Paul is venerated as a Saint by all the churches that honor saints, including those of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican traditions, and some Lutheran sects.

He is the 'patron saint' of the City of London and has also had several cities named in his honor, including Sao Paulo, Brazil and Saint Paul, Minnesota in the United States. He did much to advance Christianity among the Gentiles, and is considered to be one source (if not the primary source) of early Church doctrine, and the founder of Pauline Christianity. His epistles form a fundamental section of the New Testament. Some argue that he was instrumental in establishing Christianity as a distinct religion, rather than a sect of Judaism, as Christianity was first known.

Portrait of St. Paul
by Rembrandt
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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). However, he was born as Saul in Tarsus of Cilicia and received a Jewish education.

He apparently originated the use of Paul as a first name.

In Latin, Paulus was a family surname, never a first name. The Latin word paulus, related to the Koine Greek pauros, means small. The Greek word saulos, which was the common transliteration of the Hebrew Saul, means an immoral gait. Paul had at least one brother Rufus according to Romans 16:13. According to Acts 22:3, he studied in Jerusalem under Gamaliel; 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 AD 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 — a fact he alludes to a number of times (e.g., 1 Cor. 9:13-15); according to Acts 18:3, he worked as a tentmaker. According to Romans 16:2 he had a patroness (Koine Greek prostatis) named Phoebe. On marriage, 1 Cor 7:8-9, 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 Cor 7:10-16, 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; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound."

The conversion on the way to Damascus, by Caravaggio

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Following his stay in Damascus after conversion, Paul first went to live in the Nabataean kingdom (which he called "Arabia") for an unknown period, then came back to Damascus, which by this time was under Nabatean rule. After three more years (Gal. 1:17;20) he was forced to flee from that city, via the Bab Kisan (The Kisan Gate), under the cover of night (Acts 9:23;25; 2 Cor. 11:32.) because of the explosive reaction of some of the strict Jews to his preaching. Many years after his conversion to Christianity, Paul traveled to Jerusalem, where he met Simon Peter and James the Just.

Following this visit to Jerusalem, Paul's own writings and Acts slightly differ on his next activities. Acts states he went to Antioch, whence he set out to travel through Cyprus and southern Asia Minor to preach of Christ — a labor that has come to be known as his "First Missionary Journey" (Acts 13:13, 14:28). Paul merely mentions that he preached in Syria and Cilicia (Gal. 1:18-20); and though Acts states that Paul later "went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches" (Acts 15:41), it does not explicitly state that these were churches founded by Paul on a previous journey. It does not explain who else other than Paul might have founded the churches.

Paul's Hardships

³We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. ⁴Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; ⁵in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; ⁶in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; ⁷in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; ⁸through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; ⁹known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; ¹⁰sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. -2 Corinthians 6:3-10

About AD 49, after fourteen years of preaching, Paul travelled to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus to meet with the leaders of the Jerusalem church — namely James the Just, Simon Peter, and John the Apostle; an event commonly known as the Council of Jerusalem. Here the accounts of Acts 15 and Paul's Galatians 2:1-10 come at things from fairly different angles. Acts states that Paul was the head of a delegation from the Antiochene church that came to discuss whether new converts needed to be circumcised.

Some interpret this to mean whether Christians should continue to observe all of the Mosaic Laws, the most important being considered the practice of circumcision and dietary laws. This was said to be the result of men coming to Antioch from Judea and "teaching the brothers: 'Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved'" (Acts 15:1) (see Legalism). Paul states that he had attended "in response to a revelation", to "lay before them the gospel … [he] preached among the Gentiles" (Gal. 2:2), "because of false brethren secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage" (Gal. 2:4). He stated (Gal. 2:2) that he wanted to make sure what he had been teaching to the Gentile believers in previous years was correct — one interpretation is that his teaching was that Christ's fulfillment of the Mosaic Law by death and resurrection had freed Christian believers from the need to obey Mosaic Law. (see Antinomianism). A rumor that Paul aimed to subvert the Law of Moses is cited in Acts 21:21, however, according to Acts, Paul followed James' instructions to show that he "kept and walked in the ways of the Law".

Returning to Acts 15, after much debate and discussion, Peter says that "[God] made no distinction between us [Jews] and them [Gentiles], but cleansed their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:9), and James the Just (the brother of Jesus) states that "we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who are turning to God" (Acts 15:19). They sent a letter accompanied by some leaders from the Jerusalem church back with Paul and his party to confirm that the Gentile believers should not be overburdened by Mosaic Law beyond abstaining from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. (Acts 15:29). The letter also refers to Barnabas and Paul as "beloved" (Acts 15:25); compare Paul's account "James, Cephas [Peter] and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship" (Gal. 2:9).

