Who Is Paul?

Thesis Statement

“The Acts of the Apostles has been studied in depth as contains information about certain aspects of life in the 1st century for which there is little correlative evidence".

Introduction

Acts of the Apostles, written after 65 A.D, provides insightful evidence into the growth of the most important religion in the western world, Christianity. It recounts events that took place during the Apostle Paul's journeys. Developments to Christianity were another reason why historians believe Acts to be so important. F.F Bruce argues "that acts were conceived as a history of the origins of Christianity, covering the first sixty years of its existence" From previous studies it is known that Acts is full of references to certain Aspects of life in the 1st Century A.D. It provides references to such things as legal proceedings, commercial activities, religious allegiances and social structures. The most characteristic feature of events recorded is the trouble Paul has with the Jewish community. This is shown in every city mentioned. Robert Banks believes that "utilisation of it (acts) helps us to fill in certain gaps in our knowledge of such matters as well as strengthen conclusions and confirm speculations based on other literary and archaeological sources”. In my essay, the life and society will be examined in the four cities of Ephesus, Caesarea, Antioch and Corinth (Bird, 1985, 159-496).

Paul

Undoubtedly, Paul has made a great contribution to the Christian religion and its system. Through his letters he dismantled the old Jewish system and established a new but not entirely new one. Paul made a radical interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures rethinking the Jewish system. Instead of the old system of law and works, Paul believed in the mew system of Christ and faith. In Galatians 3 Paul uses Abraham who is in the Old Testament the father of all the Jews but did not follow the law as there was no law written yet when he lived, to prove that the law is not necessary. He believed that what is indeed important is faith which will help people get the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3: 1 - 5). Likewise, by using the Habakkuk 2: 4 where is says the righteous do not live by being greedy, Paul says the righteous do not need to live by the law. However, it has nothing to do with the law.

Historical Background

When looking at Acts, the historical Accuracy can also be questioned. Historians such as R.A Kearsley have claimed that there are many "questions that cry out to the imagination" . W.A Meeks holds similar views. He suggests "Acts was written a generation later than Paul's letters and depends on traditions that may have been distorted by time and accidents of transmission". David W.J Gill argues against this comment; "Such a view...is itself unnecessary". These Historians, (excluding D.W.J Gill) believe that the writings within Acts could be made up of false events because the book was written after the time in which it was concerned. On the contrary, ...