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Paul
Nature
- Saul of Tarsus was the greatest missionary of early
Christianity. He was the first Christian interpreter and the 1st
New Testament writer.
- Saul was totally dedicated to Judaism and the beliefs central
to this religion. He was well educated in the law and was so
committed that he believed that any threat to Judaisms
integrity should be removed. He set out to remove the threat
he saw coming from the followers of Jesus
- Saul was a Hellenistic Jew of the Diaspora and a citizen of
Rome. He was a Pharisee and had never met Jesus but he had
an extraordinary conversion experience of Jesus on the road to
Damascus (Acts 9:3-9).
- Saul was his Jewish name, and Paul was his Roman name.
- Paul came to realise that Jesus was the authentic way to
salvation. He dedicated his life to spreading the good news of
Jesus throughout Asia Minor and Greece.
Role
Role
Apostle to the
Gentiles
Missionary
Meaning
- Realisation that
Salvation was
not the
privilege of
Jews alone.
Jesus brought
salvation for all
- Paul believed
this was for all
people, not just
confined to an
ethnic group
- Pauls
apostleship to
the Gentiles is
confirmed by
the Council of
Jerusalem in 49
CE
-
Paul was an
active teacher,
Evidence
First Christian
theologian
Author
but he doesnt
directly refer to
himself as one.
He refers to
himself as a
builder, envoy,
father or nurse
- Paul believed
he had a divine
mission to
preach
- His 3 journeys
expanded
Christianity in
the
Mediterranean
- Travelled to a
town, forming a
strong nucleus
of Christians
before moving
on to another
town
Is considered the 1st
interpreter of
Christianity. His
teachings centre
around:
- Christ is
crucified and
risen
- Gods grace
- Justification by
faith
- The Church as
the body of
Christ
- Love as the
new law
- Ethics and
Moral
behaviour (esp.
sexual
morality)
- He wrote his
letters before
the Gospels
were writtenaround 49-60
1 Cor 15:12-20
Phil 2:5-11
Rom 8:14-17
Rom 3:27-31
Eph 4:31-32; Col 1:24
1 Cor 13:1-13
1 Cor 12:12-30
Second Founder
CE; Marks
gospel was
written c. 70
CE
- Due to this, his
letters were
based around
foundation
beliefs and
were for all
members of
the community
- Were written to
encourage,
correct errors,
guide and
clarify Christian
teaching
- Each letter was
written with a
specific
purpose
Due to Pauls
development of
Christianity, he is
considered by many
as the second
founder
Importance
Pauls importance can be divided into 2 areas: the immediate
influence and the macro influence
Immediate influence
Influence
Pauls journeys energised and
consolidated the local churches
Pauls role at the Council of
Jerusalem extended Christianity
to the Gentiles
Macro Influence
Description
Pauls journeys illustrate his
vision for the Church
Paul understood that the
meaning of Jesus for the lives of
Christians meant that it was
more than a Jewish sect. He saw
the gospel of Jesus more
important than keeping Jewish
law. Due to Pauls upbringing, he
still helped to preserve
Christianitys Jewish heritage.
Influence
Pauls 13 letters became sacred
texts of Christianity
Description
These letters demonstrate the
high regard with which Paul and
his beliefs and teachings were
held both in the early church and
throughout the formative years if
the Christian Church
Pauls teachings have impacted:
- 1st century Palestine
- Origen, a biblical scholar of
the 3rd century
- St. Augustine in the 5th
century
- The reformers in the 16th
century
- Modern Christians today
Role
Importance
Theologian
Scholar
Political Activist
Muhammad
authorised Aisha
in his absence to
give religious
advice, telling
Muslims to take
half your religion
from this ruddy
faced woman She
became an
eyewitness to a
number of
revelations
- She possessed
great knowledge
but also was
active in
education and
social reform. She
promoted
education and in
particular,
womens
education.
- Aisha spent her
whole life learning
the Quran and
interpreting them.
She created her
own analysis of
the Quran
highly knowledgeable
and regarded for her
theological studies
(as women were
allowed to publicly,
openly question the
prophet). Good role
model for women
who wanted to be
educated provided
validation for them
Demonstrated
willingness to fight
against the wrong in
the Battle of the
Camel she led men
Her faith was
questioned when she
-
Dorothy Lee
Elisabeth Johnson
Sandra Schneiders
Organisations such as WATAC
(Women & the Australian Church)
Amina Wadud
Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina
Dr. Naheed Angha
Dr. Jamal Badawi
Continuing
Impact
We are inheritors of
Pauls theology
Reformation- disunited
the church. Luther
refers to justification by
faith and Calvin
explained
predestination
Missionary endeavours
in Churches
Pauls teachings give
ethical guidelines for
life
Rituals- Eucharist,
Marriage, FuneralsScriptural quotes used
from Pauls writing
The universality of
Pauls teaching and
some of his writings
are used by some
Feminist Theologians to
argue for greater
inclusion of women in
ministry
Extent &
Significance
of change
Challenge
to the
tradition
Christianity
He debated and
defended the
acceptance of Gentiles
into the Christian group
Pauls teachings
stressed that the life,
death and resurrection
of Jesus had abolished
any differences
between Jew and
Gentile.
Pauls advocacy that
non-Jewish converts
did not have to follow
the law of Moses,
including circumcision,
at a council in
Jerusalem led to an
easier compromise that
enabled Christianity to
spread more widely.
A key feature of his
teachings was that
Christianity was
universal- not elitist
and so gentiles were
included.
Paul had a dramatic
influence on later
Christian thought- his
teaching has impacted
on every era and
aspect of Christianity
e.g. Martin Luther, John
Calvin, Augustine,
Thomas Aquinas.
Muhammads laws,
were said to be
spiritually and
intellectually equal to
men
Aisha changed and
interpreted laws in
order to transform the
emerging Islam.
By doing this, she
rapidly expanded and
grew Islam in the
Middle East. Essentially
by doing this, she
transformed Islam into
a world religion.
Contemporary
Christianity
Islam
- It has challenged the
- Muslim feminists argue
way in which the
that the gap between
Christian churches
what the Quran
have interpreted the
teaches and what
message of Jesus
happens in practise is
caused by cultures
- This interpretation has
that have allowed men
influenced and
to formulate law
directed the practises
according to their
of Christianity
Extent &
Significance
of Change
As it is a fairly new
concept to Islam, it is
difficult to fully
appreciate the extent
and significance of the
change
It has raised
awareness of the
issues involved and
the powerful effect of
culture on a religion
Significantly, it has
broken down barriers
to understanding
between Muslim
feminists and western
feminists.
Interfaith dialogue is
another significant
change e.g. Sr. Pauline
Rae Marist Missionary
sister who started the
Centre for Christian
and Muslim women.