Peter also commends Paul's writings (2 Peter 3:15), however (as many subsequent readers have also noticed) comments that "His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction".

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" (Gal. 2:11-18). Acts recounts nothing of this, saying only that "some time later", Paul decided to leave Antioch, (perhaps implying that he lost the argument with Peter) — usually considered the beginning of his Second Missionary Journey — with the object of visiting the believers in the towns where he and Barnabas had preached earlier. However, Paul and Barnabas then had a severe falling-out over whether they should take John, surnamed Mark (Barnabas' cousin) with them or not, and they went on separate journeys (Acts 15:36-41) — Barnabas with John Mark, and Paul with Silas. Later on, there is some reconciliation — Paul mentions that John Mark is in prison with him, and tells the church in Colossae to welcome him if he comes to them (Col. 4:10).

St Paul Healing the Cripple at Lystra. Artist: Karel Dujardin. Date: 1663. Medium: Oil on canvas, 179 x 139 cm. Location: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

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Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. -Acts 14:8

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 tersely describes his experience as "when we suffered and were shamefully treated" (1 Thess. 2:2); the author of Acts, perhaps drawing from a witness (this passage follows closely on one of the "we passages"), explains here that Paul exorcised a spirit from a female slave — ending her ability to tell fortunes, and reducing her value — an act the slave's owner claimed was "theft", wherefore he had Paul briefly put in 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 Areios Pagos and said he was talking in the name of the "Unknown God" who was already worshipped there (Acts 17:16-34); then he traveled to Corinth, where he settled for three years, and wrote the earliest of his letters to survive, 1 Thessalonians.

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 18:12-16). From an inscription in Delphi that mentions Gallio, we are able to securely date this hearing as having occurred in the year 52, providing a secure date for the 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 of the goddess Artemis, whom they worshipped; and the resulting mob almost killed him (Acts 19:21-41) and his companions. As a result, when he later raised money for victims of a famine in Judea, and his journey to Jerusalem took him through the province once again, he carefully sailed around Ephesus – instead summoning his followers to meet him in Miletus (Acts 20:17-38).

Upon Paul's arrival in Jerusalem with the relief funds requested at the Council of Jerusalem (Gal. 2:10), Paul was recognized outside the Jewish Temple and was nearly beaten to death by a mob, who supposed that Paul had brought his traveling companion (a Greek) into the Temple, thus "defiling" it. After Paul's subsequent rescue by the Roman guard and Paul's imprisonment, Ananias the High Priest made accusations against Paul that resulted in his continued imprisonment awaiting various trials (Acts 24:1-5). 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 Palaestina 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 28:30) in Rome.

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 (see Alexandria) transporting wheat bound for Italy, but the winds being persistently contrary, a place in Crete called Goodhavens was reached with great difficulty, and Paul advised that they should spend the winter there. His advice was not followed, and the vessel, driven by the tempest, drifted aimlessly for fourteen whole days, being finally wrecked on the coast of Malta. The three months when navigation was considered most dangerous were spent there, where Paul is said to have healed the father of the Roman Governor Publius from fever and other people who where sick, and preached the gospel while he placed Publius head of this church; but 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;and although the details are not specific it is clear that he traveled much of the eastern Mediterranean Sea coastal area for the twenty years, around 40 to 60, in what are often referred to as the Four Missionary Journeys, some argue Paul's own letters cease to furnish information about his activities long before then, although others (NIV Study Bibles, for example) date the last source of information being his 2nd 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 just as likely may have been written during his earlier imprisonments at Caesarea (first suggested in 1799), or at Ephesus (suggested in the early 20th century).

We are 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 Britain; while this was his intention (Rom. 15:22-7), the evidence is inconclusive. Another tradition, that can also be traced to the first century, 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. One Gaius, who wrote during the time of Pope Zephyrinus, mentions Paul's tomb as standing on the Via Ostensis. While there is little evidence to support any of these traditions, there is no evidence contradicting them either, nor any alternative tradition of Paul's eventual fate. It is commonly accepted that Paul died as a martyr in Rome. However his mortal remains were given to Oswy, King of Britain, by Pope Vitalian in AD 665 according to Bede in Ecclesiastical History from Vatican library sources.

