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    Paul of Tarsus: A First Century Radical
    Paul of Tarsus: A First Century Radical
    Paul of Tarsus: A First Century Radical
    Ebook66 pages1 hour

    Paul of Tarsus: A First Century Radical

    By Anne Davison

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    About this ebook

    It is often said that without Paul the Apostle there would have been no Christian Church. Certainly it was Paul who took the message of Christ beyond the region of Palestine to the Gentiles of Asia Minor and it was Paul who established the first Churches across Anatolia and beyond, into the Greek Peninsula. It is therefore arguable that if it had not been for Paul, the Church would not have become the worldwide Faith that it is today.
    It is also arguable that without the structure of the Roman Empire of the First Century, the early Church would not have spread as it did.
    This book places Paul in his historical context; the Graeco-Roman world of the Pax Romana.
    Part One of the book explains how the Eastern Mediterranean came to be Greek in culture but Roman in government.
    Part Two looks at the life of a Jew or early Christian at that time, living under Roman rule.
    Part Three follows the life of Paul; a Roman Citizen, an urban, well-educated Jew of the Diaspora; born in Tarsus, which was then a prosperous and cosmopolitan port city.
    This is not another Biblical study on the life of St Paul, or a work of Christian apologetics. Rather it looks at the radical Jew of the First Century who challenged the status quo. He was a man who faced both the hostility of the Jews and the might of the Roman Empire.
    Including some useful maps, it is short and accessible and should appeal to the general reader who wants to learn about the man Paul of Tarsus: a First Century Radical, from a historical perspective rather than the more usual avenue, through Scripture

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAnne Davison
    Release dateOct 2, 2013
    ISBN9781301768202
    Paul of Tarsus: A First Century Radical
    Author

    Anne Davison

    Canon Doctor Anne Davison has had a lifelong interest in history and the religions of the world. Her journey into understanding other cultures began in her early 20s when she lived in Lagos, Nigeria. Later, a job with British Airways gave her the chance to travel the world more widely.When she became aware of a global increase in religious intolerance she felt the need to better understand our world, past and present. She was particularly interested in how ‘religion’ interacts with politics. This led her to study for a Degree in History and Comparative religion, followed by a PhD in inter religious relations.Whilst living in Switzerland in the 1990s Anne took on the role of Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, before moving back to London to work with the Church of England as an Adviser in Inter Religious Relations.In addition to organising pilgrim groups to Israel and Lebanon, Anne co-ordinated a Youth Exchange Programme for 16 to 18 year- old Jews, Christians and Muslims between Jerusalem and East London. In recognition of her work in inter-religious relations Anne was made a Lay Canon of the Church of England.Since retiring from the Church of England she has lectured on many cruise ships and in the UK for the Arts SocietyIt was in response to people asking for her lecture notes, that in 2013 Anne decided to write her first book: From the Medes to the Mullah: A History of Iran. She has just published her ninth book on A History of China.She remains convinced that many of the problems facing the world today are the result of an ignorance that can lead to intolerance at best and hatred at worst.She firmly believes that one way to combat this ignorance is to promote a better understanding of our diverse world. Anne likes to think that by offering lectures and writing short, accessible books, she is playing her part in a small way.

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      Book preview

      Paul of Tarsus - Anne Davison

      PAUL OF TARSUS:

      A First Century Radical

      by Anne Davison

      Copyright©2013 Anne Davison

      Smashwords Edition

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

      OTHER BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

      A History of Central Asia

      A History of China

      A History of Russia

      Abraham’s Children: Jew, Christian, Muslim: Commonality and Conflict

      From the Medes to the Mullahs

      Making Sense of Militant Islam

      The Holy Roman Empire

      The Mughal Empire

      The Ottoman Empire

      http://www.inbriefbooks.com

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      PREFACE

      INTRODUCTION

      PART ONE: The Greek World

      PART TWO: The Roman World

      PART THREE: The Life of Paul

      CONCLUSION

      EPILOGUE

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      MAPS

      The Greek World

      Empire of Alexander the Great

      The Jewish Diaspora

      Paul’s First Journey

      Paul’s Second Journey

      Paul’s Third Journey

      Preface

      This is the second book in the ‘In Brief’ Series: Books for Busy People; the first one being From the Medes to the Mullahs: a history of Iran, published in 2013. As in the previous book, the content began as a series of lectures.

      This book places Paul in his historical context; the Graeco-Roman world of the first century.

      Part One of the book explains how the Eastern Mediterranean came to be Greek in culture but Roman in government.

      Part Two covers the life of a Jew, or early Christian living at that time under Roman rule.

      Part Three follows the life of Paul; a Roman Citizen, an urban, well-educated Jew of the Diaspora; born in Tarsus, which was then a prosperous and cosmopolitan port city.

      This is not another Biblical study on the life of St Paul, or a work of Christian apologetics. Rather it looks at the radical Jew of the First Century who challenged the status quo.

      Until his conversion experience Paul was known by his Hebrew name of Saul. However, I shall use the more familiar name of Paul throughout, except for the part of the book that covers his early life.

      Since this is not a work of Biblical scholarship, I shall refrain from quoting each relevant text, apart from referring, where applicable, to an actual book of the New Testament.

      A word about dating: I have used BCE (Before the Common/Current Era) rather than BC, but I have retained the more familiar AD.

      Introduction

      It is often said that without Paul the Apostle, there would have been no Christian Church. Certainly, it was Paul who took the message of Christ beyond the region of Palestine to the Gentiles of Asia Minor, and it was Paul who established the first Churches across Anatolia and beyond into the Greek Peninsula. It is arguable that if it had not been for Paul, the Church would not have become the worldwide Faith that it is today.

      Paul was born a Jew around the year 5 AD. He converted to Christianity and lived until he was about 62 years old. Key to understanding the legacy of Paul is the fact that he was a Roman citizen, living in a Graeco-Roman world. In other words, he lived under Roman rule but the culture at the time was Greek, often referred to as Hellenistic. As a Jew he also shared the Hebrew culture of his upbringing.

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