Paul’s Influence on Christianity In the early first century, Saint Paul traveled around the Middle East and surrounding areas to spread Christianity. Although he helped people while he was alive, his legacy and influence still live on today. Many churches are named after Paul, his letters are read in services all around the world, and his own story is responsible for many conversions in people today. Even though he is now known for the great things he did in his life, he did not always aid the Christian cause. Surprisingly, he started out persecuting Christians. He began by killing Christians, but ended up dying for Jesus. He changed his whole way of life just for Christ, which influences people to turn to God. His leadership and …show more content…
His excursions took him all around the eastern Mediterranean (Sanders). Paul believed that his mission and the reason for his vision was to spread Christianity to the Gentiles, then to the Jews (Sanders). As he traveled around and preached, he taught about Jesus’ death and resurrection, and about how He is Lord (Sanders). Although some say he spoke to large crowds, others believe he was not a very skilled public speaker (Sanders). Some experts think he would talk to others while constructing tents, something he was very good at and that did not make much noise, and people would gather around to hear his words (Sanders). The followers of Saint Paul experienced large transformations in their lives (Jewett). They felt spiritually enthusiastic, and had hope that what they spoke would soon be viewed as true …show more content…
He shows us that even the worst sinners can learn to love God with everlasting love, the letters he wrote give us ways to improve ourselves, and he traveled around preaching the word of the Lord. Without Paul, Christianity would not be as developed as it is today. Most likely, Christianity would not have spread all over the world as fast as it did. Eventually, it would have circulated, but with Paul, it expanded at a much more rapid pace. Paul helped transform Christianity into something that is widely spread throughout the world.
Bibliography
Adamowicz, Jason. Personal Interview. 11 April 2017.
Jewett, Robert. "Paul the Apostle." Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed., vol. 10, Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, pp. 7013-7021. go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=munc80314&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3424502385&asid=0a1547c7906a2e4bcdabc5e495176c1e. Accessed 23 March 2017.
Sanders, E. P. "Saint Paul, the Apostle." Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 29 December 2011, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Paul-the-Apostle. Accessed 27 March 2017.
Schaff, Philip. “Paul Before His Conversion.” Bible Hub, Bible Hub, 2004, http://biblehub.com/library/schaff/history_of_the_christian_church_volume_i/section_30_paul_before_his.htm. Accessed 11 April 2017.
“St. Paul.” Catholic Online, Catholic Online, 2017, http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=91. Accessed 11
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.
Ruden, Sarah. Paul among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time. New York: Pantheon, 2010. Print.
Malick, David. "An Introduction to the Gospel of John." (1996): n. pag. Online. Internet. 5 July 2000. Available http://www.bible.org/docs/nt/books/joh/joh-intr.htm
Aquinas, St. Thomas. COMMENTARY on SAINT PAUL'S EPISTLE to the GALATIANS. Trans. F. R. Larcher. Albany: Magi Books, 1996.
Bacchus, Francis Joseph. “St. Paul the Hermit.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York. Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 5 Apr. 2014
Klein, Franz. "John Paul II Priests." Commonweal 132.14 (2005): 23-25. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 May 2014.
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.
McManners, John. "The Oxford History of Christianity." The Oxford History of Christianity. New York: New York Oxford Press, 2002. 28.
Grayston, Kenneth. The Letters of Paul to the Philippians and to the Thessalonians. CBC. London: Cambridge U.P., 1967.
Schaff, Phillip. History of the Christian Church. Vol. VI, §73. 3rd ed. Edinburgh: Hendrickson, 2006. Web.
Rourke, Nancy. “Christianity Notes.” Religion 101 Notes Christianity. Entry posted April 14, 2011. https ://angel.canisius.edu/section/default.asp?id=43760%5FSpring2011 (accessed April 18, 2011).
• The New International Version Bible Commentary. • Professor Barry D. Smith, The New Testament and Its Context, The Letter of Jude, http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/ntintro/Jude.htm. • Professor Barry D. Smith, The New Testament and Its Context, The Letter of II Peter http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/ntintro/2Pet.htm. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_the_Apostle.
Edwards, James R. The Gospel According to Mark (Pillar New Testament Commentary Series). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001.
During this part of our seminar we will cover Paul's schooling under Gamaliel, the leading scholar in Israel during the first century A.D. This part of Paul's life will describe his eyewitness account of the stoning of Stephen, and his early persecution of the Christian churches.
Today Christians see Christ somewhat through the prism of Paul's teaching. My dear follower, Luke, would write one of the Gospels as well as the Book of Acts. My life was vitally shaped by a dramatic meeting with Christ on the Road to Demascus and it was this drama, coupled with his fervor that would mold Christianity for the next two Millenia.