The Historical Paul: 10 Facts That Even Atheist Skeptics Agree On

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

The historical Paul, as an apostle and one of the most influential figures in early Christianity, remains a subject of both reverence and intrigue. From his transformation from a fierce persecutor of Christians to a passionate proponent of Christ, Paul’s life is marked by significant personal and theological developments. His letters, which form a cornerstone of Christian doctrine, offer us a glimpse into his beliefs, struggles, and experiences. In this article, I’ll explore 10 fascinating facts about the historical Paul the Apostle.

Before I begin, though, I want to establish the parameters of the sources I’ll use for this article. James Tabor notes that for the vast majority of scholars, some biblical sources about the historical Paul are better than others. Tabor writes that scholars generally agree the most reliable sources are Paul’s own undisputed letters: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, Philippians, and Philemon. It is best, then, to use these authentic letters as sources about Paul in the Bible. This excludes the book of Acts, written long after Paul’s death, as well as disputed letters written in Paul’s name. Fortunately, however, there is plenty of information in the undisputed letters if you read carefully.

#1 – Paul was proud to be Jewish

In Philippians 3, Paul argues against a group of Christian teachers who have a different version of the gospel. In order to establish that his authority as an apostle is just as valid as that of the other teachers, he speaks of his own Jewish identity, for which he provides evidence in Philippians 3:4-6:

He does a similar thing, once more against those he calls false teachers, in 2 Corinthians 11:22:

Far from rejecting his identity as a Jew, Paul is clearly proud of it and sees it as an essential part of his credibility as a teacher.

#2 – He initially persecuted Christians

In Galatians 1:13, Paul writes:

Among the well-known facts about Paul the Apostle is that he was a persecutor of Christians. Unfortunately, Paul isn’t specific about what he did to the Church. The Greek verb he uses can mean pursuing or hunting (either animals or humans) but can also mean prosecuting in a legal sense.

The main point here, however, is that Paul says several times in his letters (see also Philippians 3:6 and 1 Corinthians 15:9) that he initially hated the Christian movement so much that he was attempting to destroy it.

#3 – The historical Paul believed he had seen the risen Jesus

Just a few years after the death of Jesus, Paul experienced some kind of vision in which he claimed to have seen him. This is one of the interesting facts about Paul the Apostle that appears several times in the Bible. Here’s what he says about it in Galatians 1:11-12:

In 1 Corinthians 9:1, Paul makes it clear that this was a visual experience, asking his readers “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” This experience drove Paul for the rest of his life to convince communities to whom he preached of what he believed he had received in this vision.

In addition, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:4 that this experience included auditory features in which he “was caught up into paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.”

#4 – Paul had some kind of disability

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, Paul writes that his visions and revelations could easily have made him boastful had God not given him something to balance and humble him.

Paul never explicitly says what this disability is. However, we do know that he came to see it as necessary.

#5 – Paul was not married

In 1 Corinthians 7, in answer to a question from the Corinthian communities about sexual practices, Paul writes that since it is hard for many people to remain entirely celibate, it is best to get married. However, in 1 Corinthians 7:8-9, he also writes about his own marital status as in this directive:

While he clearly does not condemn marriage in general, Paul himself is unmarried, at least during the time that he was writing these letters.

#6 – Paul had a disagreement with the original apostles

The first and second chapters of Galatians are Paul’s account of his past and his mission to his community in Galatia who are having doubts about his teachings. Apparently, other apostles have come in Paul’s absence and told the Galatians they must follow the Jewish Law, including being circumcised, in order to be part of the Jesus movement. Writing in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, H.D. Betz notes that Paul vehemently opposes this, telling the Galatians his story in order to show that his credibility is as good as that of the other apostles and even the original 12 apostles.

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In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul boasts that he stood up to Peter, whom he calls by his original Aramaic name, Cephas, when Peter had apparently acted uncharitably toward Gentiles.

Of course, we only have Paul’s version of the incident here. We don’t know exactly what happened or what Peter’s response was. However, it is clear that Paul, a contentious person as evidenced by his letters, disagreed with some of the original 12 apostles.

#7- Paul went to Jerusalem only three times

Speaking of the original apostles, Paul tells the Galatians that he had only gone to visit the Jerusalem church after his visionary revelation, and that no one there knew him. The book of Acts, on the other hand, says he had studied as a young person in Jerusalem, but Paul never says this in his letters.

Instead, he says that three years after his revelation of Christ, he went to Jerusalem and stayed with Peter for 15 days. He also says he didn’t meet the rest of the 12 apostles, but did meet James, the brother of Jesus.

Fourteen years after his revelation, according to Galatians 2, Paul visited Jerusalem again, where he met the apostles of the Jerusalem church and presented his gospel for their approval. According to Paul, they approved of his mission to the Gentiles.

Paul’s third Jerusalem visit is not recorded in his letters beyond his intent. In Romans 15:25-33, Paul writes that he is about to go to Jerusalem to deliver a collection taken from the communities he founded to the apostles. It is probably during this trip that he was arrested and brought to Rome.

#8 – Paul claims to have performed miracles

One of the surprising facts about Paul the Apostle is that he claims to have done miraculous things. In 2 Corinthians 12:11-13, as Paul is defending his apostleship against other teachers, he validates his apostleship this way:

Although Paul never tells us what these “signs and wonders” were, he claims some of the Corinthians witnessed them and that this confirms his apostolic status.

#9 – Paul supported himself through manual labor on his missionary journeys

In the earliest of Paul’s authentic letters, 1 Thessalonians, Paul writes to his beloved church in Thessaloniki that “You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God (1 Thes 2:9).” He makes other references to manual labor he did (1 Corinthians 4:12, 1 Corinthians 9:6, 12, 15) as well. He never explicitly says what kind of labor he performed, although Acts 18:3 claims he was a “tentmaker,” and this is certainly possible.

#10 – Paul was incarcerated in Rome in the early 60s CE

In Philippians 1:12-26, Paul writes that he is imprisoned. Many scholars believe he wrote this letter from Rome, although Ronald Hock writes in the HarperCollins Study Bible that he might also have been in Caesarea or Ephesus. This is what he says in verses 12-14:

The fact that Paul is interacting with the imperial guard (or praetorium, in the original writing), probably indicates that he was in Rome. Furthermore, Paul seems to indicate that his execution is a distinct possibility:

Paul indicates here that whether he lives or dies, God’s purposes will be served. Most scholars believed he was executed in Rome around 64 CE.

Conclusion

If we use only the authentic, undisputed letters of Paul as source material, we have a lot of gaps in his life story. In addition, human memory is notoriously inaccurate, making it difficult to determine exactly what happened in the life of the historical Paul. However, his letters are certainly the best evidence we have for Paul’s biographical details. What do they tell us?

Paul was a proud, zealous Jew, a Pharisee, in fact. This zealousness was focused into hatred for the nascent Jesus movement, which he must have seen as heretical to the traditions of his people. However, after a visionary experience of Christ, Paul became just as zealous about Jesus, traveling vast areas and preaching the gospel he said he had received.

We can confidently say, from his letters, that he was unmarried, had some sort of disability, and supported himself by manual labor on his journeys. In addition, he had a disagreement with Peter and other apostles, believing himself to be just as much an apostle as they were since he had experienced the risen Jesus.