Paul had several major impacts on the nature of Christian doctrine. The first was that of the centrality of faith within the life of Jesus, and the ability to attain righteousness through such. (Romans 3:22, Galatians 3:22, etc.). It was not until his later letter to the Corinthians that he alluded to the possibility of eternal life, and in turn was held to supersede the value of the Mosaic Law – a belief often expressed as "Jesus died for our sins" (as the spotless "Lamb of God" referred to by John the Baptist and John the Apostle). It is unclear how much of this idea is original to Paul; Jerome notes the existence in the 4th century of a Christian sect in Syria called the Ebionites who still observed the Mosaic Law, thus suggesting that at least some Christians may not have believed in the salvatory qualities of the Passion. The Didache does not have this concept. The Ethiopian Orthodox, who claim to be the only church free of Marcionism, still observe some Mosaic Laws. The Apostolic Constitutions, generally dated around the 3rd century, though they claim to be from the Council of Jerusalem, are pro-Mosaic Law (see 2.36, 6.19, 7.23). The Acts of the Apostles definitely depicts Paul as a Mosaic Law-observant Jew. For example, in Acts 15 he accepts a subset (see Noahide Laws) of the Law for new Gentile converts; in Acts 16 he personally circumcises Timothy, a Greek, even though his father is Greek, because his mother is of the Jewish faith; and 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. The assumption that Paul was anti-Law, (indeed that even Jesus was anti-Law), found its largest proponent in Marcion and Marcionism. However, there is some evidence suggesting that Paul's concept of salvation coming from the death of Jesus was not unique amongst early Christians; Philippians 2:5-11, expounds a Christology similar to Paul's, and has long been identified as a hymn of early Christians dated as existing before Paul's letter.

This belief leads directly to the modern argument of justification by faith 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 2 Peter 3:16), and that this interpretation is directly contradicted by James 2:24: "man is justified by works, and not by faith alone."

Related to Paul's interpretation of the resurrection are his concepts of faith, which he explains through his explanation of Abraham (see The Letters of Paul, c.f. Galatians 3:6-9), and of righteousness and the forgiveness for sins, using language that Augustine of Hippo later elaborated upon in his formulation of original sin.

In the New Testament, the doctrine of original sin is most clearly expressed by Paul's writings. His writings also express the doctrine that salvation is not achieved by conforming to Mosaic Law, but through faith in (or the faith of) Jesus. It is claimed this doctrine was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (see above). Paul was also one of the first Christians to expound the doctrine of Christ's divine nature.

One development clearly not original to Paul, (for example see Isaiah 56:6-8, Acts 10, proselyte), but for which he became a chief advocate, was the conversion of non-Jews (specifically those not circumcised) to Christianity. 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" – 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), at least with the populace, if not the Roman Imperial party (see Constantine the Great).

Paul also manifests a strong doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Much of Romans, and particularly the ending to 2 Corinthians, portrays the Spirit in equality with God the Father and the Son. These references would later take shape as 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 explains in his letter to the Galatians, that they received the Holy Spirit because of the promises of God (to Abraham), Galatians 4:4-7. This is a fulfillment of the 'Covenant of Promise', made unilaterally by YHVH to Abraham, which includes a future numerous people (his descendants); a nation, a language, a priesthood of believers, a king or ruler (one of his descendants, the Jewish Messiah, God's promise to Abraham's descendant, King David), a Spirit and the Promised Land, and future blessings upon all of these; in Genesis. This 'Covenant of Promise' was given to Abraham by God, "430 years" before the Law of Moses was given (Galatians 3:17) that the promise might be delivered to the descendants of Abraham by the grace of God through faith in His Messiah, Jesus Christ, or Yeshua the Messiah, (not by keeping all the various Torah mitzvot). This ensures that the Covenant of Promise will be kept, by circumventing the stumbling block of keeping the law, which was and is impossible for imperfect human beings to do (at least, without the Holy Spirit). This attainment of the promises of God by 'believers' (those of the household of faith) fulfills the New Covenant described by the prophet Jeremiah, when God will give his people "a new covenant" (Jeremiah 31:31). This is the new covenant spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel: "I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put my spirit [or, My Spirit] in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you." (Ezekiel 36: 26-27) This is precisely the New Covenant that Jesus referred to at the Last Supper Passover Feast, when Jesus gave Himself in covenant as payment for the sins of the world (which were kept track of under the law). So you see; the law establishes the penalty, and Jesus paid this amount on the Cross.

