Paul of Tarsus

Paul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus) or Paulus, also known as Saint Paul the Apostle, (ce. 3–67) is widely considered to be central to the early development and adoption of Christianity. 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 (present-day Turkey), and as a great persecutor of Christians prior to his "Road to Damascus" experience, which brought about Saul's conversion to the religion. He made the first great efforts through his Epistles to Gentile communities to show that the God of Abraham is for all people, rather than for Jews only, though he did not originate the idea; for example, see Isaiah 56:6-8 or proselyte.

Textual challenges

In reconstructing the events of Paul's life, we have two sources, written either during, or soon after, the period of his life: Paul's own surviving letters (although his authorship of some of these has been disputed; see below), and the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, which at several points draws from the record of an eyewitness (the so-called "we passages"). However, both sources have weaknesses: Paul's surviving letters were written during a short period of his life, perhaps only between AD 50 and 58, and the authenticity of some is questioned; and the author of Acts makes a number of statements that have drawn suspicion (e.g., the claim that Paul was present at the death of Stephen ).

Related Topics:
Acts of the Apostles - 50 - 58 - Stephen

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There is also the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. However, the events recorded in this work do not coincide with any of the events recorded in either Paul's letters or Acts, and scholars usually dismiss this as a 2nd century novel.

Related Topics:
Apocryphal - Acts of Paul and Thecla - 2nd century - Novel

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Because of the problems with the two contemporary sources, as Raymond E. Brown explains (An Introduction to the New Testament, 1998), historians take one of four approaches:

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• 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, which is to distrust Acts; sometimes entirely; and to use the material from Paul's letters almost exclusively; or
• the approach to completely disregard anything that Paul has written. (Ebionite and Restorationist view)
• an intermediate approach, which treats Paul's testimony as primary, and supplements this evidence with material from Acts.

The following construction of a possible chronology is based on this fourth approach. There are many points of contention, even among scholars, but this outline reflects an effort to trace the major events of Paul's life.

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