Paul of Tarsus

(See also: Bible conspiracy theory).
. Both state their belief that Paul was used, along with Josephus, to start a peaceful messianic movement to undermine the unrest and rebelliousness of Judea. Other poems include Sonetti, Canzoni, Ottave, and Canti carnascialeschi.. Joseph Atwill, in his book, Ceasar's Messiah, and David Icke, among others, believe that Paul was an agent of Imperial Rome in general and of the Roman Emperors in specific. Principal works/Poems:. If Sanders' perspective was true, the traditional Protestant understanding of the doctrine of justification may have needed rethinking, for the interpretive framework of Augustine of Hippo and Martin Luther, which had dominated Christian thinking for almost two millennia, was called into question. The following is a list of the works of Machiavelli (he created over 30 in his lifetime):.

Sanders reframed the context to make law-keeping and good works a sign of being in the Covenant (marking out the Jews as the people of God) rather than deeds performed in order to accomplish salvation. Famous quote/philosophy: "The ends justify the means.". Traditionally, it had been assumed that 1st century Judaism was a religion of "works" whereby Jews believed they had to earn their salvation by keeping the Law, and therefore when Paul spoke about "justification by faith" or the "justification of faith", he was referring to a new non-works-oriented way of salvation (being declared righteous by God) announced in Christ. A Machiavellian may also be a term used to describe a person who is deceitful and cunning in the business world, often those who work in MLM schemes make use of Machiavellian deceit by convincing the potential buyer that the product will promise them success when really it will land them in failure. Sanders in his 1977 book Paul and Palestinian Judaism, in which he argued that the Judaism of Paul's day had been wrongly caricatured by Protestant theology. Nonetheless, the epithet was quickly adopted by Machiavelli's contemporaries, and his name often used in the introductions of political tracts of the sixteenth century, most notably those of Jean Bodin and Giovanni Botero, which offered more 'just' reasons of state. P. The eponymous adjective "Machiavellian" is seen by most experts to inaccurately represent him and his views, having come to describe narrow, self-interested behavior pursued by interest groups.

The "New Perspective on Paul" rose to prominence as a result of the work of E. But what invests "The Prince" with more than a merely artistic or historical interest is the incontrovertible truth that it deals with the great principles which still guide nations and rulers in their relationship with each other and their neighbours. Again when he spoke to the Greeks about a divinity in their pantheon called "The Unknown God", it can be understood that he was trying to de-paganise their native religions for the sake of their own salvation. Machiavelli always refused to write either of men or of governments otherwise than as he found them, and he writes with such skill and insight that his work is of abiding value. This is further backed up by Paul in his first letter to the Romans when he compliments them on their religion. It advocates a form of minarchy managed by a limited aristocracy that is wholly devoted to successful rule, on the chance that they may prevent chaos. In recent years perhaps the most exemplary developers of Emden's view are the Orthodox Rabbi Harvey Falk and Pamela Eisenbaum.^[3] In this view, Paul is seen as a rabbi who understood the ruling that, although it would be forbidden to a Jew, shittuf (believing in the divine through the name of another) would be permissible for a Gentile despite the Noahide ban on idolatry. It is the cry of a far later day than Machiavelli's that government should be elevated into a living moral force, capable of inspiring the people with a just recognition of the fundamental principles of society; to this "high argument" The Prince contributes but little.

He did however insist that any man born of a Jewish woman be circumcised (for example Timothy upon whom he himself carried out the ceremony) and live under the Law. Necessary wars are just wars, and the arms of a nation are hallowed when it has no other recourse but to fight. Paul insisted that they need only their purified faith and was firmly against proselytizing. Then --to pass to a higher plane--Machiavelli reiterates that, although crimes may win an empire, they do not win glory. But he opposed the Jewish Christians who insisted (under some kind of Shammaite influence) that Gentiles were beyond salvation unless they became Jews. In politics there are no perfectly safe courses; prudence consists in choosing the least dangerous ones. Paul believed the advantage of the Jews was their being entrusted with the oracles of heaven, and that the law was upon them. Men will not look at things as they really are, but as they wish them to be--and are ruined.

His view, based on the medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives, was that Saul of Tarsus was a devout and learned Pharisee, who (turning away from his early Shammaite views) came to believe in salvation for the Gentiles and under the guiding authority of the very learned and devout Simon Kepha (i.e., Saint Peter) set about refining a Noahide religion for the Gentiles based around the Jesus movement. The cloak of religion still conceals the vices which Machiavelli laid bare in the character of Ferdinand of Aragon. Another alternative view was first set forth by Rabbi Jacob Emden (1697–1776). Men are still the dupes of their simplicity and greed, as they were in the days of Alexander VI. (An assessment of Paul of Tarsus from this viewpoint can be found online at The Pauline Conspiracy.). Leaving out of consideration those maxims of state which still furnish some European and eastern statesmen with principles of action, The Prince is bestrewn with truths that can be proved at every turn:. Using the New Testament works themselves as his primary source, Garaffa offers a reinterpretation of key passages, and suggests an aggressive power struggle is preserved in the canonical New Testament writings themselves. Its historical incidents and personages become interesting by reason of the uses which Machiavelli makes of them to illustrate his theories of government and conduct.

