Paul the Apostle Biography

Paul the Apostle	Saul of Tarsus Born: 0010-00-00 Birthplace: Tarsus Died: 0067-06-29 Location of Death: Rome Cause of Death: Execution Race: Middle Eastern Religion: Christian Field: Religion Famous for: Apostle to the Gentiles
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Paul the Apostle was, together with Saint Peter, the most notable of Early Christian missionaries. Unlike the Twelve Apostles, Paul did not know Jesus in life; he came to faith through a vision of the risen Jesus (1Corinthians 15:8–9) and stressed that his apostolic authority was based on his vision. As he wrote, he "received it [the Gospel] by revelation from Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11–12); according to Acts, his conversion took place as he was traveling the road to Damascus.

Paul wrote several letters (epistles) to various churches. These epistles were circulated within the Christian community, they were prominent in the first New Testament canon ever proposed (by Marcion), and they were eventually included in the orthodox Christian canon. They are the earliest-written books of the New Testament.

Paul's influence on Christian thinking has, arguably, been more significant than any other single New Testament author. His influence on the main strands of Christian thought has been massive: from St. Augustine of Hippo to the controversies between Gottschalk and Hincmar of Reims; between Thomism and Molinism; Martin Luther, John Calvin and the Arminians; to Jansenism and the Jesuit theologians, and even to the German church of the twentieth century through the writings of the scholar Karl Barth, whose commentary on the Letter to the Romans had a political as well as theological impact.