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Bassler 's Book Navigating Paul Provided Interesting Perspectives On The Well Known Character

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Jouette M. Bassler’s book Navigating Paul provided interesting perspectives on the well-known character. Paul began as a tormentor of the early Christian Church as he believed Jesus to be a fabricated messiah. Paul was a man of the Law (Jewish Torah) and belonged to the Pharisees, a sect of Jews that stringently observed the traditional law of the Jews. Pharisees always saw themselves as superior to other Jews and particularly over Gentiles.

Paul helped this group of Jews put many believers to death and we can see this in the book of Acts. Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, as he was then identified, approved to put Stephen to death by stoning him. Nevertheless, on the way to Damascus Saul of Tarsus finds himself in a life transforming situation. Jesus of Nazareth appears to Saul of Tarsus and changed his life. Saul is no longer! In addition to his spiritual transformation, Saul becomes known as Paul.

At the time Paul penned these letters, he finds himself as a prisoner. Most of the “books” that comprise the New Testament are actually letters. These letters are also known as epistles. These Epistles contain both conventional Christian teaching and specific instructions for the congregation to which they were addressed. Paul is writing his letters from a place of extraordinary suffering. Paul does not reflect the then-common background of suffering and sadness which most did in the early church. He does, however reflect one crucial difference: he

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