Introduction to Paul

The Apostle Paul is the founder of Christianity. Jesus inspired Paul and his crucifixion produced the experience that changed Paul’s life; but the ideas that resulted from this experience, not the ideas of Jesus (see my blog entitled “The Sermon on the Mount”), are what most Christians affirm today.

Paul, the man, was riddled with contradictions. He was loving and very generous, and yet subject to violent mood swings. He was passionate about his mission to preach the gospel in the Gentile world, and intolerant toward those who opposed him, suggesting at one point that his opponents should castrate themselves (Galatians 5: 12).

We know little about his early life. Most scholars place his birth between 5 and 10 CE in Tarsus Syria, an important center of Hellenistic culture. From his letters we learn that he was a proud Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. He also claimed to be a Roman citizen, which suggests that he came from a prominent family.

As a Pharisee operating in Jerusalem, he admits to persecuting early Christians. We learn by his own admission that he played a role in the stoning of Stephen, and may have been involved in the crucifixion of Jesus.

This opposition to the early Christian movement all changed following his dramatic vision experience on the Damascus Road where he saw Jesus in heaven, and received his commission from Jesus to bring the gospel to the Gentile world. The experience took place around 33 CE, and he began his missionary work four years later.

Paul always insisted that he had been commissioned by God himself, and was not in any way dependent on the Jerusalem church. He also insisted that his gospel was the only true path to salvation. These strongly held views had consequences within the early Christian community because there was debate regarding how Gentiles would be admitted into the Christian community. Did they have to become Jews first and be circumcised? Did they have to live as Jews by worshipping in the Temple and obeying Jewish food laws?

Paul answered these questions with a resounding no. Circumcision or the obligation to live as a Jew have nothing to do with the new standards of relating to God set in motion by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not all members of the Jerusalem community agreed with this position despite the best efforts of Acts to smooth over these differences.

Paul worked tireously as a missionary for thirty years before dying in Rome around 67 CE. On his last trip to Jerusalem to donate funds to the Jerusalem church for helping the poor, he was arrested, placed in prison, and eventually sent to Rome. There, tradition speculates, he was executed by Nero as a scapegoat for the fire that burned Rome.

During the course of his missionary work, Paul wrote letters of instructions to the churches he established. These letters are the source of his theology. The authentic letters include Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, First Thessalonians, and Philemon. There is virtually universal agreement among scholars that these letters were written by Paul.

The same near unanimous consensus exists among scholars for rejecting First and Second Timothy and Titus as coming from Paul. Serious scholarly debate concerning the authenticity of Second Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians continues to exist among commentators on Paul.

The next five blogs will develop Paul’s theological ideas from his undisputed letters. Once this is completed, I will discuss the arguments for and against Paul as author for the disputed letters as well as the theological focus of each letter.