Paul the Apostle

Paul the Apostle (<a title="Greek language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language">Greek</a>: Παῦλος Paulos; c. 5 – c. 67), original name Saul of Tarsus (<a title="Greek language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language">Greek</a>: Σαῦλος Saulos),<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-4">[4]</a> was an <a title="Apostle (Christian)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle(Christian)">apostle</a> (though not one of the <a title="Twelve Apostles" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Apostles">Twelve Apostles</a>) who taught the <a title="Good News (Christianity)" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_News(Christianity)">gospel of Christ</a> to the <a title="Christianity in the 1st century" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_1st_century">first-century world</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-Powell-5">[5]</a> He is generally considered one of the most important figures of the <a title="Apostolic Age" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Age">Apostolic Age</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-Sanders2-6">[6]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-McDonald-7">[7]</a> In the mid-30s to the mid-50s, he founded several churches in <a title="Early centers of Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_centers_of_Christianity">Asia Minor and Europe</a>. Paul used his status as both a <a title="Jew" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew">Jew</a> and a <a title="Roman citizen" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_citizen">Roman citizen</a> to advantage in his ministry to both Jewish and Roman audiences.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-Powell-5">[5]</a>

Fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the <a title="New Testament" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament">New Testament</a> have traditionally been attributed to Paul, and approximately half of the <a title="Acts of the Apostles" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_the_Apostles">Acts of the Apostles</a> deals with Paul's life and works. Seven of the <a title="Pauline epistles" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_epistles">epistles</a> are undisputed by scholars as being <a title="Authorship of the Pauline epistles" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorship_of_the_Pauline_epistles">authentic</a>, with varying degrees of argument about the remainder. The Pauline authorship of <a title="Hebrews" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrews">Hebrews</a>, already doubted in the 2nd and 3rd centuries <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-8">[8]</a> but almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th to the 16th centuries,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-9">[9]</a> is now almost universally rejected by scholars.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-10">[10]</a> The other six are believed by some scholars to have come from followers writing in his name, using material from Paul's surviving letters and letters written by him that no longer survive.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-Powell-5">[5]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-Sanders2-6">[6]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-11">[11]</a> Other scholars argue that the idea of a pseudonymous author for the disputed epistles raises many problems.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-CarsonMoo-12">[12]</a>

Today, his epistles continue to be deeply rooted in the theology, worship, and pastoral life in the Roman and Protestant traditions of the <a title="Western Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Christianity">West</a>, as well as the Orthodox traditions of the <a title="Eastern Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Christianity">East</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-Aageson-13">[13]</a> Among the many other apostles and missionaries involved in the spread of the Christian faith,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-Powell-5">[5]</a> his influence on Christian thought and practice has been characterized as being as "profound as it is pervasive".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-Aageson-13">[13]</a> <a title="Augustine of Hippo" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo">Augustine of Hippo</a> developed Paul's idea that <a title="Salvation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation">salvation</a> is based on <a title="Faith in Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_in_Christianity">faith</a> and not "<a title="New Perspective on Paul" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Perspective_on_Paul#Works_of_the_Law">works of the law</a>".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle#cite_note-ReferenceA-14">[14]</a> <a title="Martin Luther" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther">Martin Luther</a>'s interpretation of <a title="Pauline epistles" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_epistles">Paul's writings</a> heavily influenced Luther's doctrine of <a title="Sola fide" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_fide">sola fide</a>.

Paul the Apostle

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