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The Apostle Paul And The New Testament

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Writings of the Apostle Paul populate the canon of the New Testament. The rawness and earnestness found within spring from the pages igniting a wonder in the reader of who Paul the Apostle was. Paul went to great lengths to spread the name of Jesus and one cheers anxiously from the sideline waiting to see if he ever gets the upper hand. Attacked, insulted, beaten, discredited, and victimized are just a few adjectives that could describe daily life for Paul. He becomes a model of devotion and fervor to continue the cause. Today, the same occurs in a less physical form. An abundance of scholarship of Paul exists at the tip of any pupil’s hand. However, seemly, many authors do Paul a disservice by misinterpreting his teachings or marketing a …show more content…

Yet, it will suffice to say this simply does not get to the root of interpretation according to Wright and he discredits both. he goes a step further by saying that at the center of Paul’s writings is Jesus (Wright, 11-25). It is that simple. Analysis of Paul’s ‘Jewish’ state of mind prior to his conversion is important to note before one reaches Wright’s conclusion. Paul, Saul of Tarsus at this point, “was not interested in a timeless system of salvation, whether of works-righteousness or anything else. He wanted God to redeem Israel” (pp. 32). He, like other Jews, desired to see their God, Yahweh, finally fulfilling his promise of raising all Jews to the new Israel, or new world. He was ‘zealous’ for God, but as one can see, he was zealous in the wrong manner. Following the story in Acts, Saul is drastically converted on the road to Damascus. Paul claims to have seen Jesus in this drastic divine occurrence. This is of utmost importance. Once Saul saw the resurrected Jesus it was not that he lost his Jewish heritage, but there is now a cognitive understanding that “God had done for Jesus of Nazareth, in the middle of time, what Saul had thought he was going to do for Israel at the end of time” (pp. 36). Thus, there is a realization that Jesus was the intercessor for God’s promise, the one who took on the curse of Israel. The resurrection proves that the claims by Jesus’ followers were indeed right. Now it is

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