The apostle Paul testified to the Galatians, "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the [covenant of] promise." (Galatians 3:29)

Jeremiah said, "Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel, and with the house of Judah: "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers [their Hebrew ancestors] in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; [the covenant God made in the wilderness of Sinai through Moses] which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says the Lord: "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts [engrave it upon the tablet of their hearts]; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:31-33) "I will take you from every nation and country [from the Diaspora] and bring you back to your own land [the state of Israel]." "I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you." "I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart." "I will put my spirit [or, My Spirit] in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you." "Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors [the Hebrews]. You will be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

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 expounds on how a follower of Christ should live a radically different life – using heavenly standards instead of earthly ones. These standards have highly influenced Western society for centuries. He condemns such things as impurity, lust, greed, anger, slander, filthy language, lying, and racial divisions. In the same passage, Paul extols the virtues of compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, and gratitude (Col. 3:1-17).

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 teachings of Jesus (Matt. 5:27;27-28; see also 1 Cor 6:9; Eph. 5:21-33, Col. 3:1-17). Other Pauline teachings are on freedom in Christ (Gal. 5, 1 Cor. 8, Col. 2:6-23), proper worship and church discipline (1 Cor. 11), the unity of believers (1 Cor. 1:10-17, Eph. 4:1-6), and marriage (1 Cor. 7, Eph. 5:21-33). 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. "And I would spare you," Paul explained.

Paul may have been ambivalent towards slavery, saying that pending the near return of Jesus, people should focus on their faith and not on their social status (1 Cor. 7:21). He also instructed slaves to serve their masters faithfully (Eph. 6:5), 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.' (Eph. 6:9) 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.

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 Caesar had claimed the titles "Lord of Lords", "King of Kings", and "Son of God" (as he was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, whom he declared to be a god). 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. 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), (against this view see E. P. Sanders), but out of hope in the Resurrection and promises of Jesus. 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.

Acts: Paul’s first and second Missionary journeys, courtesy Biblical Foundations for Freedom
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First missionary journey

"Council of Jerusalem"

Paul and the apostles apparently met at Jerusalem several times. Unfortunately, there is some difficulty in determining the sequence of the meetings and exact course of events. Some Jerusalem meetings are mentioned in Acts, some meetings are mentioned in Paul's letters, and some appear to be mentioned in both. For example, in Galatians Paul makes no separate mention of the Jerusalem visit implied in Acts 11:27-30 when he and Barnabas brought famine relief to Judea. In Galatians 2:1, Paul describes a possible second visit to Jerusalem as a private occasion, whereas Acts describes a public meeting in Jerusalem addressed by James at its conclusion. Thus some scholars think that Paul in Galatians is referring to the meeting in Acts 11 (the 'famine visit') and that the letter to the Galatians was written after the men had come to Antioch demanding circumcision and before the Council of Jerusalem, the public meeting, had taken place— or even as he was setting out for it— this interpretation would make Galatians the earliest letter to be written (it is generally dated between 48 and 55). If the meeting was private, Luke's informants might have had no knowledge of it; however, it could not have taken place fourteen years after the first encounter (or seventeen from the date of Paul's conversion), because the famine relief took place in the reign of King Herod Agrippa, according to Acts; he died in 44. That would put Paul's conversion at 27, likely before Jesus' death. In fact, the famine did not reach its greatest severity until 48, after Herod's death. Many other conjectures have been offered: fourteen years should be four; Acts 11 and 15 are two alternative accounts of the same visit; the visit is recorded in Acts 18:22. If there was a public rather than a private meeting, it seems likely that it took place after Galatians was written.

According to Acts, Paul and Barnabas were appointed to go to Jerusalem to speak with the apostles and elders and were welcomed by them. The key question raised (in both Acts and Galatians and which is not in dispute) was whether Gentile converts needed to be circumcised (Acts 15:2; Gal.2:1). Paul states that he had attended "in response to a revelation and to lay before them the gospel that I preached among the Gentiles" (Gal 2:2). Peter publicly reaffirmed a decision he had made previously (see Acts 10 and 11), proclaiming: "[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 concurred: "We should not trouble those of the Gentiles who are turning to God" (Acts 15:19–21), and a letter (later known as the Apostolic Decree) 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), which some consider to be Noahide Law.

Despite the agreement they achieved at the meeting as understood by Paul, Paul recounts how he later publicly confronted Peter (accusing him of Judaizing, also called the "Incident at Antioch" over his reluctance to share a meal with Gentile Christians in 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 (usually considered the beginning of his "Second Missionary Journey", (Acts 15:36–18:22) with the object of visiting the believers in the towns where he and Barnabas had preached earlier, but this time without Barnabas. At this point the Galatians witness ceases.

Second missionary journey

Acts: Paul’s third Missionary journey and journey to Rome, courtesy Biblical Foundations for Freedom
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Third missionary journey

Arrest and death

"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 (1 Cor 9:20). Thus he shortly after [the Council of Jerusalem] circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:1–3), and he was in the very act of observing the Mosaic ritual when he was arrested at Jerusalem (21:26 sqq.)".

