1. St Paul of TarsusRevision or What you should know already!

2. What you should know already Paul was originally Saul born in Tarsus Paul was Jewish, with a Roman education Paul (Saul) witnessed the stoning of Stephen Paul (Saul) persecuted the Christians waszealous in his attacks Paul had an experience on the road toDamascus (Acts 9:1-19) 3. What you should know already Because of the experience, Paul received faithin Jesus Paul was baptised Began preaching to the Jews causing greatcontroversy Early Christian friend Barnabus looked afterhim and made a base in Antioch 4. What you should know already In the early years, Paul made enemies ofeveryone: Jews, Greeks, Romans 3 missionary journeys All started in Antioch All ended in Jerusalem Major cities tour Began in synagogues and later establishedChurches in home 5. What you should know already The letters (Epistles) Good summary at http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/NT_Overviews.htm Written to explain, encourage, praise, admonish, plan, teach 6. What you should already know Major themes Without Christ, humans fall into evil Truth of the Life, Death and Resurrection Faith in Christ = Salvation Universal church Repentance and preparation for the judgement Christ human and divine Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 3:13) 7. What you should already know Major themes Pre-existence, historical existence and glorifiedexistence as three facets of Christ Christs crucifixion as a universal sacrifice for sin Sexual purity The last things (which he believed were imminent) Trinity Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier agape selfless love demonstrated by Jesus 8. What you should already know Historical Significance Spread the news of Jesus Established strong communities and leaders Explained the Messianic role of Christ to Jews Explained the salvific role of Christ to Gentiles Bridged the gap between Jews and Gentiles Gave direction and motivation to the early church 9. What you should know already Contribution to Christianity Turned an experience into a theology Created a roadmap for a universal church Articulated the New Law (post-Mosaic) Removed barriers to faith Emphasised faith over ritual Created an ethical framework for Christianity because Jesus dies for us, we must.