Reasons For Not Accepting Acts As A Historical Record

Paul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus) is widely considered to be central to the early development and adoption of Christianity. Many Christians view him as an important interpreter of the teachings of Jesus. Little is known of the birth and early childhood of Paul, then known as Saul. It is known in the scriptures that he was born in the city of Tarsus (Acts 22:3) located in the Roman province of Cilicia around the year 5 A.D. Saul left his home during his early adolescence and was taken to Jerusalem for his formal education in the most prominent rabbinical schools of that day. Young Saul had the privilege to be trained by Gamaliel, the most outstanding

According to a study by Brown, the apostle Paul was likely born in approximately 5 to 10 AD which was during the reign of the emperor Augustus . Paul was a melting pot of several different cultures. At the time, the Hellenistic movement was sweeping the Roman empire; thus the Greek and Roman cultures both had their influences on citizens. So, too, Paul’s parents were of Jewish descent; while he was young, they sent him to Jerusalem to study under a Pharisaic instructor . The intermingling of a multiplicity of cultures renders Paul a very diverse teacher.

Statement # 1(From The Cradle, The Cross, and The Crown Chapter 8, Loc 10638 of 28382, 1st Paragraph) “There are several significant human agents, but there is one, and only one, major divine agent underlying the entire plot of the book of Acts: the Holy Spirit. For this reason, rather than identifying the book as presenting the “Acts of the Apostles,” it may be more accurate to say that at its heart are the “Acts of the Holy Spirit.” I believe that the book of Acts is a great depiction of how the Holy Spirit can and will move through dedicated people. Without the Holy Spirit, Paul and all the great men in the book of Acts are just great men.

From what we know about Paul, he was not one of the biggest fans of Christianity before his conversion. Though, as our text recognizes, there isn’t much knowledge of Paul’s life before becoming a follower of Jesus, and much of it is sourced from the Acts. We do know that while Paul was a Jew his name was Saul. Scholars theorize that he was a Jewish missionary. We know that he was raised to be Jewish, and he was a Pharisee. Our textbook elaborates that Saul was, in fact, a very dedicated Jew. He wrote in one of his letters “I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors” (Gal 1:14). Scholar Johnny Awwad goes as far as to suggest that Paul was an apocalyptic

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 more than anyone was responsible for the spread of the Jesus movement into the Gentile world. By the end of the first century Christianity had become an important religious force. Paul while respectful of its Jewish origins moved the Christian faith into a position where it was no longer bound by Jewish law and was able to embrace people of any cultural background. After his own conversion, Paul passionately espoused his message from the Palestinian world through Asia Minor and southern Europe to Rome, the heart of the empire. Some of his letters by Paul to fledgling churches throughout the Roman Empire are contained in the New Testament and outline Paul 's theology. He insisted that Gentiles had as much access to the faith as Jews and that freedom from the Law set everyone free. It was this teaching which was essential for the development and success of the early church which would otherwise have remained another Jewish sect.

A vast portion of the Jews – especially mainstream Jews – never would have accepted the idea of a resurrection or an afterlife. Some Pharisees held a belief in resurrection but nothing on a par with what Paul preached. However, to call a man a god was entirely alien to any kind of Jewish belief. It would have been an utter blasphemy. It is no wonder that Paul was harmed physically and run out of numerous cities as was recounted in Acts, or in Paul’s own

There is not much known about Paul during his early life, but it is known that Paul was originally known as Saul, and that he was zealous for Jewish traditions and he intensely persecuted the followers of Jesus. On the road to damascus, Saul had an encounter with the Lord Jesus, roughly 3

I would agree that the Book of Acts is historically accurate of the early church and its leaders. I think Acts shows great detail about what the early church believed and practiced. Many historians love the book of Acts due to the detailed information that is included in this book. Luke seems to be knowledgeable about culture events that were happening in his era of history that has proven to be accurate. The book of Acts has many different examples that clearly show that Luke was living in this time of history. There is no reason why Acts would not be historically accurate. I would continue to discuss my beliefs about the legitimacy of the Bible. My personal belief is that the Bible is completely historically accurate.

Paul whose name was Saul was an early Christian missionary and theologian, known as the Apostle to the Gentiles was born a Jew in Tarsus, Rome. As a minor, he was trained as a rabbi but earned his living as a tentmaker. A zealous Pharisee, he persecuted the first Christians until a vision of Jesus, experienced while on the road to Damascus, converted him to Christianity. Three years later he met St. Peter and Jesus ' brother James and was henceforth recognized as the 13th Apostle. From his base in Antioch, he traveled widely, preaching to the Gentiles. By asserting that non-Jewish disciples of Christ did not have to observe Jewish law, he helped to establish

Christianity over the course of history has a vast influence on individuals, society and the way believers conduct themselves. It provides morals, practices and ethics that every Christian attempts to live by. Throughout the many denominations in the Christian church, Paul of Tarsus had a significant influence on the faith. His contribution to the development and expression of Christianity is immense and can be seen to stem from his writing and missionary journeys which have implemented his ideas and interpretations onto the development of Christianity. After Jesus, Paul was arguably the most significant figure in Christianity as his teachings form a significant part of the New Testament. Like may other Pharisees of that time in history, Paul sought to suppress the early Christian movement. He accused early Christians of blaspheming against God and breaking Mosaic Law. However, Paul had a life-changing experience when he had a vision of Jesus, and he spent the remainder of his life as a missionary for the early church. Centuries after his ministry, his teachings still influence Christian theology.

This is found by comparing Acts 1:1 with Luke 1:3-4. Acts 1:1: "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen." Luke 1: 3-4: " (3) Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, (4) so that you may know the certainty of things you have been taught." Because Luke's first book was written to Theophilus as was Acts, Luke must be the author of both.

St Paul of Tarsus is a significant figure in Christianity due to his major contributions of writings and letters which form a significant amount of the New Testament. St Paul is considered to be the forefather of Christianity after Jesus. Paul had a major impact on these spread of Christianity through his mission journeys, contributing to the religious traditions and helping expand Jesus’ original teachings. The reason behind Paul being a significant person in Christianity is because he contributed to the development of Christianity.

I believe that Luke wrote the book of Acts to allow Christians to see the early history of the Church. Also, it was the place in the bible where to Holy Spirit arrived. The Holy Spirit is first mentioned when the Lord tells His people that He will send The Holy Spirit soon. Then later after Jesus told them that He was sending the Holy Spirit to guide the disciples, the Holy Spirit came. When the Holy Spirit came the Disciples, they were able to experience God on a whole new level. It allowed them to preach the gospel with much more power because it wasn't them speaking, it was God. Luke's purpose in writing the book of Acts was to make clear of what the early church history looked like and the arrival of the Holy Spirit. It was also written

An examination of the Pauline epistles should begin with an examination of the author. Saul of Tarsus was a Jewish official a Pharisee. Saul was a persecutor of Christians and an eyewitness to the stoning of Steven. “And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.” (Acts 7.58 King James Version) He had a vision on the road to Damascus and was blinded. God sent Ananias to heal Saul of his affliction. God also sent Paul a vision of Ananias to let him know that he would be healed. Paul did not learn the Gospel from other men. He received his knowledge directly from Jesus.