In any case, about a week after Paul had taken his vow at the temple, some Jews from "Asia" (Asia Minor or modern Turkey, Paul's homeland) spotted him in Jerusalem and stirred up the crowd 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." (21:28). The crowd was about to kill Paul but the Roman guard rescued him, and after an unsuccessful speech in Aramaic (Acts 21:37-22:22, see also: Aramaic of Jesus), imprisoned him 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. When a new governor Porcius Festus took office, he held a hearing and sent Paul by sea to Rome. According to Acts, Paul spent another two years in Rome under house arrest: "Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 28:30-31). Of his detention in Rome, Philippians provides some additional support. It was clearly written from prison and references to the "praetorian guard" and "Caesar's household" may suggest that it was written from Rome.

Whether Paul died in Rome or was able to go to Spain as in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 15:22-7) he hoped, is uncertain. Eusebius of Caesarea, who wrote in the fourth century, 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). St. Clement of Rome, writing thirty years later says that Paul went to "the limits of the west". If the Pastoral Epistles are genuine, he could have revisited Greece and Asia Minor after his trip to Spain, and might then have been arrested in Troas (2 Tim. 4:13) and taken to Rome and executed. The traditional story is that Paul interred with Saint Peter's ad Catacumbas by the via Appia until moved to what is now the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome (now in the process of being excavated). Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History, writes that Pope Vitalian in 665 gave Paul's relics (including a cross made from his prison chains) from the crypts of Lucina to King Oswy of Northumbria, northern Britain. However, Bede's use of the word "relic" was not limited to corporal remains.

Writings

Authorship

The authenticity of Colossians has been questioned on the grounds that it contains an otherwise unparalleled description (amongst his writings) of Jesus as 'the image of the invisible God', a Christology found elsewhere only in St. John's gospel. Nowhere is there a richer and more exalted estimate of the position of Christ than here. On the other hand, the personal notes in the letter connect it to Philemon, unquestionably the work of Paul. More problematic is Ephesians, a very similar letter to Colossians, but which reads more like a manifesto than a letter. It is almost entirely lacking in personal reminiscences. Its style is unique; it lacks the emphasis on the cross to be found in other Pauline writings, reference to the Second Coming is missing, and Christian marriage is exalted in a way which contrasts with the grudging reference in 1 Cor 7:8-9. Finally it exalts the Church in a way suggestive of a second generation of Christians, 'built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets' now past. The defenders of its Pauline authorship argue that it was intended to be read by a number of different churches and that it marks the final stage of the development of St. Paul's thinking.

The Pastoral Epistles, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus have likewise been put in question as Pauline works only in modern times. Three main reasons are advanced: first, their difference in vocabulary, style and theology from St. Paul's acknowledged writings; secondly, the difficulty in fitting them into St Paul's biography as we have it. They, like Colossians and Ephesians, were written from prison but suppose St. Paul's release and travel thereafter. Finally, the concerns expressed are very much the practical ones as to how a church should function. They are more about maintenance than about mission.

Two further epistles attributed by some to Paul (since some of the prior epistles mention them) have been lost: Epistle to the Alexandrians (lost), of which nothing is known letter apart from a brief mention in the Muratorian fragment that claims it was a forgery; the Epistle to the Macedonians which is lost.

Paul and Jesus

What Christ has achieved for those who believe in him is variously described: as sinners under the law, they are "justified by his grace as a gift"; they are "redeemed" by Jesus who was put forward by God as expiation; they are "reconciled" by his death. The gift (grace) is to be received in faith. (Rom 3:24; Rom 5:9). These three images have been the subject of detailed examination.

Justification derives from the law courts. Those who are justified are acquitted of an offence. Since the sinner is guilty, he or she can only be acquitted by someone else, Jesus, standing in for them, which has led many Christians to believe in the teaching known as the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. The sinner is, in St. Paul's words "justified by faith" (Rom. 5:1), that is, by adhering to Christ, the sinner becomes at one with Christ in his death and resurrection (hence the word atonement). Acquittal, however, is achieved not on the grounds that Christ was innocent (though he was) and that we share his innocence but on the grounds of his sacrifice (crucifixion), i.e. his innocent undergoing of punishment on behalf of sinners who should have suffered divine retribution for their sins. They deserved to be punished and he took their punishment. They are justified by his death, and now "so much more we are saved by him from divine retribution" (Rom. 5:9).