He maintains that Paul of Tarsus effectively usurped the authority of the remaining disciples, and the original Jerusalem Church operating under James the Just. Such as they are, its ethics are those of Machiavelli's contemporaries; yet they cannot be said to be out of date so long as the governments of Europe rely on material rather than on moral forces. Victor Garaffa. Although the light of almost four centuries has been focused on The Prince, its problems are still debatable and interesting, because they are the eternal problems between the ruled and their rulers. A more critical view of Paul of Tarsus comes from the comprehensive work of A. And it is on the literary side of his character, and there alone, that we find no weakness and no failure. While the teachings of Jesus may be the basis of Christian ethics, they view Paul's teachings as the true basis of modern Christian beliefs such as the atoning death of Jesus and the concept of original sin. In the conduct of his own affairs he was timid and time-serving; he dared not appear by the side of Soderini, to whom he owed so much, for fear of compromising himself; his connection with the Medici was open to suspicion, and Giulo appears to have recognized his real forte when he set him to write the History of Florence, rather than employ him in the state.

They see Paul as an apostate from Judaism. He was misled by Catherina Sforza, ignored by Louis XII, overawed by Cesare Borgia; several of his embassies were quite barren of results; his attempts to fortify Florence failed, and the soldiery that he raised astonished everybody by their cowardice. Some small modern religious groups share Maccoby's views on Paul's doctrines. He does not present himself, nor is he depicted by his contemporaries, as a type of that rare combination, the successful statesman and author, for he appears to have been only moderately prosperous in his several embassies and political employments. In this regard, 1 Corinthians 9:20-22:. Undoubtedly, Machiavelli was a man of great observation, acuteness, and industry; noting with appreciative eye whatever passed before him, and with his supreme literary gift turning it to account in his enforced retirement from affairs. Maccoby questions Paul's integrity as well:. It is due to these inquiries that the shape of an "unholy necromancer," which so long haunted men's vision, has begun to fade.

Maccoby also contends that Paul invented many of the key concepts of the Christian religion, and that the Gospels and other later Christian documents were written to reflect Paul's views rather than the authentic life and teaching of Jesus. Whilst it is idle to protest against the world-wide and evil signification of his name, it may be pointed out that the harsh construction of his doctrine which this sinister reputation implies was unknown to his own day, and that the researches of recent times have enabled us to interpret him more reasonably. Maccoby considers Paul's claims to a Jewish background and Pharisaic education to be false, claiming that a number of passages in Paul's writings betray his ignorance of the Jewish Law. No one can say where the bones of Machiavelli rest, but modern Florence has decreed him a stately cenotaph in Santa Croce, by the side of her most famous sons; recognising that, whatever other nations may have found in his works, Italy found in them the idea of her unity and the source of her renaissance among the nations of Europe. Maccoby believes that Paul's revelation was thus actually a resolution of his divided self; Paul subsequently fused the mystery religions, Judaism and the Passion of Jesus into an entirely new belief, centered on the death of Jesus as a mystical atoning sacrifice. Machiavelli was absent from Florence at this time, but hastened his return, hoping to secure his former office of secretary to the "Ten of Liberty and Peace." Unhappily he was taken ill soon after he reached Florence, where he died on 22nd June 1527. Paul's work persecuting the enemies of the High Priest led to an internal conflict in his mind, which manifested itself while he was travelling to Damascus on a covert mission. This was followed by the sack of Rome, upon the news of which the popular party at Florence threw off the yoke of the Medici, who were once more banished.

He found work in Jerusalem as a police officer of the Sadducee High Priest, who was at that time a de facto Roman quisling in Jerusalem. In that year the battle of Pavia destroyed the French rule in Italy, and left Francis I of France a prisoner in the hands of his great rival, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. In his books The Mythmaker and Paul and Hellenism, Talmudic scholar Hyam Maccoby proposed a theory that Paul was actually a Gentile raised in an environment influenced by the popular Hellenistic mystery religions centered on dying and resurrected savior deities, who later converted to Judaism, hoping to become a Pharisee scholar. It is somewhat remarkable that, as, in 1513, Machiavelli had written The Prince for the instruction of the Medici after they had just regained power in Florence, so, in 1525, he dedicated the History of Florence to the head of the family when its ruin was now at hand. (MacDonald, 1983). When the History of Florence was finished, Machiavelli took it to Rome for presentation to his patron, Giulio de' Medici, who had in the meanwhile become Pope Clement VII. MacDonald suggests that the context of the Pastoral Epistles associated with the name of Paul -- emphasizing order within conventional family formulas and the social legitimacy of the Church -- should be seen as counter to the radical preaching and story-telling of roaming celibate women, represented in the legends. His return to popular favour may have determined the Medici to give him this employment, for an old writer observes that "an able statesman out of work, like a huge whale, will endeavour to overturn the ship unless he has an empty cask to play with.".

