Paul Essay ⋆ History Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Paul has had an immense influence on Christianity in particular and Western civilization in general. Among those who were influenced by Paul are Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and John Wesley. Paul’s letters, written between 51 and 59 c.e., are the most important sources of information about him. The New Testament contains 13 letters bearing his name. Of these, nine are written to churches (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians), and four are written to individuals (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon). Scholars dispute the genuineness of six of these letters (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians). Church tradition also included Hebrews among Paul’s letters, but scholars today almost universally reject Paul as its author. Another important source of information about Paul is Acts of the Apostles.

Paul was born to a Jewish family in Tarsus of Cilicia (southern Turkey) around the turn of the first century c.e. In those days Tarsus was the third most important educational center in the Roman Empire, after Athens and Rome. It was also a cosmopolitan port city that became home to rich crosscurrents of cultures and ideas. Paul was a Roman citizen by birth and had at least a secondary education in Greek. According to Acts, he studied in Jerusalem under a renowned rabbi named Gamaliel. He was also a persecutor of the church. Sometime in the early 30s c.e., as he made a journey toward Damascus in Syria to apprehend followers of Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth, he experienced a dramatic conversion when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a vision and told him to bring the good news of his resurrection—called “the gospel”—to the Gentiles. Paul never met Jesus in real life, and some of his contemporaries challenged his claim to be an apostle. Notwithstanding, between 50 and 60 c.e. he emerged as the most influential (albeit controversial) and widely traveled spokesperson of the gospel in primitive Christianity.

Paul became the primitive church’s most successful missionary to the Gentiles. In fact, Christianity owes its basic Gentile character to Paul’s mission. He conducted aggressive missionary campaigns throughout the area that is now Syria, Turkey, and Greece. The focal point of controversy in his missionary activity and several of his letters was circumcision. He rejected circumcision (along with “the works of the law”) and insisted that faith in Christ is sufficient for salvation and admission to the Christian community. Paul worked in major cities of the empire. For example, Corinth and Philippi were Roman colonies where military veterans settled with privileges. Colonies were the highest-ranking cities of the empire, each being a miniature Rome. Paul delivered his gospel to the heart of the Roman political system, hoping to spread it throughout the empire. He succeeded beyond his wildest imagination. Paul’s letters abound with imagery taken from the Roman games and military. In addition, like the Roman writer Cicero, Paul selected and synthesized materials from diverse sources. This practice (called eclecticism) helped him appeal to a wide audience.

Paul was the most able theologian of the primitive church. First, he argued that humans are saved by faith in God’s free grace that was revealed in the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth (known as the Christ event). Paul’s second argument was that every person deserves to be treated with equality and dignity, regardless of race, social rank, or gender, because he or she is a redeemed creature of God. His third and most important argument was that Jesus Christ, as the crucified one, fulfills all the promises in the Jewish scriptures (the Old Testament). Other New Testament writers also held similar views, but only Paul was able to articulate their complex reasoning.

Paul’s theology is a blend of Judaism and Hellenism. As a faithful Jew, Paul accepted the Jewish scriptures as the revelation of God. Paul quoted mostly from the Greek translation of these scriptures, the Septuagint (or LXX), which was widely used by the Greek-speaking Jews. He also made Jewish monotheism a foundational assumption of his theology. However, Paul differed from later Jewish sources mainly in his approach to the Torah (the Law of Moses). These rabbinic sources were written at least a century after Paul and represent modifications made to Judaism after the fall of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 c.e. Paul built his theology mostly on the narrative portions of the Torah, such as the creation, Adam’s fall, and Abraham’s experiences. In contrast, the later rabbinic sources focused primarily on the legal portions of the Torah, such as the laws of purity.

Paul’s writings also exhibit Hellenistic characteristics. He wrote in Greek, using Hellenistic rhetorical devices. Also, his moral exhortations resemble the ethical teachings of the Stoics and Cynics. Like these Hellenistic philosophical schools, Paul highlighted the importance of self-control through lists of virtues and vices and household codes of ethics (Haustafeln). Moreover, many scholars feel that Paul’s teachings about Christ’s death and resurrection resemble the myths attached to Hellenistic mystery cults. Whatever may be the case, Paul’s immense influence ultimately came from his extensive missionary work among the Gentiles and his powerful ideas about God’s transforming grace. Paul eventually went to Rome as a prisoner and died there as a martyr in the early 60s c.e. under Nero.

References:

Duling, Dennis C. The New Testament: History, Literature, and Social Context. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2003;
Sanders, E. P. Paul. Past Masters. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991;
Stewart, S. James. A Man in Christ: The Vital Elements of St. Paul’s Religion. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1930.

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