Arrest, Rome, and later life
Upon Paul's arrival in Jerusalem, Paul was confronted with the rumor of teaching
Antinomianism (). To prove that he was "living in obedience to the law", Paul took a
Nazirite vow along with some others (). After the seven days of the vow, Paul was recognized outside the Jewish Temple and was nearly beaten to death by a "mob", "shouting, "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place."" (). In Paul addressed the "mob" in their language, probably
Aramaic. However, the "mob" was not pleased, shouting "Rid the earth of him! He's not fit to live!" () and after Paul's rescue by the Roman guard, he was accused of being a
revolutionary, "ringleader of the sect of the
Nazarenes", teaching
resurrection of the dead, and thus imprisoned in
Caesarea (). Paul claimed his right as a Roman citizen to be tried in Rome; but owing to the inaction of the governor
Antonius Felix, Paul languished in confinement at Caesarea for two years until a new governor,
Porcius Festus, took office, held a hearing, and sent Paul by sea to
Rome, where he spent another two years in detention ().
Acts describes Paul's journey from Caesarea to Rome in some detail. The centurion Julius had shipped Paul and his fellow prisoners aboard a merchant vessel, whereon
Luke and
Aristarchus were able to take passage. As the season was advanced, the voyage was slow and difficult. They skirted the coasts of
Syria,
Cilicia, and
Pamphylia. At
Myra in
Lycia, the prisoners were transferred to an Alexandrian vessel transporting wheat bound for Italy. A place in
Crete called Goodhavens was reached with great difficulty and Paul advised that they should winter there. His advice was not followed, and the vessel, driven by the tempest, drifted aimlessly for fourteen days and finally wrecked on the coast of
Malta. The three months when navigation was considered most dangerous were spent there, where Paul healed the father of the Roman Governor
Publius from fever and other people who were sick. He also preached the
gospel and placed Publius head of this church. There he was called a god (). With the first days of spring, all haste was made to resume the voyage.
Acts only recounts Paul's life until he arrived in Rome, around
61, closing with a dramatic final speech of Paul to a group of Jews who derided his teachings. Quoting Isaiah, Paul declared:
Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it! (Acts 28:26-28)
Some argue Paul's own letters cease to furnish information about his activities long before this time, although others (NIV Study Bibles, for example) date the last source of information being his second letter to Timothy, describing him languishing in a "cold dungeon" and passages indicating he knew that his life was about to come to an end. While Paul's letters to the
Ephesians and to
Philemon may have been written while he was imprisoned in Rome (the traditional interpretation), they may have been written during his earlier imprisonments at Caesarea, or at Ephesus.
We are therefore forced to turn to tradition for the details of Paul's final years. One tradition holds (attested as early as in
1 Clement 5:7, and in the
Muratorian fragment) that Paul visited
Spain and
Great Britain. While this was his intention (Rom 15:22â€"7), the evidence is inconclusive. Another tradition places his death in Rome.
Eusebius of Caesarea states that Paul was beheaded in the reign of the
Roman Emperor Nero. This event has been dated either to the year
64, when
Rome was devastated by a fire, or a few years later, to
67. An ancient liturgical solemnity of Peter and Paul, celebrated on 29 June, could reflect the day of martyrdom, and many ancient sources articulated the tradition that Peter and Paul died on the same day (and possibly the same year). Chronologically, the tradition that Paul was martyred in Rome is not inconsistent with the suggested mission to Spain. However, there is little additional evidence to support these traditions, though no evidence exists contradicting them either.
It is commonly accepted that Paul died as a
martyr in
Rome and his body was interred with
Saint Peter's in
ad Catacumbas by the via Appia where it remained until moved by Lucina and
Pope Cornelius into the crypts of Lucina.
[Raymond Davis, The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis).Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 1989. ISBN 0-85323-216-4 (an English translation for elementary student use).] One Gaius, who wrote during the time of
Pope Zephyrinus, mentions Paul's tomb as standing on the
Via Ostensis, and the church of
St. Paul Outside the Walls consistently claimed to be built upon Paul's tomb. This claim was given much support by the recent archaeological discovery of a tomb under the basilica bearing Paul's name, the titles "apostle" and "martyr", and dating to antiquity.
According to
Bede, in
Ecclesiastical History, Paul's relics, including a cross made from his prison chains, were given to
Oswy, British King of Northumbria, from the crypts of Lucina by Pope Vitalian in 665.
[Bede. Ecclesiastical History. Ch. XXIX. site:]Paul wrote a number of letters to Christian churches and individuals. However, not all have been preserved; 1 Corinthians 5:9 alludes to a previous letter he sent to the Christians in Corinth that has clearly been lost. Those letters that have survived are part of the New Testament
canon, where they appear in order of length, from longest to shortest. A subgroup of these letters, written from captivity, is called the "prison-letters", and tradition states they were written in Rome.
His possible authorship of the anonymous
Epistle to the Hebrews had been questioned as early as
Origen. Since at least
1750, a number of other letters commonly attributed to Paul have also been suspected by some of having been written by his followers in the
1st century.
The Pauline corpus
Note: those considered to be the "prison-letters" are marked with an asterisk (*).Undisputed Pauline Epistles (almost certainly authentic)
*
Romans*
First Corinthians*
Second Corinthians*
Galatians*
Philippians*
First Thessalonians*
PhilemonThe "Deutero-Pauline Epistles" (a majority of scholars believe that these were not written by Paul, and hence give them this name)
*
Ephesians*
Colossians*
Second ThessaloniansThe
Pastoral epistles of Paul (sometimes considered a separate category; and suspected by over two-thirds of scholars not to be of Pauline authorship).