The literary version of these traditions was so despised by the Church, that only in the 20th century has a coherent text been pieced together from surviving fragments. It was in the same year that he received a commission at the instance of Cardinal de' Medici to write the History of Florence, a task which occupied him until 1525. The simple folk who were endorsing such material were not reading it from a text, but transmitting oral traditions that seem to originate in the eastern Mediterranean (MacDonald). In 1520 the Florentine merchants again had recourse to Machiavelli to settle their difficulties with Lucca, but this year was chiefly remarkable for his re-entry into Florentine literary society, where he was much sought after, and also for the production of his Art of War. According to the writing, she had been commissioned to do so by Paul himself. In 1519 the Medicean rulers of Florence granted a few political concessions to her citizens, and Machiavelli with others was consulted upon a new constitution under which the Great Council was to be restored; but on one pretext or another it was not promulgated. The main vehicle for the Pauline legend-cycle is the Acts of Paul and Thecla, which Origen mildly approved, but which attracted Tertullian's attention at the end of the 2nd century; he complained that the example of Thecla was being employed to legitimize women teaching and baptizing. These and several minor works occupied him until the year 1518, when he accepted a small commission to look after the affairs of some Florentine merchants at Genoa.

The oral tradition was transmitted above all among women, MacDonald has asserted, and women appear more centrally in the legend than in the epistles, where they are relegated to the periphery. Before Machiavelli had got The Prince off his hands he commenced his Discourse on the First Decade of Titus Livius, which should be read concurrently with The Prince. The pastoral epistles were accepted into the canon, as it developed in the 3rd century, while the legends continued their parallel, apocryphal career. And of my loyalty none could doubt, because having always kept faith I could not now learn how to break it; for he who has been faithful and honest, as I have, cannot change his nature; and my poverty is a witness to my honesty.". Their tradition has been characterized (MacDonald 1983) as being in competition with the Pauline pastoral epistles. Machiavelli concludes his letter to Vettori thus: "And as to this little thing [his book], when it has been read it will be seen that during the fifteen years I have given to the study of statecraft I have neither slept nor idled; and men ought ever to desire to be served by one who has reaped experience at the expense of others. From the mid-2nd century, orally transmitted legends that had grown up about the figure of Paul were embodied in written narratives, that applied contemporary literary conventions of realism and authenticity in order to give weight to this legendary oral core. Although it was plagiarized during Machiavelli's lifetime, The Prince was never published by him, and its text is still disputable.

The following epistles, agreed to be pseudepigraphical (non-canonical), present themselves as if written by Paul:. Although Machiavelli discussed with Casavecchio whether it should be sent or presented in person to the patron, there is no evidence that Lorenzo ever received or even read it: he certainly never gave Machiavelli any employment. Two further Pauline epistles have been lost:. Various mental influences were at work during its composition; its title and patron were changed; and for some unknown reason it was finally dedicated to Lorenzo II de' Medici. The Pastoral epistles are usually considered a separate category, no longer generally attributed to Paul, save by traditionalists (also possibly pseudonymous):. The "little book" suffered many vicissitudes before attaining the form in which it has reached us. The Deutero-Pauline Epistles(suspected to be pseudonymous). Filippo Casavecchio has seen it; he will be able to tell you what is in it, and of the discourses I have had with him; nevertheless, I am still enriching and polishing it.".

Undisputed Pauline Epistles (almost certainly authentic). I have noted down what I have gained from their conversation, and have composed a small work on 'Principalities,' where I pour myself out as fully as I can in meditation on the subject, discussing what a principality is, what kinds there are, how they can be acquired, how they can be kept, why they are lost: and if any of my fancies ever pleased you, this ought not to displease you: and to a prince, especially to a new one, it should be welcome: therefore I dedicate it to his Magnificence Giuliano. The Pauline Corpus: those considered to be the "prison-letters" are marked with an asterisk (*). And because Dante says:. Since at least 1750, a number of other letters commonly attributed to Paul have also been suspected of having been written by his followers some time in the 1st century—so early that religious writers like Marcion and Tertullian knew of no other author for them. After describing his daily occupations with his family and neighbours, he writes: "The evening being come, I return home and go to my study; at the entrance I pull off my peasant- clothes, covered with dust and dirt, and put on my noble court dress, and thus becomingly re-clothed I pass into the ancient courts of the men of old, where, being lovingly received by them, I am fed with that food which is mine alone; where I do not hesitate to speak with them, and to ask for the reason of their actions, and they in their benignity answer me; and for four hours I feel no weariness, I forget every trouble, poverty does not dismay, death does not terrify me; I am possessed entirely by those great men. His possible authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews had been questioned as early as Origen. In a letter to Francesco Vettori, dated December 13, 1513, he has left a very interesting description of his life at this period, which elucidates his methods and his motives in writing The Prince.

A subgroup of these letters, written from captivity, are called the "prison-letters", and tradition states they were written in Rome. The new Medici pontiff, Pope Leo X, procured his release, and he retired to his small property at Sant'Andrea in Percussina (town of San Casciano in Val di Pesa), near Florence, where he devoted himself to literature. Those letters that have survived are part of the New Testament canon, where they appear in order of length, from longest to shortest. Shortly after this he was accused of complicity in an abortive conspiracy against the Medici, imprisoned, and put to the question by torture. However, not all have been preserved; 1 Corinthians 5:9 alludes to a previous letter sent by him to the Christians in Corinth that has clearly been lost. On the return of the Medici, Machiavelli, who for a few weeks had vainly hoped to retain his office under the new masters of Florence, was dismissed by decree dated November 7, 1512. Paul wrote a number of letters to Christian churches and individuals. The return of the Medici to Florence on September 1, 1512, and the consequent fall of the Republic, was the signal for the dismissal of Machiavelli and his friends, and thus put an end to his public career, for, as we have seen, he died without regaining office.

