The Apostle Who Brought Christianity to the Gentile World
The New Testament records that Paul, originally named Saul, was in his early years a strict Pharisee who actively persecuted Christians; on the road to Damascus to arrest believers, he was suddenly struck down by a bright light and heard the voice of Jesus, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" This experience wholly changed him, and he became the most important missionary in Christian history, his three long missionary journeys ranging across Asia Minor and Greece; thirteen letters of the New Testament are traditionally ascribed to him, and his influence on the systematization of Christian doctrine is profound.
Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians when a light from heaven suddenly shone around him; he fell to the ground and heard the voice of Jesus questioning him, and for three days could not see, regaining his sight only through the prayer of the believer Ananias. This is one of the most dramatic "conversion" narratives in Christian history, and "the road to Damascus" became a fixed English phrase for a total turnabout.
Paul spoke to philosophers and citizens at the Areopagus in Athens, pointing to an altar in the city "to an unknown god" and saying, "what you worship without knowing, I now proclaim to you." He entered the Christian message by way of local religious custom and the words of Greek poets — a classic case of early Christianity’s mission to the Hellenistic world.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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