*
First Timothy*
Second Timothy*
TitusTwo further epistles attributed by some to Paul (since some of the prior epistles mention them) have been lost:
Epistle to the Alexandrians (lost) Nothing is known of this letter apart from a brief mention in the
Muratorian fragment that claims it was a
Marcionite forgery.
Epistle to the Macedonians (lost)
The following epistles are almost universally agreed to be
pseudepigraphical (written by someone other than Paul who was nevertheless pretending to be him):
Third Epistle to the CorinthiansEpistle to the Laodiceans*The Correspondence of Paul and
Seneca the YoungerPaul had several major impacts on the nature of Christian doctrine. Areas of contribution include theology of
faith,
justification,
salvation, the relationship between Christians and the
Mosaic Law,
Christology,
pneumatology,
original sin,
eschatology, the nature of the
afterlife, and the role of the Jewish Scriptures in Christianity.
Faith and justification
Paul addressed the centrality of
faith within the life of Jesus, and the ability to attain
righteousness through such (Rom 3:22; Gal 3:22; etc.). He famously wrote: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith…" (Romans 3:28a), forever emphasizing the relationship between justification and faith. Paul articulated his concept of faith in his theological treatments of
Abraham (see:
Paul's letter to the Galatians),
righteousness, and the
forgiveness of
sins. Closely related to his teachings on the
resurrection and eternal life, Paul's theological insights on faith and justification have been the subject of many interpretations, leading to the modern debate between justification by faith alone vs. justification by faith and works. Most
Protestant denominations assert that Paul's teachings constitute a definitive statement that salvation comes
only by faith and not by any external action of the believer.
Roman Catholic and
Orthodox theology disputes this, asserting that passages cited in Paul are being misinterpreted (as stated in ), and that this interpretation is directly contradicted in the
Epistle of James: "man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (). See also
James 2:20 and .
Salvation and adherence to Mosaic Law
The question of the necessity of adherence to the Mosaic Law for salvation was addressed in the Early Church at the Council of Jerusalem (see above), in which Paul's views were highly influential. Paul's writings express the doctrine that salvation is not achieved by conforming to the Mosaic Law, so-called
Legalism (theology), but through
faith in (or the faith of) Jesus. Paul asserted that there was ultimately no distinction between Jew and Gentile "for all have sinned, and do need the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Paul was therefore a major proponent of accepting gentile converts to Christianity without requiring the customary legal Jewish requirements of circumcision and practice of dietary restrictions. However, it should be kept in mind that the "customary legal requirements of Judaism", the
Halakha, were still under development in Paul's time, for example the
Jewish Encyclopedia article on
Jesus notes: "Jesus, however, does not appear to have taken into account the fact that the Halakah was at this period just becoming crystallized, and that much variation existed as to its definite form; the disputes of the
Bet Hillel and
Bet Shammai were occurring about the time of his maturity." See also
Circumcision in the Bible#In Judaism and
Proselyte. Peter's concurrence with Paul's position (see above and the
Council of Jerusalem), and the subsequent impact on Christianity, has been the subject of much investigation.
The extent to which Paul contributed to the development, or perhaps (as some have argued) even the invention of this idea is the subject of academic debate. There are examples of early groups that did retain the Mosaic Law. Some claim the
Apostolic Decree of the Council of Jerusalem is an early form of
Noahide Law.
Jerome noted the existence in the
4th century of a Christian sect in
Syria called the
Ebionites who still observed the Mosaic Law. The
Ethiopian Orthodox, who claim to be the only church free of
Marcionism, still observe some Mosaic Laws.
[The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, CNEWA.] The
Apostolic Constitutions, generally dated around the
3rd century, claiming to be from the
Council of Jerusalem, are pro-Mosaic Law (see verses 2.36; 6.19; 7.23). Some claim one of the earliest Christian texts, the
Didache, is silent on this matter, however, chapter 4, verse 13 states you must not forsake the Lord's commandments, neither adding nor subtracting (see also ,); chapter 6, verse 2 states if you can bear the whole yoke of the Lord you will be perfect, but otherwise do what you can. The
Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers notes: "Paul, on the other hand, not only did not object to the observance of the Mosaic Law, as long as it did not interfere with the liberty of the Gentiles, but he conformed to its prescriptions when occasion required (). Thus he shortly after circumcised Timothy (), and he was in the very act of observing the Mosaic ritual when he was arrested at Jerusalem ( sqq.)."Some scholars, such as
Bertrand Russell, hold that Paul held a dissenting view from James and Peter, and thus see his teachings as revolutionary for Christianity:
Christianity, at first, was preached by Jews to Jews, as a reformed Judaism. Saint James, and to a lesser extant Saint Peter, wished it to remain no more than this, and they might have prevailed but for Saint Paul, who was determined to admit gentiles without demanding circumcision or submission to the Mosaic Law.[ A history of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, Simon & Schuster, 1945 ]Whatever the case, the admitting of the uncircumcised into Christianity represents a break with ancient Israelite religion. Circumcision was seen as a divine mark dating back to the
promises made to Abraham (), see also
Abrahamic religion.