See also Authorship of the Pauline Epistles. When, in 1511, Julius II finally formed the Holy League against France, and with the assistance of the Swiss drove the French out of Italy, Florence lay at the mercy of the Pope, and had to submit to his terms, one of which was that the Medici should be restored. The true subversive nature of Paul's ethic was not that the Church seek to subvert the Empire (vindication in full had already been promised), but that the Church not be subverted by the Empire in its wait for Christ's return. Florence had a difficult part to play during these events, complicated as they were by the feud which broke out between the pope and the French, because friendship with France had dictated the entire policy of the Republic. The christianity which Paul envisioned was one in which adherents lived unburdened by the norms of Roman and Jewish society to freely follow the promise of an already established but not yet fully present Kingdom of God, promised by Jesus and instituted in his own Resurrection. This result was attained in the Battle of Vaila (now usually known as the Battle of Agnadello), when Venice lost in one day all that she had won in eight hundred years. The ethic being that the Christian's life is not to be lived out of hope for what the Roman Empire could provide (legal, martial and economic advantage) or the pharisaical system could provide (legalistic, self-dependent salvation), but out of hope in the Resurrection and promises of Jesus. The remaining years of Machiavelli's official career were filled with events arising out of the League of Cambrai, made in 1508 between the three great European powers already mentioned and the pope, with the object of crushing the Venetian Republic.

If Jesus is lord, then Caesar is not, and so on. The Emperor Maximilian was one of the most interesting men of the age, and his character has been drawn by many hands; but Machiavelli, who was an envoy at his court in 1507-1508, reveals the secret of his many failures when he describes him as a secretive man, without force of character--ignoring the human agencies necessary to carry his schemes into effect, and never insisting on the fulfilment of his wishes. Paul used these titles to expand upon the ethic of Jesus with words from and for his own place and time in history. Machiavelli has painted Ferdinand II of Aragon as the man who accomplished great things under the cloak of religion, but who in reality had no mercy, faith, humanity, or integrity; and who, had he allowed himself to be influenced by such motives, would have been ruined. Ancient Roman inscriptions had called Augustus the evangelon (good news) for Rome. He had several meetings with Louis XII of France, and his estimate of that monarch's character has already been alluded to. When Paul refers to Jesus' life as the "Good News", evangelion in Greek, he is using another title claimed by Augustus. It is impossible to follow here the varying fortunes of the Italian states, which in 1507 were controlled by France, Spain, and Germany, with results that have lasted to our day; we are concerned with those events, and with the three great actors in them, so far only as they impinge on the personality of Machiavelli.

Augustus had claimed the titles "Lord of Lords", "King of Kings", and "Son of God" (as he was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, whom he declared to be a god). It is in reference to Pope Julius that Machiavelli moralizes on the resemblance between Fortune and women, and concludes that it is the bold rather than the cautious man that will win and hold them both. Paul used titles to describe Jesus that were also claimed by the Caesars. It was to Julius II that Machiavelli was sent in 1506, when that pontiff was commencing his enterprise against Bologna; which he brought to a successful issue, as he did many of his other adventures, owing chiefly to his impetuous character. Paul was not only establishing a new cultural awareness and a society of charity, but was also subverting Roman authority through language and action. Julius did not rest until he had ruined Cesare. Due to his authority, these views have had an influence in Western society into modern times; Paul's apparent failure to explicitly condemn slavery in his Epistle to Philemon may have been sometimes interpreted as justifying the ownership of human beings. Machiavelli, when commenting on this election, says that he who thinks new favours will cause great personages to forget old injuries deceives himself.

7:21ff.). On the death of Pope Pius III, in 1503, Machiavelli was sent to Rome to watch the election of his successor, and there he saw Cesare Borgia cheated into allowing the choice of the College to fall on Giuliano delle Rovere (Pope Julius II), who was one of the cardinals that had most reason to fear the duke. Paul may have been ambivalent towards slavery, saying that pending the near return of Jesus, people should focus on their faith and not on their social status (1 Cor. Machiavelli never to carry him through, exclaims that it was not his fault, but an extraordinary and unforeseen fatality. 5:21-33). Machiavelli's public life was largely occupied with events arising out of the ambitions of Pope Alexander VI and his son, Cesare Borgia, the Duke Valentino, and these characters fill a large space of The Prince. 7, Eph. It was Louis XII who also made the dissolution of his marriage a condition of support to Pope Alexander VI which lead Machiavelli to refer those who urge that such promises should be kept to what he has written concerning the faith of princes.