For an understanding of the meaning of faith as that which justifies, St. Paul turns to Abraham, who trusted God's promise that he would be father of many nations. Abraham preceded the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. Thus law cannot save us; faith does. Abraham could not, of course, have faith in the living Christ but, in Paul's view, "the gospel was preached to him beforehand" (Gal. 3:8); this is in line with Paul's belief in the pre-existence of Christ (cf. Phil 2:5-11).

Redemption has a different origin, that of the freeing of slaves; it is similar in character as a transaction to the paying of a ransom, (mentioned in St. Mark) though the circumstances are different. Money was paid in order to set free a slave, one who was in the ownership of another. Here the price was the costly act of Christ's death. On the other hand, no price was paid to anyone – St. Paul does not suggest, for instance, that the price be paid to the devil – though this has been suggested by learned writers, ancient and modern, such as Origen and St. Augustine of Hippo, as a reversal of the Fall by which the devil gained power over humankind.

A third expression, reconciliation, is about the making of friends which is, of course, a costly exercise where one has failed or harmed another. The making of peace (Col. 1:20) (Rom 5:9) is another variant of the same theme. Elsewhere (Eph. 2:14) he writes of Christ breaking down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, which the law constituted.

As to how a person appropriates this gift, St. Paul writes of a mystical union with Christ through baptism: "we who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death" (Rom. 6:4). He writes also of our being "in Christ Jesus" and alternately, of "Christ in you, the hope of glory". Thus, the objection that one person cannot be punished on behalf of another is met with the idea of the identification of the Christian with Christ through baptism.

These expressions, some of which are to be found in the course of the same exposition, have been interpreted by some scholars, such as the mediaeval teacher Peter Abelard and, much more recently, Hastings Rashdall, as metaphors for the effects of Christ's death upon those who followed him. This is known as the "subjective theory of the atonement". On this view, rather than writing a systematic theology, Paul is trying to express something inexpressible. According to Ian Markham, on the other hand, the letter to the Romans is "muddled".

But others, ancient and modern, Protestant and Catholic, have sought to elaborate from his writing objective theories of the Atonement on which they have, however, disagreed. The doctrine of justification by faith alone was the major source of the division of western Christianity known as the Protestant Reformation which took place in the sixteenth century. Justification by faith was set against salvation by works of the law in this case, the acquiring of indulgences from the Church and even such good works as the corporal works of mercy. The result of the dispute, which undermined the system of endowed prayers and the doctrine of purgatory, contributed to the creation of Protestant churches in Western Europe, set against the Roman Catholic Church. Solifidianism (sola fides = faith alone), the name often given to these views, is associated with the works of Martin Luther (1483-1546) and his followers. With this view went the notion of Christ's substitutionary atonement for human sin.

The various doctrines of the atonement have been associated with such theologians as Anselm, Calvin, and more recently Gustaf Aulén; none found their way into the Creeds. The substitutionary theory (above), in particular, has fiercely divided Christendom, some pronouncing it essential and others repugnant. (In law, no one can be punished instead of another and the punishment of the innocent is a prime example of injustice - which tells against too precise an interpretation of the atonement as a legal act.) Further, because salvation could not be achieved by merit, Paul lays some stress on the notion of its being a free gift, a matter of Grace. Whereas grace is most often associated specifically with the Holy Spirit, in St. Paul's writing, grace is received through Jesus (Rom.1:5), from God through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24), and especially in 2 Cor.13:14. On the other hand, the Spirit he describes as the Spirit of Christ (see below). The notion of free gift, not the subject of entitlement, has been associated with belief in predestination and, more controversially, double predestination: that God has chosen whom He wills to have mercy on and those whose will He has hardened (Rom. 9:18.).

Paul's concern with what Christ had done, as described above, was matched by his desire to say also who he was (and is). In his letter to the Romans, he describes Jesus as the "Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead"; in the letter to the Colossians, he is much more explicit, describing Jesus as "the image of the invisible God", (Col.1:15) as rich and exalted picture of Jesus as can be found anywhere in the New Testament (which is one reason why some doubt its authenticity). On the other hand, in the undisputed Pauline letter to the Philippians, he describes Jesus as "in the form of God" who "did not count equality with God as thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross…"

Holy Spirit

Secondly, the gift of the Spirit appears to have been interpreted by the Corinthians as a freedom from all constraints, and in particular the law. Paul, on the contrary, argues that not all things permissible are good; eating meats that have been offered to pagan idols, frequenting pagan temples, orgiastic feasting; none of these things build up the Christian community, and may offend the weaker members. On the contrary, the Spirit was a uniting force, manifesting itself through the common purpose expressed in the exercise of their different gifts (1 Cor. 12) He compares the Christian community to a human body, with its different limbs and organs, and the Spirit as the Spirit of Christ, whose body we are. The gifts range from administration to teaching, encouragement to healing, prophecy to the working of miracles. Its fruits are the virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Gal. 5:22). Love is the best way of all (1 Cor. 13).