Circumcision was such an important aspect of life that, for example, when
King Saul was struck by a Philistine archer in battle, he thrust himself on a sword:
"So that these uncircumcised brutes may not come and taunt me and make sport of me." (Samuel 31:4). Exodus records that God would have killed
Moses "but Zipporah [his wife] picked up a sharp flint, cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' genitals with it, saying, "You are my blood-bridegroom
". (Exodus 4:24-25)
The matter of adherence to the Mosaic Law involves the relationship between the crucifixion of Jesus, forgiveness, and salvation. Whether or not the adherence to the Mosaic Law is seen as a rejection of the salvatory quality of the Passion is likewise of central consideration. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians he alluded to the possibility of eternal life, and described the merits of Jesus' Passion, death, and resurrection as superseding the value of the Mosaic Law â€" a belief often colloquially expressed as "Jesus died for our sins" (as the spotless "Lamb of God" referred to by John the Baptist and John the Apostle). Evidence suggesting that Paul's concept of salvation coming from the death of Jesus was common among early Christians includes Philippians 2:5â€"11, a passage long identified as an early Christian hymn, which expounds a view in harmony with Paul's.
One teaching that Paul clearly did not originate, but did become the chief advocate for, was the conversion of non-Jews, specifically those not circumcised, to Christianity (for example, see Isa 56:6â€"8; Acts 10; proselyte). While a number of passages in the Gospels acknowledge that Gentiles might enjoy the benefits of Jesus, Paul claims to be "The Apostle to the Gentiles" â€" a title that can be traced to Galatians 2:8. His missionary work amongst Gentiles helped to raise Christianity beyond its initial reputation as a dissident (if not heretical) Jewish sect (see Jewish Christians).
The extent to which Paul himself followed the Mosaic Law is also a matter of debate. The Acts of the Apostles records Paul as accepting a subset (see Noahide Laws) of the Law for new Gentile converts (Acts15); in Acts 16 he personally'' circumcises
Timothy, whose father was Greek, because his mother was Jewish. In Acts 21 James challenges Paul about the rumor that he is teaching
rebellion against the Law. Paul goes to
Herod's Temple with four
Nazarite pledges to show that he is not; however, when some people from
Asia Minor (Paul's home area) see him, it starts a major riot. Paul defended himself: "I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets" () and "I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar." () The assumption that Paul was anti-Law (indeed that even Jesus was anti-Law) found its largest proponent in
Marcion and
Marcionism. See also
New Perspective on Paul.
Original sin
In the
New Testament, the doctrine of
original sin is most clearly expressed by Paul's writings. For example, Paul wrote: "By one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). This doctrine was subsequently elaborated on by various Christian theologians, most notably
Augustine of Hippo. (see
Original Sin).
Christology and pneumatology
Paul also articulated his belief in the doctrine of
Christ's divine nature. St. Paul wrote: "For in him [Jesus] were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by him and in him" (Colossians 1:16-17). Paul also described Jesus as the visible "image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15), and equal to the Father (2 Corinthians 12:8-9; Romans 10:12; 1 Corinthians 1:2).
Likewise, Paul manifests a strong doctrine of the
Holy Spirit. Much of the
Epistle to the Romans, and particularly the ending to
Second Corinthians, portrays the Spirit in equality with
God the Father and the
Son. These references would later find expression in the doctrine of the
Trinity. Paul's notion that the Holy Spirit dwells within all believers at the time of their conversion is integral to his
soteriology,
ecclesiology,
missiology, and
eschatology. Paul explained in his letter to the Galatians that they received the Holy Spirit because of the promises of God to Abraham (Gal 4:4-7). The apostle Paul testified to the Galatians, "If you be Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3:29).
Eschatology
There is evidence that Paul, not unlike many early Christians, believed there would be an imminent
apocalypse, also called the
eschaton,
parousia, or
Second Coming of Christ. Paul states in his first letter to the Corinthians::"These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings to us, on whom the end of the ages has come," (10:11) and "Because of the present distress, I think it is good for you to remain as you are [unmarried]...What I mean, brothers, is that the appointed time has grown short ... For this world in its present form is passing away (7:26,31,39)." :(See
Paul's other references)
However, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, each of the five epistles where Paul mentions the parousia, he likewise considers the probability of a delay.
[Catholic Encyclopaedia of 1913, article on St. Paul [8]] Symbolic of this tendency is 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, where Paul both urges newly converted Christians to be prepared for the end, and not to neglect the duties of their state of life.
St Paul's eschatology has been traditionally summarized by the Catholic Encyclopedia into two distinct ideas.
[The Catholic Encyclopaedia, entry on St. Paul [9]] First, universal judgement, with neither the good nor the wicked shall omitted (Romans 14:10-12), nor even the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). Second, and more controversially, judgment will be according to works, mentioned concerning sinners (2 Corinthians 11:15), the just (2 Timothy 4:14), and men in general (Romans 2:6-9). This latter characterization is rejected by mainstream Protestant theology.
