What is Paul the Apostle?
{{redirect|Saint Paul|the U.S. city|Saint Paul, Minnesota}} [[File:Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens - Saint Paul.jpg|thumb|200px|A [[painting]] of Paul of Tarsus by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]]] '''Paul the Apostle''', (born as '''Saul of Tarsus''') and also often called '''Saint Paul''' (2BC–64/65), was a [[Messianic Judaism|Messianic Jewish]]-[[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[writer]] and [[rabbi]]. He was a convert to [[Christianity]]. It is believed that he wrote thirteen books of the [[Bible]], together called the [[Pauline epistles]]. They are letters to [[church]]es and Christians. He wrote these letters to encourage them, to help them understand Christian teaching, and to help them to live Christian lives. == Life == === Anti-Christian === [[File:Conversion on the Way to Damascus-Caravaggio (c.1600-1).jpg|thumb|A painting by [[Caravaggio]] for a church in Italy, showing Saul lying by the side of the road]] Paul's name was originally '''Saul''' (not to be confused with King [[Saul]] from the [[books of Samuel]] in the [[Old Testament]]). He grew up learning both the [[Judaism|Jewish]] law and the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] ways of discussing things. We are first introduced to Saul in the Bible near the end of [[Acts]] 7. The Christian movement had begun with the [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] and [[Ascension of Jesus|ascension]] of [[Jesus]]. Saul was strongly against this, and he was happy as he watched [[Saint Stephen]], the first [[martyr]] of Jesus, being killed by [[stoning]] after giving a [[Public speaking|speech]] that made the Jewish court angry. He worked for the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] Government and helped lead the arrests and killing of many Christians in [[Israel]] and the nearby area. Later on, Saul was told to go to [[Damascus]] to find and bring back Christians there to be punished. On the way, [[God]] came down from [[heaven]] and spoke to Saul. The Bible tells of what happened like this: {{quote|On his journey, Saul approached Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to