Further, the new life is the life of the Spirit, as against the life of the flesh, which Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, so that one becomes a son of God. God is our Father and we are fellow heirs of Christ (Rom.8:14).

Relationship with Judaism

The background to the various arguments is the ongoing dispute over the observance of the law, which, as we have noticed, was with Jews but also with so-called Judaizing Gentile Christians. In Galatians and Philippians, St. Paul is emphatic that the law is of null effect; it only makes men and women aware of their sinfulness. His own sense of relief at discovering that what the law was incapable of doing, the risen Christ had done permeates his letters. The question of whether Christianity was a Jewish sect or included Gentiles, without their having to fully conform to Jewish ritual law, was eventually answered pretty emphatically as the latter.

However, considerable disagreement at the time and subsequently has been raised as to the significance of "works of the law". In the same letter in which Paul writes of justification by faith, he says of the Gentiles: "It is not by hearing the law, but by doing it that men will be justified (same word) by God." (Rom. 2:12) Those who think Paul was consistent have judged him not to be a Solifidianist himself; others hold that he is merely demonstrating that both Jews and Gentiles are in the same condition of sin.

E. P. Sanders in 1977 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, a pattern of religion he termed "covenantal nomism". If Sanders' perspective is valid, the traditional Protestant understanding of the doctrine of justification may have needed rethinking, for the interpretive framework of Martin Luther was called into question.

Sanders's work has since been taken up by Professor James Dunn and N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, and the New Perspective has increased significantly in dominance in New Testament scholarship. Wright, noting the apparent discrepancy between Romans and Galatians, the former being much more positive about the continuing covenantal relationship between God and his ancient people, than the latter, contends that that works are not insignificant (Romans 2: 13ff) and that Paul distinguishes between works which is signs of ethnic identity and those which are a sign of obedience to Christ.

Resurrection

Paul has a very corporate idea of the resurrection hope of the Christian community. The hope given to all who belong to Christ, includes those who have already died but who have been baptised vicariously by the baptism of others on their behalf – so that they may be included among the saved (1 Cor. 15:29); (whether or not St. Paul approved of the practice he was apparently prepared to use as part of his argument in favour of the resurrection of the dead).

The World to come

The delay in the coming of the end has been interpreted in different ways: on one view, St. Paul and the early Christians were simply mistaken; on another, that of Austin Farrer, his presentation of a single ending can be interpreted to accommodate the fact that endings occur all the time and that, subjectively, we all stand an instant from judgement. The delay is also accounted for by God's patience (2 Thess. 2:6).

As for the form of the end, the Catholic Encyclopedia presents two distinct ideas. First, universal judgement, with neither the good nor the wicked shall omitted (Rom 14:10–12), nor even the angels (1 Cor 6:3). Second, and more controversially, judgment will be according to faith and works, mentioned concerning sinners (2 Cor 11:15), the just (2 Tim 4:14), and men in general (Rom 2:6–9). This latter characterization has been the subject of controversy among Reformed theologians, notably N. T. Wright.

Social views

As noted above, the Corinthians were inclined to regard their freedom from law as a licence to do what they liked. Thus, his attitude towards sexual immorality, set against the mores of Greek-influenced society, is particularly direct: "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). His attitude towards marriage, in writing to the Corinthians, is to advise his readers not to marry because of the "present distress" but marriage is better than immoral conduct: "it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion"; the alternative, adopted by Paul himself, is celibacy. As for those who are married, even to unbelievers, they should not seek to be parted. In Ephesians he appears to be more positive holding marriage up as a parable of the relationship between Christ and the Church (Eph 5:21–33). His attitude towards dietary rules manifests the same caution: all is permitted but some actions may seem to "weaker brethren" to be an implicit acceptance of the legitimacy of idol worship – such as eating food that had been used in pagan sacrifice.

He deals with many other questions on which he may have been asked for advice: their relationship with unbelievers; the duty of supporting other needy Christians, how to deal with church members who had fallen into temptation, the need for self-examination and humility, the conduct of family life, the importance of accepting the teaching authority of the leaders of the Church.

