Questions tagged [paul-apostle]
The Apostle Paul was the writer of many Epistles in the New Testament. He brought the Gospel to the Gentiles.
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Why don't many churches obey Paul's command that women must be silent in church? [closed]
In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul says that women must be silent in churches and ask questions to their husbands when they get home:
Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak,...
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How do traditional Christians defend the teaching that Paul is an authentic apostle?
I want to preface this by saying I don't believe Paul was a false Apostle. I must either view his Apostleship as authentic, or throw away everything I believe. Removing Paul's writings and influence ...
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What is "new" in the New Perspective on Paul?
What specially is new and different in the "New Perspective on Paul" movement? How can the differences to the "old" perspective be summarized?
Note: Please don't make this question about defending ...
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Are Paul's letters to be taken as God's word? [closed]
Sometimes, as I read the bible or listen to a speaker in church, I can't help but feel that while Paul's letters are full of well-grounded Christian wisdom and advice, they can also contain what seems ...
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Did Paul write the Epistle to the Hebrews?
The authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is an open question. The common scholarly opinion is that the author certainly wasn't Paul.
Most modern Bible translations make no mention of the author, ...
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According to those holding that Jesus was literally born of a virgin, why did Paul not mention it?
Matthew and Luke each open with an account of Jesus' miraculous virginal conception and birth. The virgin birth is widely seen as an essential belief in Christianity, being found for example in the ...
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Did Paul preach Jesus's message?
In the four Gospels, Jesus seems to talk a lot about the Law, about how to behave, about "the Kingdom" and how to restore social order. It doesn't seem like he talks about what Paul talks about: grace,...
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Why does Paul call Peter "Cephas" in his writings?
In John 1:42 Jesus called Peter as Cephas.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
But throughout the Gospels, ...
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What is the evidence that suggests that the Apostle Paul was married?
I have heard people say over the years that it is likely that the Apostle Paul had been married at some point, perhaps prior to his conversion. However, there doesn't seem to be any biblical evidence ...
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What evidence is there that the Apostle Paul had been a member of the Sanhedrin?
I remember hearing someone make the claim that Paul had been a member of the Sanhedrin prior to his conversion to Christianity. Is there any evidence for this claim? If so, what is it?
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Scholarly discussion of claims that Paul is a "false apostle"
There is a claim in some circles that Paul is a "false apostle", creating a new religion from whole cloth. I fear trying to flesh out any one particular version of such a claim, but one such example ...
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Why did Paul say "I am pure from the blood of all men"?
In Acts 20 Paul is saying his farewell to the elders of Ephesus. He is bringing to their memory the manner, in which he had spent all that time with them - in humility (Acts 20:19).
Then he says:
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Why did Clement and Eusebius believe that Paul was married?
In an answer to a related question (What is the evidence that suggests that the Apostle Paul was married?), I encountered the following quote from Eusebius:
Clement, indeed, whose words we have ...
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What does Paul mean by "Love believes all things?" [closed]
In 1 Corinthians Paul says
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV)
This has long puzzled me from a couple of angles.
First, ...
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Did Paul write other letters that are not in the Bible?
I've heard it said that Paul wrote other letters that didn't make it into the Bible, including at least one more letter to the church at Corinth, and a letter to the church at Laodicea. What is the ...
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Is it hypocritical for Paul to circumcise Timothy in Act 16:3? [closed]
Acts 16:1-3 (NASB)
1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well ...
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In evangelicalism, how are Christians free from sin?
The gist of Romans 6 is that as Christians, we are dead to sin, and thus free from it. We are no longer slaves to sin, but are slaves to God and righteousness.
Romans 6:16–18 (ESV)
16 Do ...
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Is 1 Corinthians 7:26–40 not the 'Word of God'? [closed]
Paul makes it clear that the following section is not a command from God but his own opinion:
Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the ...
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Who was the 12th Apostle - Matthias or Paul? [closed]
First off, a distinction between disciple and apostle - a disciple is a student, and the 12 disciples were Jesus' students. An Apostle is one who was "sent out." Eleven of Jesus' disciples were sent ...
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How many languages did apostle Paul speak?
Of course, he could speak Hebrew and from such examples like preaching the gospel in Athens it seems that he had no problem speaking Greek. He also wanted to visit Rome, while there were no Jews ...
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Are there any churches that do not accept the teachings of Paul?
From different discussions (including some on this site) it seems that Paul's teachings were different from the teachings of Jesus and the other apostles in some aspects. In light of this are there ...
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How would they know if Timothy was circumcised or not?
During Paul's second missionary journey, he meets Timothy and wants to take him along on the rest of his journey. The Bible makes a special point about Timothy being circumcised to avoid offending ...
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Why did Paul go to Arabia?
In the first chapter of Galatians, paul said,
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
After he his ...
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Is there a 'Third Heaven'?
2 Corinthians 12:2-4 (New International Version)
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the
third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not
know—...
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What arguments are given that Ephesians was not written by Paul?
According to the opening paragraph of the article for the Book of Ephesians on Wikipedia, it is not universally held that Ephesians was written by Paul. A source on that site says,
Hoehner surveys ...
