Episode 22: The Life of Paul (Nick Frederick)

Y Religion

BYU Religious Education

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4.8 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2020

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

One of the primary figures in establishing the trajectory of early Christian theology was Paul. Or should we still call him Saul? Was he an apostle (missionary) or Apostle (quorum)? Is the conversion narrative of rebel to saint an accurate representation of his zealous soul? In this episode, Dr. Nick Frederick challenges some of our existing assumptions about Paul while inviting us to better understand why his life and teachings are essential to Christianity, both anciently and today.

Transcript

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0:00.0	When you and I say that we know the New Testament, what most of us usually mean by that is that we know the Gospels in the New Testament.
0:07.0	But the New Testament is a book with two major parts or two major divisions.
0:11.0	The first part of the Gospels really is Jesus's ministry and the second
0:15.8	part includes letters and epistles to Saints who embrace that divinity. And nobody has a bigger influence on the second half of the New Testament and thus on Christianity's interpretation of Jesus than a man named Paul.
0:34.0	Who is Paul and why does he matter so much?
0:36.3	Why is he such a major part of the New Testament?
0:39.6	I remember in my early seminary teaching days there was this classic church video that was done called
0:44.1	Paul a chosen vessel and there's this scene of Paul testifying of his conversion
0:49.9	before Festus and King Agrippa, and well, it was gripping.
0:55.0	And I said, who art thou Lord?
1:00.0	And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee to make thee a minister.
1:20.0	There's just so much to learn, to love, to question, and even to debate about Paul.
1:25.0	And BYU Ancient Scripture Professor Nick Frederick has recently published a really insightful chapter article on the life of the Apostle Paul, who he is and why he matters so much.
1:36.8	Paul's the first one to put out written documents, at least that we have, trying to explore the
1:42.1	implications of Jesus's life and ministry and
1:46.2	atonement and death. I mean he is the guy he's the first one to step back and
1:50.4	ask questions like you know what does this all mean? Who is Jesus? How can he be God? How does
1:55.6	salvation work? What is this church? This new movement in relationship to Judaism? And so if you want to talk about, you know, Christian origins, where Christian doctrine
2:06.3	and theology comes from, you know, you have to go back to Paul.
2:10.0	We should probably make an honest effort to understand who this guy is.
2:14.3	On today's episode of Why Religion, get ready to learn things about the
2:18.8	Apostle Paul, or maybe should we still call him Saul that you maybe have never known?
	...

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