4:1-6), and marriage (1 Cor. Louis XII was the king who, in his conduct of affairs in Italy, committed the five capital errors in statecraft summarized in The Prince, and was consequently driven out. 1:10-17, Eph. In 1500 he was sent to France to obtain terms from Louis XII for continuing the war against Pisa. 11), the unity of believers (1 Cor. This is a very noticeable principle in Machiavelli, and is urged by him in many ways as a matter of vital importance to princes. 2:6-23), proper worship and church discipline (1 Cor. His first mission was in 1499 to Catherina Sforza, "my lady of Forli" of The Prince, from whose conduct and fate he drew the moral that it is far better to earn the confidence of the people than to rely on fortresses.

8, Col. A mere recapitulation of a few of his transactions with the statesmen and soldiers of his time gives a fair indication of his activities, and supplies the sources from which he drew the experiences and characters which illustrate The Prince. 5, 1 Cor. Here we are on firm ground when dealing with the events of Machiavelli's life, for during this time he took a leading part in the affairs of the Republic, and we have its decrees, records, and dispatches to guide us, as well as his own writings. Other Pauline teachings are on freedom in Christ (Gal. After serving four years in one of the public offices he was appointed Chancellor and Secretary to the Second Chancery, the Ten of Liberty and Peace. 3:1-17). The second period of his life was spent in the service of the free Republic of Florence, which flourished from the expulsion of the Medici in 1494 until their return in 1512.

5:21–33, Col. Then, writing of a new patron, he continues:. 5:27|27-28; see also 1 Cor 6:9ff.; Eph. He writes:. 6:18) -- based on the moral laws of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus (Matt. In a letter to his son Guido, Machiavelli shows why youth should avail itself of its opportunities for study, and leads us to infer that his own youth had been so occupied. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body" (1 Cor. He writes:.

Paul condemned sexual immorality, saying "Flee from sexual immorality. Machiavelli, in his Florentine Histories, gives us a picture of the young men among whom his youth was passed. 3:1-17). Whereas the magnificence of the Medicean rule during the life of Lorenzo appeared to have impressed Machiavelli strongly, for he frequently refers to it in his writings, and it is to Lorenzo's grandson, Lorenzo II de' Medici, that he dedicates The Prince. In the same passage, Paul extols the virtues of compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, and gratitude (Col. Savonarola's influence upon the young Machiavelli must have been slight, for although at one time he wielded immense power over the fortunes of Florence, he only furnished Machiavelli with a subject of a gibe in The Prince, where he is cited as an example of an unarmed prophet who came to a bad end. He condemns such things as impurity, lust, greed, anger, slander, filthy language, lying, and racial divisions. Florence has been described as a city with two opposite currents of life, one directed by the fervent and austere Savonarola, the other by the splendour-loving Lorenzo.

These standards have highly influenced Western society for centuries. Although there is little recorded of the youth of Machiavelli, the Florence of those days is so well known that the early environment of this representative citizen may be easily imagined. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul expounds on how a follower of Christ should live a radically different life - using heavenly standards instead of earthly ones. This was the period of Machiavelli's literary activity and increasing influence; but he died, within a few weeks of the expulsion of the Medici, on June 21, 1527, in his fifty-eighth year, without having regained office. Paul's writings on social issues were just as influential on the life and beliefs of Christian culture, as were his doctrinal statements. The Medici again ruled Florence from 1512 until 1527, when they were once more driven out. Paul's notion that the Holy Spirit dwells within all believers at the time of their conversion, is integral to his soteriology, ecclesiology, missiology, and eschatology. During his official career Florence was free under the government of a Republic, which lasted until 1512, when the Medici returned to power, and Machiavelli lost his office.

These references would later take shape as the doctrine of the Trinity. The downfall of the Medici in Florence occurred in 1494, in which year Machiavelli entered the public service. Much of Romans, and particularly the ending to 2 Corinthians, portrays the Spirit in equality with the Father and the Son. His youth was concurrent with the greatness of Florence as an Italian power under the guidance of Lorenzo de' Medici, Il Magnifico. Paul also manifests a strong doctrine of the Holy Spirit. His life can be divided into three periods, each of which constitutes a distinct and important era in the history of Florence. His missionary work amongst non-Jews helped to raise Christianity beyond its initial reputation as a dissident (if not heretical) Jewish sect, at least with the populace, if not the Roman Imperial party. A symbolic tomb in his honor can be found in Santa Croce.

While a number of passages in the Gospels (e.g., Mark) acknowledge that Gentiles might enjoy the benefits of Jesus, Paul claims to be "The Apostle to the Gentiles" -- a title that can be traced to Galatians 2:8. He died in Florence in 1527 and his resting place is unknown. One development clearly not original to Paul, (for example see Isaiah 56:6-8), but for which he became the chief advocate, was the conversion of non-Jews to Christianity. He was later exiled and returned to Sant'Andrea in Percussina. Paul was also one of the first Christians to expound the doctrine of Christ's divine nature. He was tortured yet maintained his innocence throughout. This doctrine was confirmed at the Apostolic Council (see above). It is likely he had no part in the plot, though he was briefly imprisoned in the Bargello in Florence, just a block from the Palazzo Vecchio where he held office months prior.

