Who was Saint Paul?
A: Saint Paul was a Christian apostle who spread the teachings of
Jesus in
the first-century world.
He is generally regarded as one of the most important
figures of what?
A: The Apostolic Age.
When did he found several Christian communities in Asia
Minor and Europe?
A: From the mid-40s to the mid-50s AD.
According to the New Testament book Acts of the
Apostles, Paul was a what?
A: A Pharisee.
He participated in the persecution of early what?
A: Disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem, prior to his conversion.
Some time after having approved of the execution of
Stephen, Paul was traveling on the road to Damascus so that he might find
what?
A: Any Christians there and bring them "bound to Jerusalem".
At midday, a light brighter than the sun shone around
both him and those with him, causing all to what?
A: Fall to the ground, with the risen Christ verbally addressing Paul
regarding his persecution.
Having been made blind, along with being commanded to
enter the city, his sight was what?
A: Restored three days later by Ananias of Damascus.
After these events, Paul was what?
A: Baptized, beginning immediately to proclaim that Jesus of Nazareth was
the Jewish messiah and the Son of God.
Approximately half of the content in the book of Acts
details what?
A: The life and works of Paul.
How many of the 27 books in the New Testament have
traditionally been attributed to Paul?
A: Fourteen.
Seven of the Pauline epistles are undisputed by
scholars as being what?
A: Authentic, with varying degrees of argument about the remainder.
It was almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th to
the 16th centuries that Paul was the author of what?
A: Hebrews, but that view is now almost universally rejected by scholars.
The other six are believed by some scholars to have
come from whom?
A: Followers writing in his name, using material from Paul's surviving
letters and letters written by him that no longer survive.
Today, Paul's epistles continue to be vital roots of
the theology, worship and pastoral life in what?
A: The Latin and Protestant traditions of the West, as well as the Eastern
Catholic and Orthodox traditions of the East.
Paul's influence on Christian thought and practice has
been characterized as being what?
A: As "profound as it is pervasive", among that of many other apostles and
missionaries involved in the spread of the Christian faith.
What was Paul's Jewish name?
A: "Saul", perhaps after the biblical King Saul, the first king of Israel
and like Paul a member of the Tribe of Benjamin.
Latin name Paul, meaning small, was not a result of his
conversion as it is commonly believed but what?
A: A second name for use in communicating with a Greco-Roman audience.
According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was a what?
A: A Roman citizen.
It was typical for the Jews of that time to have two
names: one Hebrew, the other what?
A: Latin or Greek.
Jesus called him "Saul, Saul" in "the Hebrew tongue" in
the Acts of the Apostles, when he had what?
A: The vision which led to his conversion on the road to Damascus.
Later, in a vision to Ananias of Damascus, "the Lord"
referred to him as what?
A: "Saul, of Tarsus".
When Ananias came to restore his sight, he called him
what?
A: "Brother Saul".