His teaching has been criticised as being conservative and even quietist. His view of the shortness of the time before the end is thought to have influenced his ethic. That what he says – for instance, about the appropriate attitude towards unbelievers – appears to vary may be the result of his responding to different questioners whose enquiries are unknown to us. Three particular issues, not all of them controversial at the time have assumed great contemporary importance. One is his attitude towards slaves, the second towards women and the third his attitude towards homosexual acts.

The issue of slavery arises because his letter to the slave owning Philemon, whose slave Onesimus Paul sends with his letter. He fails to condemn the practice (as he does also in writing to the Corinthians) but his asking that Philemon should treat him "not as a slave, but instead of a slave, as a most dear brother, especially to me" (Phil 16) may be thought of as a subtle condemnation of slavery.

He certainly treats women differently from men, though not unambiguously; women were created for man, but as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. And elsewhere there is neither male nor female but all are one in Christ. On the other hand, the man is the head of the woman and, in the first letter to Timothy, women are forbidden from teaching or exercising authority over men. The "headship" argument has been used as one reason for opposing the ordination of women.

To determine St. Paul's beliefs on homosexuality, several passages are frequently cited. In 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Paul lists a number of actions which are so wicked that they will deprive whoever commits them of their divine inheritance: "Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God." (21st Century King James Version) (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) Elsewhere, he describes certain homosexual actions as unnatural, the perpetrators as being "consumed with passion for one another and as having abandoned the truth about God for a lie." (Rom 1:24-27) A number of Biblical scholars, such as Dr. David Hilborn, argue that these passages represent a condemnation of homosexuality by Paul. Other scholars, such as Dr. John Elliott and Dr. John Boswell, argue that Paul was not referring to homosexual relationships as we now understand them and contrast the relationships common in the ancient world (such as pederasty) with modern gay relationships. See The Bible and homosexuality's section on Paul.

Alternative views

A further charge by Maccoby is that the Gospels present Jesus as, essentially, a wandering rabbi and that Paul elevates him to the status of Son of God and Messiah, claims which Jesus did not make himself. Geza Vermes, in his book Jesus the Jew advances precisely this argument. Christian scholars, even as long ago as Wilhelm Wrede (1859-1906), have made similar claims: that Jesus did not claim to be the Messiah and the references to the secrecy of his Messiahship lead to this conclusion. The cogency of these arguments depends on how far the four evangelists themselves are to be treated as creative theologians and what processes took place in the editing of the gospels as written. Some differences can be accounted for by the different demands of storytelling and letterwriting. Also, the tone of the gospels differs between themselves. (At the beginning of St. Mark's gospel the expression "Son of God" is found but it is not in all ancient manuscripts; the view has been expressed that Jesus somehow became the Son of God at his baptism - a doctrine known as adoptionism. In St. John's Gospel, Jesus is called the divine 'Word' who existed before Abraham and Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am.") Differences in translation yield different interpretations. The arguments are dense and complex and cannot be rehearsed in detail here. Maccoby, on the other hand, argues 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", he says, "feel that, however objective their enquiry is supposed to be, .. 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".

Elaine Pagels, a professor of religion at Princeton, and an authority of Gnosticism has argued that Paul was a Gnostic and that the anti-Gnostic Pastoral Epistles were forgeries written to rebut this. (Most scholars interpret the Gnostic references in his letter to the Colossians as an attempt to outgun the Gnostics by claiming that Christ is the 'pleroma'.)

G.A. Wells and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code have rewritten events of the New Testament in popularly sold fiction in the early twenty-first century.

References

• Aulén, Gustaf, Christus Victor (SPCK 1931)
• Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. Anchor Bible Series, 1997. ISBN 0-385-24767-2.
• Brown Raymond E. The Church the Apostles left behind(Chapman 1984)
• Bruce, F.F., Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (ISBN 0-8028-4778-1)
• F.F. Bruce 'Is the Paul of Acts the Real Paul?' Bulletin John Rylands Library 58 (1976) 283-305 Conzelmann, Hans the Acts of the Apostles - a Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (Augsburg Fortess 1987)
• Davies, W.D.Paul and Rabbinic Judaism (SPCK 1955)
• Davies W.D. The Apostolic Age and the life of Paul in Peake's Commentary on the Bible (Nelson 1962)
• A.T. HansonStudies in Paul's Technique and Theology (SPCK 1974)
• Dunn, James D.G. Jesus, Paul and the Law 1990 ISBN 0-664-25095-5
• Maccoby, Hyam. The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 0-06-015582-5.
• 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
• Ogg, George Chronology of the New Testament in Peake (qv.)
• Rashdall, Hastings The Idea of Atonement in Christian Theology (1919)
• John Ruef Paul's First letter to Corinth (Penguin 1971)
• E.P. Sanders Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977)