His writings also express the doctrine that salvation is not achieved by conforming to Mosaic Law, but through faith in (or the faith of) Jesus. In 1512 Machiavelli's name was found on a list of 20 persons supposedly involved in a conspiracy to oppose Medici rule. In the New Testament, the doctrine of original sin is most clearly expressed by Paul's writings. During this time, he traveled to various European courts in France, Germany, and other Italian city-states on diplomatic missions. Related to Paul's interpretation of the resurrection are his concepts of faith, which he explains through his explanation of Abraham, and of righteousness and the forgiveness for sins, using language that Augustine of Hippo later elaborated upon in his formulation of original sin. From 1494 to 1512, the younger Machiavelli held an official government post. Roman Catholic and Orthodox theology disputes this, asserting that passages cited in Paul are being misinterpreted, and that this interpretation is directly contradicted by James 2:24: "man is justified by works, and not by faith alone." (KJV). His father was from an impoverished branch of an influential old Florentine family.

Most Protestant denominations assert that Paul's teachings constitute a definitive statement that salvation comes only by faith, and not by any external action of the believer. Machiavelli was born in Florence, the second son of Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli, a lawyer of some repute, and of Bartolommea di Stefano Nelli, his wife. justification by faith and works. . This belief leads directly to the modern argument of justification by faith vs. The Prince, written to encourage the appearance of a political savior who would unify the corrupt city-states and fend off foreign conquest, advocated the theory that whatever was expedient was necessary—an early example of utilitarianism and realpolitik. However, there is some evidence suggesting that Paul's concept of salvation coming from the death of Jesus was not unique amongst early Christians; Philippians 2:5–11, expounds a Christology similar to Paul's, and has long been identified as a hymn of early Christians dated as existing before Paul's letter. His two most famous books, Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio (Discourses on Livy) and Il Principe (The Prince), were written in the hopes of improving the conditions of the Northern Italian principalities, but became general handbooks for a new style in politics.

The assumption that Paul was anti-Law, (indeed that even Jesus was anti-Law), found its largest proponent in Marcion and Marcionism. As a theorist, Machiavelli was the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to European statecraft during the Renaissance. Paul goes to Herod's Temple with four Nazarite pledges to show that he is not; however, when some people from Asia Minor (Paul's home area) see him, it starts a major riot. Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was a Florentine statesman and political philosopher. For example, in Acts 15 he accepts a subset (see Noahide Laws) of the Law for new Gentile converts; in Acts 16 he "personally" circumcises Timothy, even though his father is Greek, because his mother is of the Jewish faith; and in Acts 21, James challenges Paul about the rumor that he is teaching rebellion against the Law. Frammenti storici, 1525. The Acts of the Apostles definitely depicts Paul as a Mosaic Law-observant Jew. Istorie fiorentine, 8 books, 1521-1525 (Florentine Histories).

The Ethiopian Orthodox, who claim to be the only church free of Marcionism, still observe some Mosaic Laws.^[2] The Apostolic Constitutions, generally dated around the 3rd century, though they claim to be from the Council of Jerusalem, are pro-Mosaic Law (see 2.36, 6.19, 7.23). Vita di Castruccio Castracani da Lucca, 1520 (The Life of Castruccio Castracani of Lucca). The Didache does not have this concept. Sommario delle cose della citta di Lucca, 1520. It was not until his later letter to the Corinthians that he alluded to the possibility of eternal life, that one often hears about in more conservative churches, and in turn was held to supersede the value of the Mosaic Law -- a belief often expressed as "Jesus died for our sins." It is unclear how much of this idea is original to Paul; Jerome notes the existence in the 4th century of a Christian sect in Syria called the Ebionites who still observed the Mosaic Law, thus suggesting that at least some Christians may not have believed in the salvatory qualities of the Passion. Discorso sopra il riformare lo stato di Firenze, 1520. (Romans 3:22, Galatians 3:22, etc.). Dell'arte della guerra, 1519-1520 (The Art of War).

The first was that of the centrality of faith within the life of Jesus, and the ability to attain righteousness through such. Asino d'oro (poem in terza rima, a new version of the classic work), 1517 (The Golden Ass). Paul had several major impacts on the nature of Christian doctrine. Belfagor arcidiavolo (novel), 1515. It is commonly accepted that Paul died as a martyr in Rome. Clizia, comedy in prose, 1515 (?). While there is little evidence to support any of these traditions, there is no evidence contradicting them either, nor any alternative tradition of Paul's eventual fate. Della lingua (dialogue), 1514.

One Gaius, who wrote during the time of Pope Zephyrinus, mentions Paul's tomb as standing on the Via Ostensis. Mandragola, prose comedy in five acts, with prologue in verse, 1513 (The Mandrake). Eusebius of Caesarea states that Paul was beheaded in the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero; this event has been dated either to the year 64, when Rome was devastated by a fire, or a few years later, to 67. Andria, comedy translated from Terence, 1513 (?). Another tradition, that can also be traced to the first century, places his death in Rome. Il Principe, 1513 (The Prince). 15:22–7), the evidence is inconclusive. Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio, 3 vols., 1512-1517 (Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius).