It has also been agreed upon by many scholars (notably Professors James Tabor and L Michael White), that this apocalyptic outlook fuelled Paul's zeal to convert the gentiles for Jesus' imminent eschatological kingdom. Concerning this, Tabor writes:
One of [Paul's] phrases is that "the appointed time has grown very short." It's a phrase right out of the Book of Daniel, about the appointed time, the time of the end. He's our earliest and best evidence. So that tells us that in the 50s, around the Mediterranean world, Christian communities are sprouting up, believing that Jesus is the messiah. That he's going to come again, probably in their lifetime and that they shouldn't really worry too much about their economic and social order, and even their marital state, because the end is coming so soon." [Jesus and John the Baptist, Apocalypticisim explained See Dr. James Tabor on Paul]Nature of the afterlife
St. Paul affirmed his belief in the
Resurrection of the Dead, writing " the dead who are in Christ shall rise" (1 Thessalonians 4:16), and even proclaiming this before a Roman magistrate (Acts 24:15). In this regard he sided with the certain Pharisaic theological groups, and with Jesus and the apostles, against the
Sadducees.
Paul's teachings also have their own paradox in relationship to
ancient Israel's concept of the afterlife, still adhered to in his age by some Sadducees. The
Old Testament, particularly the
Pentateuch, relays the idea that the Israelites forsook God and must now wait for the promises of
Abraham to be fulfilled. These unconditional promises entailed multitudinous progeny, nationhood, royal leaders, and land possession. The
Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) ends waiting for Judah to be restored via a new monarch, possibly from the line of David. Paul's teachings contrast with the Hebrew Bible because of his belief that Jesus died for man's sins, and Jesus' commands to love God and to love one another, see also
Expounding of the Law, the end of which would be a paradise like afterlife. This view of afterlife differs from that of the ancient Israelite's religion, and its articulation of
Sheol or a state of nothingness. Dr. James Tabor wrote, Sheol is a place where:
The dead are abandoned forever. This idea of Sheol is negative in contrast to the world of life and light above, but there is no idea of judgment or of reward and punishment. If one faces extreme circumstances of suffering in the realm of the living above, as did Job, it can even be seen as a welcome relief from pain â€" see the third chapter of Job. But basically it is a kind of "nothingness," an existence that is barely existence at all, in which a "shadow" or "shade" of the former self survives (Psalm 88:10).
[http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/jdtabor/future.html ]The idea of Sheol, prevalent throughout the
Torah and
Hebrew bible, and its subsequent interpretation developed into one of causes for Judaism's rejection of Jesus as a prophet.
Jewish scriptures in Christianity
Christianity to Paul was revealed through Jesus' ministry but shaped and largely defined by the Hebrew Bible.
[Stephen L. Harris, Understanding the Bible the Sixth Edition. McGraw Hill, 2003. ] The ancient God of Israel (
Yahweh) is held by Paul to be the same God that he praises. Paul's view of God or Yahweh is likewise similar to the view held by the prophet Ezekiel. Both Ezekiel and Paul believed Yahweh practiced
retributive justice. This theme of retributive justice can be observed in Hosea, where God says to
Ezekiel,
"Go, and marry a whore, and get children with a whore, for the country has become nothing but a whore by abandoning Yahweh" (Hosea 1:2). Also, in Jeremiah, God speaks of his people as a camel in heat to the prophet:
"You have been like a she-camel, twisting and turning as she runs, rushing off into the wilderness, snuffing the wind in her lust; in her heart who can restrain her? None need tire themselves out in pursuit of her; she is easily found at mating time" (Jeremiah 2:23-24).
 |
A 19th-century romanticized portrait of Paul of Tarsus (his exact appearance is unknown). |
Paul's writings on social issues were just as influential on the life and beliefs of Christian culture as were his doctrinal statements.
In his letter to the
Colossians, Paul expounded on how a follower of Christ should live a radically different life â€" using heavenly standards instead of earthly ones. These standards have highly influenced Western society for centuries. He condemned such things as impurity, lust, greed, anger, slander, filthy language, lying, and racial divisions. In the same passage, Paul extolled the virtues of compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, and gratitude (Col 3:1â€"17). Compare with
Didache#The Two Ways.
Paul condemned
sexual immorality, saying "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body" (1 Cor 6:18)—based on the moral laws of the
Old Testament and the
Antithesis of the Law attributed to Jesus in the
Gospel of Matthew (see also 1 Cor 6:9ff.; Eph 5:21â€"33, Col 3:1â€"17). Other Pauline teachings are on freedom in Christ (Gal 5; 1 Cor 8; Col 2:6â€"23), proper worship and church discipline (1 Cor 11), the unity of believers (1 Cor 1:10â€"17; Eph 4:1â€"6), and marriage (1 Cor 7; Eph 5:21â€"33). Paul advocated
celibacy or
abstinence for the "believer" (unless married), and warned that either marriage or separation would bring trouble if not sanctioned by God beforehand. Paul also deemed homosexual acts to be sinful (1 Cor 6:9-10). In verse 11, he asserted that these past sins could be forgiven through baptism into Christ.
In 1
Corinthians 7:8â€"9 (NRSV), he wrote: "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion." On
divorce, 1 Corinthians 7:10â€"16 (NRSV), he cited Jesus: "To the married I give this command—not I but
the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife" (from
Mark 10:11 and parallels), but then gave his own teaching: "To the rest I say—I and not the Lord: but if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so." (see
Pauline privilege)
Concerning
slavery, Paul said that, pending the near return of
Jesus, people should focus on their faith and not on their social status (1 Cor 7:21ff.). He also instructed slaves to serve their masters faithfully (Eph 6:5ff.), and that masters should be respectful of their slaves, as "he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him" (Ephesians 6:9b NIV). Due to his authority, these views have had an influence in
Western society into modern times; Paul's apparent failure to explicitly condemn slavery in his
Epistle to Philemon has sometimes been interpreted as justifying the ownership of human beings, although
chattel slavery is a relatively modern phenomenon. On the other hand, some Christians interpret Paul's attempt to buy the freedom of a runaway slave, Onesimus, in Philemon, and his order to Onesimu's master to treat him "not as a slave, but instead of a slave, as a most dear brother, especially to me." (Philemon 16) as a subtle condemnation of slavery.