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What is the basis for arguing that Paul should have been selected as the 12th apostle instead of Matthias?
Commentators on the story of Acts 1:15–26, where the Apostles select Matthias to replace Judas as the 12th apostle, often say vague things like:
Some have held that the choice of Matthias was ...
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Paul's analysis of Abraham's "offspring(s)" in Galatians 3 [closed]
In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he talks about (among other things) how God's promise to Abraham was fulfilled in Christ. Galatians 3:16 reads (in the NRSV; other translations may say "seed&...
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What does it mean that all scripture is God-Breathed?
In 2 Tim 3:16, Paul writes
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness (NIV)
All Scripture is breathed out by God and ...
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Did any of the Apostolic Fathers know Paul?
Is there any extra-biblical written evidence that any of the Apostolic Fathers (i.e., the early Christian theologians of the 1st and 2nd centuries) knew the Apostle Paul? If so, what is the written ...
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Where did the belief that Saul fell from a horse come from?
Many people (especially Catholics; I don't know about others, but some say that Protestants usually don't believe this) think that Saul/Paul fell from a horse at the moment of his conversion, perhaps ...
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Which tribe did Paul belong to?
I came across below two verses when I am reading through my bible(Telugu language).
To me, these two statements seem to contradict each other:
Acts 21: 29
But Paul said, "I am a man who am a ...
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Why is Saint Paul considered gnostic? (by some)
I read that these verses (over other texts that are clearly gnostic but not attributed as such) are considered gnostic:
ST. PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS - Third letter
For our wrestling is not against ...
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Who was the Egyptian that led the revolt of the Assassins in Acts 21?
When Paul was arrested in Jerusalem he was mistaken for an anarchist Egyptian:
Acts 21:37-38 ESV As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to ...
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How much did Paul's travels cost?
The Apostle Paul famously made an extensive series of missionary journeys around the eastern Mediterranean (in various company, and stopping off in some places for months or years, also getting ...
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Why don’t the apostles quote Jesus or reference any gospel events? [closed]
For somebody like Paul, it can perhaps be justified by the fact that the synoptics weren’t written yet, but that doesn’t explain why James and Peter barely reference any of the events or teachings in ...
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When Paul says "I don't allow women to teach" why is this read as an instruction?
The famous verse 1 Timothy 2:12 is widely referenced in discussions regarding women church leaders:
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she
must be silent.
My specific ...
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Why was Paul allowed to write in jail?
We know that Paul was held under some brutal conditions—his feet in stocks in one case. Yet he was still able to write many letters from prison. Was this during some of his "nicer accommodations", or ...
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How do Evangelicals explain when Paul writes "I, not the Lord"?
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7:10 (NKJV):
Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband
In verse 12 Paul writes:
But to the rest I, not the ...
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Why was the Apostle Paul seemingly not that interested in baptizing believers? [closed]
Paul does not seem to put the same importance on baptism as he does on other things:
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of ...
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What was Paul's "revelation" (mentioned in Galatians 2:2)?
Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I ...
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What is the significance of the 5 "faithful sayings" of Paul?
Throughout the epistles written by Paul to Timothy and Titus, he mentions 5 different "sayings" which he describes as "faithful" or "true". These 5 sayings are in:
1 Timothy 1:15-17
1 Timothy 3:1
1 ...
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How was Saul changed to Paul?
Acts 13:9 (NIV) Then Saul, who was also called Paul, .....
This verse does not explain much how Saul became Paul. Who changed his name? Why was it changed?
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What is the "veil" that covers the heart when the Old Testament is read? [closed]
2 Corinthians 3:13-18 (NIV)
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent
the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their
minds were made dull, ...
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How does the Hebrew Roots movement handle Paul's statements which imply Christians should not be enslaved to the Jewish Law?
My understanding of the Hebrew Roots movement is that they celebrate feast days and more closely resemble Jewish traditions rather than "Christian" ones. For example, most Christians would celebrate ...
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According to Catholicism, did St. Paul believe that end of the world was imminent?
We read at 1 Cor 7: 29-31 (NRSVCE) :
I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as ...
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What was Paul referring to by the "thorn in the flesh"?
In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul references a thorn was given to him in the flesh:
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in ...
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What is the basis for the position that only Paul's writings are applicable to the church today?
In mid-Acts dispensationalism (a form of hyperdispensationalism), it is taught that only Paul's writings (from Romans to Philemon) are applicable to the church today and that the other parts of the ...
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Is there is any external source about Demas, Paul's fellow worker?
Demas appears at Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24 as a fellow worker of Paul's ministry, and maybe as Luke's partner like Mark was Aristharcus partner.
But in 2 Timothy 4:10 he appears having ...
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Is Paul making an oath in Galatians 1?
Several times in the New Testament, we are told not to make oaths but to make simple statements of affirmation or denial. For example...
Matthew 5:33-37 (NIV)
33 “Again, ...
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What is the framework and concise definition of the New Perspective on Paul? [duplicate]
Can you list a simple matrix of the old and new views on the Perspective on Paul from the viewpoint of vetted and at least modestly accepted details based on the New Perspective of Paul?
I'm not as ...
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