Historical Paul: What Scholars Actually Know About Paul's Life, Beliefs, and Personality

Episode Outline:
0:00 Special episode intro: James Tabor fills in for Bart
2:16 Who is James Tabor and why Paul matters so much
3:39 Why Paul became the towering figure of early Christianity
8:01 How much can we really know about the historical Paul?
13:59 The four “layers” of Paul: early letters, disputed letters, pastorals, and Acts
17:41 Paul’s claims to revelation: called from the womb and taught by Jesus
24:20 Did Paul’s visions outrank the authority of the original apostles?
29:32 Paul’s wounds, suffering, and defense of his apostleship
39:37 Part two begins: Paul’s mystical and apocalyptic worldview
40:45 Did Paul “meet” Jesus without knowing him in the flesh?
45:37 Paul, resurrection, and the Hellenistic idea of apotheosis
53:45 Does Paul’s afterlife view differ from Jewish tradition?
57:08 How later Christianity handled Paul’s resurrection language
1:04:36 Is Paul’s vision of the afterlife more Jewish or more Hellenistic?
1:12:09 Final reflections: death, paradise, and Paul’s cosmic hope

Episode Description

In this episode, Dr. James Tabor (retired Professor from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he taught Christian origins and ancient Judaism for 33 years) and Megan the facts and non-facts we know about the Apostle Paul:

~What are our sources of information about Paul?

~Misquoting (and misappropriation) of Paul

~Did Paul actually say women should be silent in church?

~Was Paul antisemitic?

~Did Paul meet Jesus in life?

~Paul's argument about circumcision

~What is "astral immortality?"

~How does Paul describe his vision of Jesus? How is that related to Paul's teaching on the resurrection of believers?

~How does Paul describe heaven?

Also watch these episodes:
Sin, Death, and Salvation: Paul's Mysterious View
Sin, Death, and Salvation: Paul’s Mysterious View

Did Paul Accept the Teachings of Jesus?
Did Paul Accept the Teachings of Jesus?

Were Peter & Paul Really Martyred? History vs. Legend
Were Peter & Paul Really Martyred? History vs. Legend