Apostle pauls biography

"Saint Paul" redirects here. For the U.S. city, see Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Paul the Apostle, (born as Saul of Tarsus) and also often called Saint Paul (2BC–64/65), was a Messianic Jewish-Romanwriter and rabbi. He was a convert to Christianity. It is believed that he wrote thirteen books of the Bible, together called the Pauline epistles. They are letters to churches and Christians. He wrote these letters to encourage them, to help them understand Christian teaching, and to help them to live Christian lives.

Life

Anti-Christian

Paul's name was originally Saul (not to be confused with King Saul from the books of Samuel in the Old Testament). He grew up learning both the Jewish law and the Greek ways of discussing things. We are first introduced to Saul in the Bible near the end of Acts 7. The Christian movement had begun with the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Saul was strongly against this, and he was happy as he watched Saint Stephen, the first martyr of Jesus, being killed by stoning after giving a speech that made the Jewish court angry. He worked for the Roman Government and helped lead the arrests and killing of many Christians in Israel and the nearby area.

Later on, Saul was told to go to Damascus to find and bring back Christians there to be punished. On the way, God came down from heaven and spoke to Saul. The Bible tells of what happened like this:

On his journey, Saul approached Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground. He heard a voice speak to him.

"Saul! Saul!" the voice said. "Why are you opposing me?"

"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus," he replied. "I am the one you are opposing. Now get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you must do."

The men traveling with Saul stood there. They weren't able to speak. They had heard the sound. But they didn't see anyone. Saul got up from

Christian apostle and missionary

"Saint Paul" redirects here. For other uses, see Saint Paul (disambiguation).

Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle (c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally regarded as one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, and he also founded several Christian communities in Asia Minor and Europe from the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD.

The main source of information on Paul's life and works is the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. Approximately half of its content documents his travels, preaching and miracles. Paul was not one of the Twelve Apostles, and did not know Jesus during his lifetime. Acco

In this article, I will try to sketch out a brief biography of the Apostle Paul. He is considered to be one of the most famous (and sometimes misunderstood as infamous) figures in history. His basic message was that the end of the age had arrived in the Jewish Messiah named Jesus.The resurrection of inaugurated the last days that would come to their culmination at Christ's return with the healing of the created order and the resurrection and judgement of humanity (Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 15).This conviction, paired with discerning how best to incorporate the nations (gentiles) into the family of Israel's God, changed the entire trajectory of his life. Paul's biography is interesting to us because of this single shift in conviction.The Apostle Paul, sometimes called Saint Paul or Saul of Tarsus, lived from about 5 BCE / 5 CE to about 67 CE. Saul is the alternative name, especially in the Book of Acts (Acts of the Apostles). In that text, his Semitic name "Saul" is replaced by "Paul" (likely his Latin name that is adapted in the Greek New Testament as well). The first occurrence of this name nuance is found in Acts 13.9.

We have two sources of information pertaining to Paul's biography. The Acts of the Apostles is a narrative (more stylized than "raw" history, but historical nonetheless) that features him as a primary character. But as the character in a narrative, good historical work demands that we always start with primary sources: Paul's words in Paul's own letters.This second source gives us the clearest access to his life and thought. Although they are colored by his own biases (as is anything written by any human in history, so this isn't meant to be pejorative), they give the clearest witness and access to the historical Paul.Acts, then, is a "corroborative source" before it is a primary source, but the two need not be seen as in competition. They have different rhetorical and histori

The birth name of Paul is actually Saul. He was born into a Jewish family in the city of Tarsus. His birth in a Roman "free city" grants him Roman citizenship, a privilege he will exercise later in life. The early religious training Paul receives comes from the best Rabbinical school in Jerusalem. It is led by the well-known and respected Pharisee Gamaliel.

Timeline of Peter's Life and Ministry

Paul is thirty years old when he is an official witness at the stoning of Stephen. His Pharisaic zeal for God's law and dedication to stopping the early spread of Christianity knew no bounds. After seeing Stephen's life taken, he leads the first great wave of persecution against the early church. On reflecting on his pre-conversion days Paul says the following.

"For you heard of my (Paul is speaking) former conduct when I was in Judaism, how I was excessively persecuting the church of God and was destroying it; And I was advancing in Judaism far beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more abundantly zealous for the traditions of my fathers." (Galatians 1:13 - 14, HBFV)

How bad were the persecutions of Paul against the early New Testament church? His dedication to eradicating those believing in the teachings of Jesus led him to take bold actions, such as going from house to house in order to find believers (Acts 8:1, 3)!

After his efforts to stop the spread of early Christian beliefs in Jerusalem, he sets his sights on achieving the even more audacious goal of removing any Christian influence in the synagogues of Damascus. He receives written permission from the temple's High Priest to rid the city's synagogues of any who believe in "the way." His intention is to arrest those who believe Jesus is the Messiah and escort them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

It is during his trip to Damascus that the pivotal event in the life of Paul occurs. A spotligh