Inspiring Christian Lives

St Paul, died c. 65 A.D.

On a hot dusty road to Damascus in Syria a Jewish Pharisee named Paul (or Saul) is travelling, intent upon suppressing and killing followers of Jesus of Nazareth, the supposed saviour of the world. Paul means business: he has just come from stoning to death one of Christ’s followers, Stephen. Whilst on the road, Paul is struck down by a vision of Christ himself: the substance of the experience caused a major change in Paul’s view; he came to accept that this Jesus of Nazareth was indeed who the Christians said he was, lord of the world. He also came to the view that in persecuting the Church he, Paul, was persecuting Christ himself. All this prompted a major change of heart and mind. Paul now heard the call of this very Jesus of Nazareth to spread the message of his lordship beyond the confines of Judaism to the Gentiles. Shortly after, Paul was baptised, he retired to Arabia for 3 years of prayer and solitude and then went back to Damascus. Now, his Jewish enemies, formerly his allies, set about destroying him. After being received into the Christian fold amidst suspicion, Paul now went on 3 major missionary journeys to establish and strengthen churches in and around the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout all this he encountered rejection, humiliation, attacks, beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonments and ultimately execution at the hands of the psychotic Roman Emperor, Nero. Paul was a tireless missionary, a powerful thinker and saturated in the Mystery of Christ. He left a series of letters that are amongst the most foundational and profound statements of Christian theology ever made. His key ideas have included: the need to receive Jesus into our lives in place of the false idols of money, eroticism and power, and for this faith to show itself in good deeds, deeds that will the good of others.