Paul: A Would Be Apostle
Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism can be laid squarely at the feet of Paul the apostle. He was a hellenistic Jew and a mystic who never saw Jesus of Nazareth but, based on a life changing experience, a vision, he took it upon himself to reshape a tradition for which he had minimal sources and no direct experience.
Roman retaliation was swift and brutal. After the failed revolt led by Judas the Galilean, Saul and his family were relocated from Gishala to Tarsus. There he was educated and immersed in hellenistic Judaism, as well as Greek metaphysics and Mystery cults. When he went to Jerusalem as an adult, he zealously persecuted followers of the messianic movement called the Way. However, after a traumatic, mystical experience on his journey to Damascus, his name was changed to Paul, and he became the most vocal advocate of this new sect.
Over the next three years he shaped his own version and meaning of that life and death. He then spent fifteen days in Jerusalem, telling James and Peter his plans to take his �gospel� to the Gentiles, and left for fourteen years of ministry in Syria and Cilicia. Their initial differences were magnified and the break between them acknowledged when he returned for a short visit. By then Paul had rejected the Law, ignored circumcision, and created his own narratives of resurrection, baptism, and eucharist. To this he added the myth of a returning Lord. He spent most of the next ten years sharing his interpretation with cities in Asia Minor and Greece. By the time he arrived in Rome after being arrested for a disturbance caused in the Temple back in Jerusalem during his third and last visit, Paul was claiming the Law had been surpassed by the death and resurrection of the Christ, Jews were blind to their own scripture, God had rejected them, and that Jews were cursed.
Paul died a martyr to his �faith,� but it was his reinvention of a Jewish narrative that took root in a Gentile world shaped by a hellenistic perspective and seeking deliverance from fear and insecurity. His language fueled attitudes of superiority and provided fodder for centuries of discrimination and anti-Semitism.
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Paul: A Would Be Apostle
Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism can be laid squarely at the feet of Paul the apostle. He was a hellenistic Jew and a mystic who never saw Jesus of Nazareth but, based on a life changing experience, a vision, he took it upon himself to reshape a tradition for which he had minimal sources and no direct experience.
Roman retaliation was swift and brutal. After the failed revolt led by Judas the Galilean, Saul and his family were relocated from Gishala to Tarsus. There he was educated and immersed in hellenistic Judaism, as well as Greek metaphysics and Mystery cults. When he went to Jerusalem as an adult, he zealously persecuted followers of the messianic movement called the Way. However, after a traumatic, mystical experience on his journey to Damascus, his name was changed to Paul, and he became the most vocal advocate of this new sect.
Over the next three years he shaped his own version and meaning of that life and death. He then spent fifteen days in Jerusalem, telling James and Peter his plans to take his �gospel� to the Gentiles, and left for fourteen years of ministry in Syria and Cilicia. Their initial differences were magnified and the break between them acknowledged when he returned for a short visit. By then Paul had rejected the Law, ignored circumcision, and created his own narratives of resurrection, baptism, and eucharist. To this he added the myth of a returning Lord. He spent most of the next ten years sharing his interpretation with cities in Asia Minor and Greece. By the time he arrived in Rome after being arrested for a disturbance caused in the Temple back in Jerusalem during his third and last visit, Paul was claiming the Law had been surpassed by the death and resurrection of the Christ, Jews were blind to their own scripture, God had rejected them, and that Jews were cursed.
Paul died a martyr to his �faith,� but it was his reinvention of a Jewish narrative that took root in a Gentile world shaped by a hellenistic perspective and seeking deliverance from fear and insecurity. His language fueled attitudes of superiority and provided fodder for centuries of discrimination and anti-Semitism.
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Paul: A Would Be Apostle

Paul: A Would Be Apostle

by Harold Littleton
Paul: A Would Be Apostle

Paul: A Would Be Apostle

by Harold Littleton

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Overview

Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism can be laid squarely at the feet of Paul the apostle. He was a hellenistic Jew and a mystic who never saw Jesus of Nazareth but, based on a life changing experience, a vision, he took it upon himself to reshape a tradition for which he had minimal sources and no direct experience.
Roman retaliation was swift and brutal. After the failed revolt led by Judas the Galilean, Saul and his family were relocated from Gishala to Tarsus. There he was educated and immersed in hellenistic Judaism, as well as Greek metaphysics and Mystery cults. When he went to Jerusalem as an adult, he zealously persecuted followers of the messianic movement called the Way. However, after a traumatic, mystical experience on his journey to Damascus, his name was changed to Paul, and he became the most vocal advocate of this new sect.
Over the next three years he shaped his own version and meaning of that life and death. He then spent fifteen days in Jerusalem, telling James and Peter his plans to take his �gospel� to the Gentiles, and left for fourteen years of ministry in Syria and Cilicia. Their initial differences were magnified and the break between them acknowledged when he returned for a short visit. By then Paul had rejected the Law, ignored circumcision, and created his own narratives of resurrection, baptism, and eucharist. To this he added the myth of a returning Lord. He spent most of the next ten years sharing his interpretation with cities in Asia Minor and Greece. By the time he arrived in Rome after being arrested for a disturbance caused in the Temple back in Jerusalem during his third and last visit, Paul was claiming the Law had been surpassed by the death and resurrection of the Christ, Jews were blind to their own scripture, God had rejected them, and that Jews were cursed.
Paul died a martyr to his �faith,� but it was his reinvention of a Jewish narrative that took root in a Gentile world shaped by a hellenistic perspective and seeking deliverance from fear and insecurity. His language fueled attitudes of superiority and provided fodder for centuries of discrimination and anti-Semitism.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940149255306
Publisher: Harold Littleton, Jr.
Publication date: 03/12/2014
Series: Founders of the Faith , #2
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 270
File size: 461 KB

About the Author

Harold E. Littleton, Jr. (b. May 4, 1941) grew up in Hartsville, South Carolina. Older of two children (sister Penny), his parents imbued in him a commitment to public service and social responsibility through their careers of education and health care. An eager involvement in Scouting, becoming an Eagle Scout at age 14 and serving on summer camp staffs for ten years, he developed a deep love and appreciation for the natural environment and the value of its preservation. Encouraged by his grandfather and mother, he began a lifetime passion for baseball and fanatic support of the Brooklyn Dodgers until they moved to the west coast. High school baseball was his sport, first base his position.

After graduating from Clemson College in 1963 with a major in English, he married his high school sweetheart, Stella Price, and entered Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary when it was still a good school--fostered academic freedom and intellectual integrity. Building on the social inconsistencies and racial discrimination he witnessed growing up in a small southern town, he participated in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, befriended Harvey Gantt in the desegregation of Clemson, and marched in Memphis. While earning a MA and PhD from Vanderbilt University, he studied with Leander Keck, now retired Dean of Divinity School at Yale and Robert Funk, founder of Weststar and the Jesus Seminar.

Littleton�s teaching career includes appointments at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC, UNC-Charlotte, Mars Hill College, Gardner-Webb University, and Western Carolina University. He is currently Adjunct Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy at UNC-Asheville.

Volunteering in a variety of community non-profit organizations, interfaith discussion and study, reading, hiking, camping, occasional flyfishing, and time with grandchildren are some of the ways he spends his time. Two daughters (and two sons-in-law) and four grandchildren (Zachary, Aidan, Isabel, and Samuel) are deeply prized treasures!
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