Paul the Apostle

Paul was a first-century Jewish apostle and missionary whose letters to early Christian communities shaped Christian theology and became part of the New Testament.

Second Temple Judaism: The diverse Jewish religious and cultural world from the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple around 516 BCE until its destruction in 70 CE. Paul’s scriptures, identity, and debates emerged within this Jewish world.
Pauline mission: Paul’s efforts to establish and support Christian communities, especially among non-Jews, across the eastern Roman Empire. Travel and community-building were the practical center of Paul’s work.
Barnabas: An early Christian leader from Cyprus who supported Paul and joined him on an initial missionary journey. Barnabas helped introduce Paul to Christian leaders and partnered with him in mission.
Letter to the Galatians: A Pauline letter arguing that Gentile believers need not adopt circumcision and the Mosaic law to belong to Christ. It presents Paul’s sharpest defense of his Gentile mission and gospel.
Justification by faith: A Christian theological account in which people are set right with God through faith rather than earning that standing through works. Paul’s arguments about faith and law became foundational texts for this doctrine.
Damascus Road experience: The revelatory encounter with Jesus that Paul describes as transforming him from persecutor into apostle. Paul grounded his apostolic calling in this encounter.
Ancient Roman roads: The network of engineered routes that connected cities and territories across the Roman Empire. Overland routes linked the cities where Paul founded or visited communities.
Silas: A leading member of the Jerusalem church who joined Paul on a major missionary journey. Silas appears with Paul in the founding and support of several communities.
First Epistle to the Corinthians: A letter addressing divisions, worship, ethics, and resurrection in the Christian community at Corinth. Its practical disputes show Paul applying theology to a divided congregation.
Original sin: A doctrine that humanity inherits a condition of sin or alienation associated with Adam’s transgression. Later theologians developed this doctrine through influential readings of Paul’s account of Adam.

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