The document discusses Paul's significant role in the early development of Christianity through his thirteen letters in the New Testament. It describes how Paul went from persecuting Christians to becoming one of the most important figures in defining Christian theology after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. The document also provides context on how Romans tolerated Christianity as a sect of Judaism but saw the refusal to participate in rituals honoring Roman gods as treason.

2. Next to Jesus, the most intriguing figure of the 1st century of Christianity Far better known than Jesus because he wrote letters that we have as primary sources today Paul wrote thirteen letters which are included in the New Testament Letters Were Written To: Romans Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians Thessalonians Timothy Titus Philemon

4. Romans did not pay much attention to the Christians. Seeing Christianity as just another sect within Judaism Romans tolerated other religious as long as they did not threaten public order or public morals All Romans were supposed to participate in public rituals honoring Roman gods Christians only believed in one God and refused to take part in these ceremonies Romans saw this refusal as an act of treason, punishable by death

5. While Jesus is regarded by Christians as the founder of the faith, Paul's role in defining Christianity can't be ignored. "Paul is regarded as the great interpreter of Jesus' mission, who explained, in a way that Jesus himself never did, how Jesus' life and death fitted into a cosmic scheme of salvation, stretching from the creation of Adam to the end of time." As a youth in Jerusalem, Saul/Paul became part of the opposition to the newly formed Jerusalem Saul was an active persecutor of the Jerusalem Church, entering its synagogues and arresting its members The high priest entrusted Saul with an important mission, to travel to Damascus and arrest prominent members of the Jerusalem Church On the way to Damascus, Paul experienced a vision of Jesus that converted him from persecutor to believer

6. Christianity grew slowly in the first century, took root in the second century, and spread widely during the third Christianity was personal and offered everyone an eternal life It was familiar in that it contained elements of familiar and popular religions. Paul's new religion had the advantage over other salvation-cults of being attached to the Hebrew Scriptures, which Paul now reinterpreted as forecasting the salvation-death of Jesus. It filled the human need to belong by offering Christian community groups where people could come together and help one another in times of sickness and need