Paul was not only establishing a new cultural awareness and a society of
charity, but was also
subverting Roman authority through language and action. Paul used titles to describe Jesus that were also claimed by the Roman
Caesars, the
Ptolemaic dynasty, the
Seleucid Empire, and
Alexander the Great.
Augustus had claimed the titles "Lord of Lords", "King of Kings", and Paul trumped Augustus Caesar's title "son of a god" (as he was the adopted son of
Julius Caesar, whom he declared to be a god) by affirming Jesus of Nazareth's claim to be "Son of God" (i.e. the "Most High God", rather than one of the pagan gods).
Alexander the Great claimed to be the son of
Zeus and a virgin. When Paul refers to Jesus' life as the "Good News",
evangelion in
Koine Greek, he is using another title claimed by
Augustus. Ancient Roman inscriptions had called Augustus the
evangelon (good news) for Rome (the word is also used in the three
synoptic gospels). Paul used these titles to expand upon the ethic of Jesus with words from and for his own place and time in history. If Jesus is lord, then Caesar is not, and so on. The ethic being that the Christian's life is not to be lived out of
hope for what the
Roman Empire could provide (legal, martial and economic advantage) or the
Pharisaical system could provide (
legalistic, self-dependent
salvation), but out of hope in the
Resurrection and promises of Jesus (against this view see
E. P. Sanders). The Christianity which Paul envisioned was one in which adherents lived unburdened by the norms of Roman and Jewish society to freely follow the
promise of an already established but not yet fully present
Kingdom of God, promised by Jesus and instituted in his own Resurrection. The true "subversive" nature of Paul's ethic was not that the Church seek to subvert the Empire (vindication in full had already been promised), but that the Church not be subverted by the Empire in its wait for
Christ's return, to fulfill the rest of
Messianic prophecy.
Scholars classify Paul's epistles (or letters) as a foundation of Christian literature. Those who follow this position generally concede that nothing can be learned about Jesus' life or teachings from Paul.
[(http://www.faithfutures.org/Jesus/Jesus_Paul.pdf)] Paul himself claimed knowledge of Jesus from visions and from the apostles (particularly
James the Just and
Simon Peter), as he never met the Jesus in the flesh. To some scholars, Paul's teachings were preceeded by oral traditions and his letters were vital to early Christianity:
We have to remember that Jesus died around 30. For 40 years, there's no written gospel of his life, until after the revolt. During that time, we have very little in the way of written records within Christianity. Our first writer in the New Testament is Paul, and his first letter is dated around 50 to 52, still a good 20 years after Jesus, himself. But it appears that in between the death of Jesus and the writing of the first gospel, Mark, that they clearly are telling stories. They're passing on the tradition of what happened to Jesus, what he stood for and what he did, orally, by telling it and retelling it.... Paul himself, remember, doesn't write a gospel. He actually doesn't tell us much about the life of Jesus at all. He never once mentions a miracle story. He tells us nothing about the birth. He never tells us anything about teaching in parables or any of those other typical features of the gospel tradition of Jesus. What Paul does tell us about is the death, and he does so in a form that indicates that he's actually reciting a well-known body of material. So when he tells us, "I received and I handed on to you," he's referring to his preaching, but he's also telling us that what he preaches, that is the material that he delivers, is actually developed through the oral tradition itself. [ Importance of the Oral Tradition See Oral traditions evolve into Gospels ]Most scholars believe that Paul came into conflict with Jesus' remaining disciples (James [Jesus' brother] and Peter) at Antioch, affectively severing ties with Jesus' original followers. Nevertheless, Orthodox Christianity views Paul in a much more authoritative light. "Paul is seen as God's principal instrument of transforming Christianity into a largely Gentile religion. More than any other individual, Paul is responsible for the future universality of the Christian church."
[Understanding the Bible the Sixth Edition, by Stephen L. Harris, McGraw Hill, 2003 ] Concerning this Adolf Harnack wrote:
It was Paul who delivered the Christian religion from Judaism...Without doing violence to the inner and essential features of the Gospel - unconditional trust in God as the Father of Jesus Christ, confidence in the Lord, forgiveness of sins, certainly of eternal life, purity and brotherly fellowship - Paul transformed it into a universal religion and laid the ground for the great church... We have seen that in the course of [the apostolic age] the Gospel was detached from the mother-soil of Judaism and placed upon the broad field of the Graeco-Roman empire. The apostle Paul was the chief agent accomplishing this work, and in thereby giving Christianity its place in the history of the World.
[Adolf Harnack, ]What is Christianity?
(Harper Torchbooks, 1902 and 1957), pp 176, 180, 182, and 190.
