Apostle paul married

How old was paul when he died

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 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. Saul is the alternative name, especially in the Book of Acts Acts of the Apostles. The first occurrence of this name nuance is found in Acts 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.

Apostle paul biography pdf

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 historical functions, which is important to name when seeking to find out more about this historical figure. He was from a Jewish family from the city of Tarsus, a trade city on the Mediterranean.

Located in Asia Minor, it was influential in trade since at least the time of Alexander the Great. Paul Trained as a Pharisee Acts