One tradition holds (attested as early as in 1 Clement 5:7, and in the Muratorian fragment) that Paul visited Spain; while this was his intention (Rom. Ritratti delle cose di Francia, 1510. We are forced to turn to tradition for the details of Paul's final years. Decennale secondo, 1509. While Paul's letters to the Ephesians and to Philemon may have been written while he was imprisoned in Rome (the traditional interpretation), they just as likely may have been written during his earlier imprisonments at Caesarea (first suggested in 1799), or at Ephesus (suggested in the early 20th century). Ritratti delle cose dell'Alemagna, 1508-1512. Acts only recounts Paul's life until he arrived in Rome, around 61; Paul's own letters cease to furnish information about his activities long before then. Decennale primo (poem in terza rima), 1506.

The three months when navigation was considered most dangerous were spent there, where Paul is said to have healed the father of the Roman Governor Publius from fever, and other people who where sick, and preached the gospel; but with the first days of spring, all haste was made to resume the voyage. Discorso sopra la provisione del danaro, 1502. His advice was not followed, and the vessel, driven by the tempest, drifted aimlessly for fourteen whole days, being finally wrecked on the coast of Malta. Del modo tenuto dal duca Valentino nell' ammazzare Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, etc., 1502 (Description of the Methods Adopted by the Duke Valentino when Murdering Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, the Signor Pagolo, and the Duke di Gravina Orsini). At Myra in Lycia, the prisoners were transferred to an Alexandrian vessel transporting wheat bound for Italy, but the winds being persistently contrary, a place in Crete called Goodhavens was reached with great difficulty, and Paul advised that they should spend the winter there. Del modo di trattare i popoli della Valdichiana ribellati, 1502. They skirted the coasts of Syria, Cilicia, and Pamphylia. Discorso sopra le cose di Pisa, 1499.

As the season was advanced, the voyage was slow and difficult. The centurion Julius had shipped Paul and his fellow prisoners aboard a merchant vessel, whereon Luke and Aristarchus were able to take passage. Acts describes Paul's journey from Caesarea to Rome in some detail. Paul claimed his right, as a Roman citizen, to be tried in Rome; but owing to the inaction of the governor Antonius Felix, Paul languished in confinement at Caesarea Palaestina for two years until a new governor, Porcius Festus, took office, held a hearing, and sent Paul by sea to Rome, where he spent another two years in detention (Acts 28:30).

2:10), Ananias the High Priest made accusations against him that again resulted in his imprisonment (Acts 24:1–5). Upon Paul's arrival in Jerusalem with the relief funds requested at the Council of Jerusalem (Gal. As a result, when he later raised money for victims of a famine in Judea and his journey to Jerusalem took him through the province once again, he carefully sailed around Ephesus -- instead summoning his followers to meet him in Miletus (20:17–38). Their income relied on the sale of silver statues of the goddess Artemis, whom they worshipped, and the resulting mob almost killed him (19:21–41).

He caused a great uproar in the theatre in Ephesus, where local silversmiths feared loss of income due to Paul's activities. Following this hearing, Paul continued his preaching (usually called his Third Missionary Journey), traveling again through Asia Minor and Macedonia, to Antioch and back. From an inscription in Delphi that mentions Gallio, we are able to securely date this hearing as having occurred in the year 52, providing a secure date for the chronology of Paul's life. Again he ran into legal trouble in Corinth: on the complaints of a group of Jews, he was brought before the proconsul Gallio, who decided that it was a minor matter not worth his attention and dismissed the charges (Acts 18:12–16).

First he came to Athens, where he gave his legendary speech in Areios Pagos and said he was talking in the name of the Unknown God who was already worshipped there (17:16–34); then he traveled to Corinth, where he settled for three years, and wrote the earliest of his letters to survive, 1 Thessalonians. Paul then traveled along the Via Egnatia to Thessalonica, where he stayed for some time, before departing for Greece. 2:2 KJV); the author of Acts, perhaps drawing from a witness (this passage follows closely on one of the "we passages"), explains here that Paul exorcised a spirit from a female slave—ending her ability to tell fortunes, and reducing her value—an act the slave's owner claimed was theft, wherefore he had Paul briefly put in prison (Acts 16:22). Paul himself tersely describes his experience as "when we suffered and were shamefully treated" (1 Thess.

Paul spent the next few years traveling through western Asia Minor -- this time entering Macedonia -- and founded his first Christian church in Philippi, where he encountered harassment. 4:10). Later on, there is some reconciliation—Paul mentions that John Mark is in prison with him, and tells the church in Colossae to welcome him if he comes to them (Col. However, Paul and Barnabas then had a severe falling-out over whether they should take John, surnamed Mark (Barnabas' cousin) with them, and they went on separate journeys (Acts 15:36–41)—Barnabas with John Mark, and Paul with Silas.

Acts recounts nothing of this, saying that "some time later", Paul decided to leave Antioch, (giving the impression he lost the argument with Peter) -- usually considered the beginning of his Second Missionary Journey -- with the object of visiting the believers in the towns where he and Barnabas had preached earlier. 2:11–18). Despite the agreement they achieved at the Council as understood by Paul, Paul recounts how he later publicly berated Peter (accusing him of Judaizing) over his reluctance to share a meal with gentile Christians in the "Incident of Antioch" (Gal. 2:9 KJV).

