Harris calls Paul “the most influential apostle and missionary of the mid-first-century CE church and author of seven to nine New Testament letters” (H G-33). It would be quite an accolade to receive such recognition, but what makes it even more remarkable is that Paul, or Saul, (Saul was his Judean name and Paul was his Roman name (footnotes B 1943)) originally persecuted the ekklesia or “church”. Paul went from persecuting the ekklesia or “church” to being its “most influential apostle and missionary”. Why and how did Paul make such a drastic change? The answer to the question can be found in various books of the New Testament including some of the letters that Paul wrote. This answer also aids in the explanation of how and why Paul argue with the Ioudaioi.
Ioudaioi was the name given to the people of Judah after Alexander the Great conquered Judah in 333 BCE. Judah was originally one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and was the name for the southern kingdom after Israel split in 922 BCE after the death of King Solomon. The term Ioudaioi is often mistranslated from Greek as Jews. In contrast, it should be properly translated as Judeans. The Ioudaioi came from or lived in the land of Judea (Ioudaia). Paul never claimed to be Judean (or an Ioudaios in Greek), but rather identified himself as an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin and as a former Pharisee (Philippians 3:5).
The Pharisees were one of the four major political parties that came into to being after the Hasmoneans claimed the position of High Priest, around 150 BCE. They were the largest party and had great influence over the Ioudaioi on issues of religion; they accepted the Tanakh and oral Torah as necessities to be followed (H 301). In addition to being a Pharisee...
... middle of paper ...
...rdance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures”.
On the road to Damascus, Paul received a calling to become “an instrument whom [YHWH] chose to bring my name before Gentiles [ethne or “nations”] and kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). The Ioudaioi or Judeans would be considered as part of the people of Israel. Therefore, Paul had the responsibility to persuade the Ioudaioi that justice and salvation come about through Jesus Christ alone (Romans 5:12-21). A lot of the Ioudaioi believed that justice is obtained through following nomos or “law or custom”. Paul debated with the Ioudaioi in order to successfully persuade them to believe his viewpoint. This was done by means of his three missionary trips (H G-33) and by him writing letters to the ekklesia in various cities.
After his conversion to Christianity, Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire and preached the Gospel, similar to Jesus’ own ministry across Galilee. Paul’s teachings were more focused on the community and the relationships of its members with each other and with non-Christians, whereas Jesus’ teachings were geared towards the individual and his/her personal relationship to God. Despite this discrepancy in their doctrines, Paul’s teachings remain consistent with those of Jesus. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul’s teachings, such as unity in the community and love for others, echo the teachings of Jesus as depicted in the Gospel of Mark and Matthew. Paul essentially reiterates the teachings of Jesus, and applies them to the lives of the people he preaches to, so that they may understand Jesus’ teachings and embrace Christianity.
Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the “Spirit”; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Paul, also known as Saul, was an apostle of God who wrote the book of Ephesians and was sent to set up churches for Him. He changed his name from Saul to Paul because he wanted to start his life over, follow God, and live for Him. He wanted to start over because he was known as a man who persecuted Christians. Saul did not even notice he was doing wrong until he started to reach Damascus and a voice yelled from the Heavens saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul answered back, “Who are you, Lord?” then the Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But, rise and enter the city, and you will be told what to do.” For three days Saul was made blind by Jesus and did not eat or drink. Then, Ananias walked into where Saul was staying and restored his sight, something like scales fell off his eyes and he could see. After being in Damascus with the disciples he proclaimed that Jesus is the one true God. Then, he fled to Jerusalem where he joined the disciples with the help of Barnabas, changed his name to Paul and became a missionary to Christ. He set out on three missionary journeys where on his third, he was put under house arrest in Rome for two years where he wrote the book of Ephesians. After his release, he left, went to Spain, and was eventually persecuted and martyred by Nero.
The historical cultural situation of the writer and his audience is that in this time Paul is preaching to Ephesus, and that the audience are mostly gentiles. Pauls original name was Saul, and he was an apostle who spoke the Gospel of God, to the 1st century audience/world. The author is much undeinfed, but most have found that it can be paul, and little say it was a follower of paul. His background was personally chosen by God. Gods best messeng...
Who is Judas? Judas is known for many things. Although, Judas is best known for betraying Jesus. This is the main act that Judas is connected with. The Bible does not really touch on the history of Judas. Judas’ background is not well known to many and those who do have an idea of his background gained from interpreting.
The Pharisees came into existence as a class in the third century BCE. They lived very simple lives and didn't believe in the ideas of luxury. After exile, Israel abandoned the ideas of a monarchical government and the Pharisees created a community of half state, half church. They believed very much in free will and the ability of a man to direct the course of his own life, but at the same time, they believe strongly in divine guidance. For them it was the combination of these two things, which enables a man to choose between good and evil. They believed that these paths of good and evil would be rewarded or punished in the afterlife. Along with this idea of the afterlife came their belief in the eternal soul.
Paul the Apostle, was a famous preacher of first century Christianity and was God’s tool used to spread the light of the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul is credited fir having written many books in the New Testament of the Bible. He was born an Israelite to a clan of the tribe of Benjamin, speaking the Aramaic and Hebrew tongues from infancy. He was an enthusiastic student and a stringent devotee of the Torah. He was the man that later had a peculiar meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ while on the road to Damascus. His life and duty were considerably altered and in turn eventually changed the course of the development of Western Civilization and culture.
Paul believes that he was tricked into joining the army and fighting in the war. This makes him very bitter towards the people who lied to him. This is why he lost his respect and trust towards the society. Teachers and parents were the big catalysts for the ki...
In 63 B.C. Roman power spread to Judea, the Jewish homeland. At the time King Herod was the ruler of Judea, he accepted Roman rule and angered many Jews by doing so. After the death of Herod many Jews revolted against Roman rule for 10 years. At this time there were two main factions of Jews, one group, the Zealots wanted to rid Judea of Roman influence. The other group was waiting for a messiah as scripture had prophetized. The Messiah, or Savior would restore the kingdom to the Jews.
Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.
As you can see, the Pharisees and Sadducees were important long ago, but are not present today because of the fall of Jerusalem. Pharisees believed in the resurrection, but Sadducees did not. This was just one of the many difference, but there was one similarity of these two groups, and that was that their main goal was to kill and destroy
on the cross for man's sins. On the third day He rose from the grave, proving
I will now discuss some common inter-religious points of contention. Christians and Jews share much in common, with heritage chief among them. Both Christians and Jews long for God to fulfill prophecies found within the Tanakh. However, interpretations of these prophecies has created a large gap between the two religions. The primary issue being the core belief in Christianity that Jesus of Nazareth is the prophesied Messiah.
The Pharisees often referred to as the as the separate ones in they way of ceremonial, and disparaging sense. Was the largest group out of the three in the time of Herod the great their number of followers was around six thousand. The Pharisees were known for being politically correct. When they would pray they would be more concerned about the people who was seeing them, and hearing them then actually worshiping they had very strict, and stern beliefs. Some of these were in the form of dietary restrictions, observance of the Sabbath. Some of these customs are still observed to certain degree in today’s time. They’re many religions that still practice dietary restrictions an example is the Eastern Orthodox Christianity who have restrictions on Meat
The beginnings of my life are an interesting jumble, and they highlight the cosmopolitan world that was the Roman Empire. I was born in an Asian city now located on the southern coast of Turkey called Tarsus in about the year 10. My parents were Jewish, presumably strict Pharisees. They were also Roman citizens.