Paul is traditionally attributed with 16 of the New Testaments 27 books. Scholars who follow Markan priority see Paul's writings as the earliest of the New Testament, and hold that the earliest surviving of all Christian literature is Paul's First Thessalonians, written at the request of the church in Thessalonica. Concerning this, Professor Dennis R. MacDonald of Harvard writes in his Early Christian Literature
from the Oxford Study Bible:
No writing survives from Jesus or his disciples. When early Christians transmitted their memories of him to others, they did so primarily by word of mouth... [Paul's] First Thessalonians is the earliest of all surviving Christian literature. Believers in Thessalonica had requested additional teaching from Paul, so he wrote them a letter, reluctantly, twice telling them he really did not need to write them because they already knew what they needed to know.
Early Christian Literature
, by Dennis R. MacDonald. Oxford Study Bible
, Oxford Study Press, 1992. P. 112
Some scholars have argued that Paul's writings gained prominence during a weak time for Jewish orthodoxy. The Jewish temple in Jerusalem was burned for a second time in 70, with much Hellenization of Judaism having already taken place. These factors led many Jews to follow a more secular approach to life; Hershel Shanks, in his book, the Meaning and the Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls'' writes:
Judaism during this period has been described as "remarkably variegated." Some scholars have gone so far as to talk about Judaisms, rather than one Judaism. In those insecure times the traditional Judaism, centered in Temple sacrifice, was widely considered by Jews themselves inadequate to the story present, So, along with institutions like the synagogue, which would replace the Temple and become the focus of Jewish life thereafter, we also see the development of expectations of the end of time, of heavenly visions, of life after death, of resurrection of the dead, of apocalypses (revelations) where good and evil were to face each other in a final cosmic battle, and of messianic deliverers.[The Meaning and the Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hershel Shanks, Harvard University Press, 1998 ]Christianity as mystery religion
In his books
The Mythmaker and
Paul and Hellenism,
Talmudic scholar
Hyam Maccoby proposed a theory that Paul was actually a
Gentile raised in an environment influenced by the popular
Hellenistic mystery religions centered on dying and resurrected savior deities, and that he later converted to Judaism, hoping to become a
Pharisee scholar (though Maccoby is predated in his thinking by S.G.F. Brandon in his
The Trial of Jesus of Nazareth). (There are no passages in the Talmud to support this.) He found work in Jerusalem as a
police officer of the High Priest, a collaborator of the Romans. Paul's work persecuting the enemies of the High Priest led to an internal conflict in his mind, which manifested itself while he was traveling to Damascus on a covert mission. Maccoby believes that Paul's revelation was thus actually a resolution of his divided self; Paul subsequently fused the mystery religions, Judaism and the
Passion of Jesus into an entirely new belief, centered on the death of Jesus as a mystical atoning sacrifice. Maccoby considers Paul's claims to a Jewish background and Pharisaic education to be false, claiming that a number of passages in Paul's writings betray his ignorance of the
Jewish Law. Maccoby also contends that Paul invented many of the key concepts of the Christian religion, and that the
Gospels and other later Christian documents were written to reflect Paul's views rather than the authentic life and teaching of Jesus. Maccoby questions Paul's integrity as well:
Scholars feel that, however objective their enquiry is supposed to be, they must always preserve an attitude of deep reverence towards Paul, and never say anything to suggest that he may have bent the truth at times, though the evidence is strong enough in various parts of his life-story that he was not above deception when he felt it warranted by circumstances. (Maccoby 1986)
An example of some of this evidence is .
Some small modern religious groups share Maccoby's views, regarding teachings as the true basis of modern Christian beliefs such as the atoning death of Jesus and the concept of original sin.
Paul as a Gnostic
There are theories according to which Paul was a Gnostic and his letters include Gnostic themes. He does write at one point of having known someone taken up into the "Third Heaven" (2 Cor 12:2). In this state he wrote he was not even sure whether he was in his body or not (12:3). There he wrote of having experienced things of which he could not speak (12:4). Orthodox Christianity in particular emphasizes the mystical dimensions of Paul's life and writings. (See also
Gnosticism and the New Testament.)
In direct opposition to this view, some scholars have seen Paul's views as completely opposed to Gnosticism, and the subsequent inclusion of Paul's writings within the cannon as a definitive rejection of Gnosticism by adherents to the teachings of Paul.
[For an example of this view, see Dennis R. MacDonald's Early Christian Literature, see also Peter Novak's Original Christianity (Hampton Roads Publishing, 2005)]L Michael White's view
L Michael White, professor of Classics and Director of the Religious Studies Program University of Texas at Austin, argued in his book
From Jesus to Christianity that scholars believe Paul classfied himself as a pious Jew and viewed an imminent apocalypse as near, associating visions (e.g. Galatians 1:15-16 and 2:1, 2 Corinthians 12:1-5) and his "revelations" (Greek "apokalypsai", to reveal) with his apocalyptic statements in
First letter to the Thessalonians, particularly the passage of 1:9-10.
[ L Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity. (Harper Collins Publishers, 2004) pp156-8.] Concerning this he wrote:
Paul indicates that he is quite accustomed to having such revelatory visions... For example, when Paul went to Jerusalem for the second time to consult with Peter and James on the issue of Gentiles, he says that he "went up by revelation" (Gal. 2:1). Elsewhere, he refers to having other "visions/appearances and revelations" (2 Cor. 12:1), following which he goes on to describe one such experience where he was "caught up into the third heaven" and saw paradise (2 Cor. 12:2-5). This last description is very much in line with Jewish apocalyptic tradition of heavenly ascents and visions. "(See Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses
, M. Himmelfarb, Oxford University Press, 1993) [ L Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity. (Harper Collins Publishers, 2004) pp156-8.]Furthermore, he argued that Paul viewed Jesus as a Messianic founder of a new, eschatological kingdom, to be instituted at the impending consummation of the world.
