This article is the first in a seven-part series exploring the historical, literary, and theological reality of the Apostle Paul. Relying on modern historical-critical scholarship, this series will unpack who Paul was, what his core ideas were, and provide a synopsis of every letter attributed to him in the New Testament, including the pseudepigraphical works. Part 1 focuses on the historical identity of Paul and how scholars reconstruct his life.

If one wishes to understand the origins of the Christian movement, one must grapple with Paul. For nearly two thousand years, his writings have shaped Western theology, ethics, and philosophy. Yet, reconstructing the historical man requires a careful sorting of ancient sources and a willingness to step outside traditional religious assumptions.

Historically, the New Testament provides two primary lenses through which to view Paul: his own letters and the Acts of the Apostles. When historical-critical scholars reconstruct Paul’s life, they do not treat these sources equally.

The Acts of the Apostles was written by the author of the Gospel of Luke decades after Paul’s death. While it contains valuable historical memories, it is fundamentally a theological narrative designed to smooth over early church conflicts. Therefore, modern scholars prioritize Paul’s undisputed letters (the seven letters universally agreed to have been written by him). Autobiographical primary sources, written in the heat of the moment, hold far more historical weight than later, idealized biographies.

From his own pen, a distinct and complex profile emerges.

The Diaspora Pharisee

Paul (also known by his Jewish name, Saul) was not a rustic fisherman from Galilee like Peter or John. He was a Greek-speaking Diaspora Jew, born into the wider, cosmopolitan Greco-Roman world.

He was highly educated, writing in sophisticated, rhetorically trained Greek. He was also intimately familiar with the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Most importantly, Paul explicitly identifies himself as a Pharisee. In the first century, the Pharisees were a sect of Judaism known for their rigorous, meticulous adherence to the Torah (the Jewish Law). Paul was deeply proud of his heritage, later writing that concerning the righteousness of the Law, he was “blameless.”

The Zealous Persecutor

Initially, Paul was a violent opponent of the early Jesus movement. For a zealous Pharisee, the message of the early church was not just incorrect; it was deeply offensive.

The early followers of Jesus were claiming that a man who had been executed by the Roman Empire on a cross—the most humiliating, cursed death imaginable—was the Jewish Messiah. To Paul, this was a blasphemous stumbling block. In his letter to the Galatians, he admits that he fiercely persecuted the “church of God” and tried to destroy it, likely believing he was defending the purity of Judaism from a dangerous heresy.

The Revelation (Not a Conversion)

Everything changed for Paul roughly around 33 CE. According to his own letters, he experienced a dramatic, life-altering event.

In popular culture, this is often called Paul’s “conversion” on the road to Damascus. However, historical-critical scholars, beginning largely with Krister Stendahl in the 20th century, argue that “conversion” is the wrong word.

To convert implies leaving one religion for another. In the 30s CE, “Christianity” did not exist as a separate religion; it was merely a small, controversial sect within Judaism. Paul never believed he was leaving Judaism, nor did he believe he was starting a new world religion.

Instead of a conversion, Paul describes his experience as an apokalypsis—a revelation. He believed he had a visionary, prophetic encounter with the resurrected Jesus. Paul understood this event in the exact same terms as the calling of the ancient Hebrew prophets like Isaiah or Jeremiah. God had revealed the resurrected Messiah to him for a specific, urgent purpose: to take the message of Israel’s God to the non-Jewish world (the Gentiles).

From that moment on, the fierce Pharisee transformed into the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” dedicating the rest of his life to traveling the Mediterranean, founding communities, and writing the letters that would eventually become the foundation of the New Testament.

This concludes Part 1/7 of this series. In Part 2 of “The Historical Paul: Life, Letters, and Legacy,” we will dive into Paul’s core theological ideas, exploring his urgent apocalyptic worldview and his highly controversial arguments regarding the Jewish Law and Gentile inclusion.