[ L Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity. (Harper Collins Publishers, 2004) pp156-8.]White asserts there was a theological question concerning "the recent death of someone in the church at Thessalonica; the members are worried about the eschatological implications: Will that person share in the coming kingdom? It is clear from their concern, as well as his own summary statement in 1:9-10, that in his earlier preaching Paul had stressed apocalyptic themes regarding the messiah, an imminent eschaton, and divine wrath. Paul now has to explain to them that there will indeed be a place for those who have already died, based on the Jewish expectation of resurrection (4:16), when Jesus returns at the eschaton (5:23). By packing these instructions into the exhortation sections, he thereby delivers a more comforting and personal reply to their concerns. "
[L Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity. (Harper Collins Publishers, 2004) p176.]For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10) ..
What I mean, my friends, is this: the time we live in will not last long. (1 Cor 7:2)
White also states in
From Jesus to Christianity that Paul viewed himself as a special missionary to bring Gentiles into this new eschatological kingdom:
That Jesus had come as the messiah of Israel meant further, for Paul, that the apocalyptic end times had commenced and would be consummated soon when Jesus came back again (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13; 5:1-11). Finally, he was convinced that he himself had been set apart 'from before birth' for a special mission to bring the Gentiles in to this new, eschatological kingdom, in keeping with the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. [ L Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity. (Harper Collins Publishers, 2004) pp156-8.]In a similar thesis, James Tabor argued the view that Paul instilled eschatological expectations to the earliest Christians.
The best evidence we have as to what the followers of Jesus thought about the imminence of the end after his death is clearly Paul. We have very early letters from Paul. They date from the 50s AD and they're first hand, they're autobiographical. They're undisputed. And they say the most startling things. For example in First Corinthians, which we date about 54 AD, Paul says that it's better not to get married. The end of all things is at hand. In view of the present distress that he thinks is coming on the world, he's actually advising people, "Slaves, remain a slave. Don't try to really change the social order, because everything, very rapidly, is coming to an end." One of his phrases is that "the appointed time has grown very short." It's a phrase right out of the Book of Daniel, about the appointed time, the time of the end. He's our earliest and best evidence. So that tells us that in the 50s, around the Mediterranean world, Christian communities are sprouting up, believing that Jesus is the messiah. That he's going to come again, probably in their lifetime and that they shouldn't really worry too much about their economic and social order, and even their marital state, because the end is coming so soon." [ Jesus and John the Baptist, Apocalypticisim explained See Dr. James Tabor on Paul]White also states in his book that Paul was proud of his Jewish background and did not cease being Jewish when he became a follower of Jesus. White states Paul was like Jesus' and his followers in that they classified themselves as
devout Jews[ L Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity. (HarperCollins Publishers, 2004) p121. ] "Paul was not the first Christian. In fact, Paul never uses the term "Christian." Instead, he clearly saw himself as a pious Jew who had been called on by God, through Jesus, to take this new message to non-Jews. Thus, Paul's self-understanding remained thoroughly Jewish, even when he argued with Peter, James (Jesus' brother), or other, more stringently Jewish followers of the Jesus movement. Paul, then, must be seen as a part of the sectarian diversity of the movement that gave it vitality and opened new horizons." [ L Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity. (HarperCollins Publishers, 2004) p145. ]White's assertion is also shared by Professor Stephen Harris who states,
"Acts portrays Paul.. as remaining proud of his Pharisaic background and appealing for support from his fellow Pharisees when he stood trial before the Jerusalem religious council (Acts 23:6-9; Phil. 3:4-7)." [ Stephen L. Harris, Understanding the Bible the Sixth Edition. McGraw Hill, 2003. P. 370] According to White, the derived name "Christianity" used to describe the religion itself did not appear before 112-115.
[ L Michael White, From Jesus to Christianity. (HarperCollins Publishers, 2004) p121. ]Bertrand Russell's view
Bertrand Russell argued that Paul's apocalyptic view caused him to see marriage as chiefly a means of preventing fornication; and this view therefore deemphasizes the role of procreation in marriage. (see: 1 Corinthians 15:24-28):
Christianity, and more particularly St. Paul, introduced an entirely novel view of marriage, that it existed not primarily for the procreation of children, but to prevent the sin of fornication.... (1 Corinthians 7:1-9.) St. Paul makes no mention whatever of children; the biological purpose of marriage appears to him wholly unimportant. This is quite natural, since he imagined that the Second Coming was imminent and that the world would soon come to an end. At the Second Coming men were to be divided into sheep and goats, and the only thing of real importance was to find oneself among the sheep on that occasion. St. Paul holds that sexual intercourse, even in marriage, is something of a handicap in the attempt to win salvation (1 Corinthians 7:32-4). Nevertheless it is possible for married people to be saved, but fornication is deadly sin, and the unrepentant fornicator is sure to find himself among the goats.[Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals. Norton and Company LTD, 1970. P. 44-7.]Paul as inclusivist
Another alternative view was first set forth by
Rabbi Jacob Emden (
1697â€"
1776). His view, based on the
medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives, was that Saul of Tarsus was a devout and learned
Pharisee who (turning away from his early
Shammaite views) came to believe in salvation for the Gentiles and, under the guiding authority of the very learned and devout Simon Kepha (i.e.,
Saint Peter), set about refining a
Noahide religion for the Gentiles based around the
Jesus movement. Paul believed the advantage of the Jews was their being entrusted with the
oracles of
heaven, and that the law was upon them. But he opposed the Jewish Christians who insisted (under some kind of Shammaite influence) that Gentiles were beyond salvation unless they became Jews. Paul insisted that they need only their purified faith and was firmly against
proselytizing. He did, however, insist that any man born of a Jewish woman be circumcised (for example, Timothy, upon whom he himself carried out the ceremony) and live under the Law. In recent years perhaps the most exemplary developers of Emden's view are the
Orthodox Rabbi
Harvey Falk and
Pamela Eisenbaum.
[Pamela Eisenbaum, "Is Paul the Father of Misogyny and Antisemitism?," Cross Currents 50, no. 4 (Winter 2000 â€" 2001).] In this view, Paul is seen as a rabbi who understood the ruling that, although it would be forbidden to a Jew,
shittuf (believing in the divine through the name of another) would be permissible for a Gentile despite the Noahide ban on
idolatry. This is further backed up by Paul in his
first letter to the Romans when he compliments them on their religion. Again when he spoke to the Greeks about a divinity in their pantheon called "The
Unknown God", it can be understood that he was trying to de-paganise their native religions for the sake of their own salvation.
New perspective on Paul
The "
New Perspective on Paul" rose to prominence as a result of the work of
E. P. Sanders in his
1977 book
Paul and Palestinian Judaism, in which he argued that the Judaism of Paul's day had been wrongly caricatured by Protestant theology. Traditionally, it had been assumed that 1st-century Judaism was a religion of "works" whereby Jews believed they had to earn their salvation by keeping the Law, and therefore when Paul spoke about "justification by faith" or the "justification of faith", he was referring to a new non-works-oriented way of salvation (being declared righteous by God) announced in Christ. Sanders reframed the context to make law-keeping and good works a sign of being in the
Covenant (marking out the Jews as the people of God) rather than deeds performed in order to accomplish salvation. If Sanders' perspective were true, the traditional Protestant understanding of the doctrine of justification may have needed rethinking, for the interpretive framework of
Augustine of Hippo and
Martin Luther, which had dominated Western Christian thinking for almost two millennia, was called into question.
Agent of Rome
Joseph Atwill, in his book
Caesar's Messiah, and
David Icke, among others, believe that Paul was an agent of
Imperial Rome in general and of the
Roman Emperors in specific. Both state their belief that Paul was used, along with
Josephus, to start a peaceful
messianic movement to undermine the unrest and rebelliousness of
Judea. (See also
Bible conspiracy theory.)
The mythicist position
The mythicist school of scriptural analysis, chiefly represented chiefly by
G. A. Wells and
Earl Doherty, that considers
Jesus of Nazareth a myth and not a historical person, holds that Paul and the Jerusalem apostles merged a mythical cosmic savior religion with
Midrashic construction of the passion story from
Old Testament passages and an anonymous collection of wisdom sayings (as which they consider the
Q Document). Wells and Doherty use
Paul's alleged silence on biographical details about
Jesus as an argument for their hypothesis.
According to this view, therefore, the accounts about Paul in the
Book of Acts are a fiction, which includes the famed Road to Damascus incident. Instead,
Paul emerges either as a gnostic (see above), a preacher of Judaism with a Messianic bent, or a proponent of a
docetic Christ.
*
Pauline Christianity*Badenas, Robert.
Christ the End of the Law, Romans 10.4 in Pauline Perspective 1985 ISBN 0905774930 argues that
telos is correctly translated as goal, not end, so that Christ is the
goal of the Law,
end of the law would be
antinomianism*
Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament.
Anchor Bible Series, 1997. ISBN 0385247672.
*
Bruce, F.F.,
Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (ISBN 0802847781)
* Raymond Davis,
The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis). Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 1989. ISBN 0-85323-216-4 (an English translation for elementary student use).
*
Dunn, James D.G. Jesus, Paul and the Law 1990 ISBN 0664250955
*
Hart, Michael.
The 100. Carol Publishing Group, July 1992. Paperback, 576 pages. ISBN 0806513500.
* Maccoby, Hyam.
The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 0060155825.
* MacDonald, Dennis Ronald, 1983.
The Legend and the Apostle : The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
*
Irenaeus, Against Heresies, i.26.2
* Thomas Jefferson, from a letter addressed to W. Short and published in The Great Thoughts, by George Seldes, Ballantine Books, N.Y., 1985, p. 208
*
Paul's mission and letters From PBS Frontline series on the earliest Christians.
*
Epistles of Apostle Paul Bishop Alexander (Orthodox Christian perspective)
*
St. Paul @ the
Catholic Encyclopedia*
The Apostle and the Poet: Paul and Aratus Dr. Riemer Faber
*
New Perspective on Paul*
Jewish Encyclopedia: Saul of Tarsus*
Paul, the Apostle in the 1911
Encyclopædia Britannica*
Vatican reports discovery of St.Paul's tomb from WorldNetDaily.com (February 18, 2005). cf.
Vatican Museum*
The Apostle Paul's Shipwreck: An Historical Examination of Acts 27 and 28 