The letter also refers to Barnabas and Paul as "beloved" (Acts 15:25 KJV); compare Paul's account "James, Cephas [Peter] and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship" (Gal. (Acts 15:29). They sent a letter accompanied by some leaders from the Jerusalem church back with Paul and his party to confirm that the Gentile believers should not be overburdened by Mosaic Law beyond abstaining from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. Returning to Acts 15, after much debate and discussion, Peter says that "[God] made no distinction between us [Jews] and them [Gentiles], but cleansed their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:9 KJV), and James the Just states that "we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who are turning to God" (Acts 15:19 KJV).

A rumor that Paul aimed to subvert the Law of Moses is cited in Acts 21:21, however, according to Acts, Paul followed James' instructions to show that he "kept and walked in the ways of the Law". (see Antinomianism). 2:2) that he wanted to make sure what he had been teaching to the Gentile believers in previous years was correct— one interpretation is that his teaching was that Christ's fulfillment of the Mosaic Law by death and resurrection had freed Christian believers from the need to obey Mosaic Law. He stated (Gal.

2:4 KJV). 2:2 KJV), "because of false brethren secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage" (Gal. [he] preached among the Gentiles" (Gal. Paul states that he had attended "in response to a revelation", to "lay before them the gospel ..

This was said to be the result of men coming to Antioch from Judea and "teaching the brothers: 'Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved'" (Acts 15:1 KJV) (see Legalism). Some interpret this to mean whether Christians should continue to observe all of the Mosaic Laws, the most important being considered the practice of circumcision and dietary laws. Acts states that Paul was the head of a delegation from the Antiochene church that came to discuss whether new converts needed to be circumcised. Here the accounts of Acts 15 and Paul's Galatians 2:1-10 come at things from fairly different angles.

About AD 49, after fourteen years of preaching, Paul travelled to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus to meet with the leaders of the Jerusalem church—namely James the Just, Saint Peter, and John the Apostle; an event commonly known as the Council of Jerusalem. 11:24–27). He endured hardships on these journeys: he was imprisoned in Philippi, was lashed and stoned several times, and almost murdered once (2 Cor. Barnabas, Silas, Titus, Timothy, John, surnamed Mark, Aquila and Priscilla all accompanied him for some or all of these travels.

For these journeys, Paul usually chose one or more companions for his travels. These missionary journeys are considered the defining actions of Paul. 1:18–20); and though Acts states that Paul later "went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches" (Acts 15:41), it does not explicitly state that these were churches founded by Paul on a previous journey. Paul merely mentions that he preached in Syria and Cilicia (Gal.

Acts states he went to Antioch, whence he set out to travel through Cyprus and southern Asia Minor to preach of Christ -- a labor that has come to be known as his "First Missionary Journey" (13:13, 14:28). Following this visit to Jerusalem, Paul's own writings and Acts slightly differ on his next activities. He traveled to Jerusalem, where he met Saint Peter and James the Just. 11:32ff.).

1:17–20) until he was forced to flee from that city under the cover of night (Acts 9:23–25; 2 Cor. Following his conversion, Paul first went to live in the Nabataean kingdom (which he called "Arabia") for three years, then returned to Damascus (Gal. In addition, an adequate explanation for Paul's conversion is lacking in the absence of his vision. 1:13–16).

15:8 KJV), and frequently claimed that his authority as "Apostle to the Gentiles" came directly from God (Gal. However, Paul did write that Jesus appeared to him "last of all, as to one untimely born" (1 Cor. Paul himself offers no clear description of the event in any of his surviving letters; and this, along with the fact that the author of Acts describes Paul's conversion with subtle differences in two later passages, has led some scholars to question whether Paul's vision actually occurred. Acts 9:1–9 memorably describes the vision Paul had of Jesus on the road to Damascus, a vision that led him to dramatically reverse his opinion.

3:6) but later embraced the belief that he had fought against. Paul himself admits that he at first persecuted Christians (Phil. Furthermore, this view contends that Paul embraced ideas from esoteric mystery religions of the time, later superimposing them on the teachings of Jesus. They state that citizenship would have required participation in the Imperial Cult, which would have been in conflict with Hebrew religious ideals.

The Ebionites and Restorationists argue that Paul was a Roman who tried to convert to Judaism so he could marry or court a Jewish woman and that his conversion was denied. Because Paul himself never mentions this privilege, some scholars have expressed skepticism as to whether Paul actually possessed citizenship; such an honor was uncommon during his lifetime. Acts 22:25 and 27–29 also state that Paul was a Roman citizen -- a privilege he used a number of times to defend his dignity, including appealing his conviction in Iudaea Province to Rome. He was unmarried and taught that single people should remain unmarried (1 Cor 7:8).

According to Romans 16:2 he had a patroness (Greek prostatis) named Phoebe [1]. 9:13–15); according to Acts 18:3, he worked as a tentmaker. Paul supported himself during his travels and while preaching -- a fact he alludes to a number of times (e.g., 1 Cor. However, some scholars, such as Helmut Koester, have expressed their doubts that Paul either was in Jerusalem at this time or studied under this famous rabbi.

According to Acts 22:3, he studied in Jerusalem under Gamaliel; Thomas Robinson depicts Paul as coming to study in Jerusalem under Gamaliel, when Shammai became Nasi of the Sanhedrin, and during the rise to supremacy of the house of Shammai from AD 20. He was born as Saul in Tarsus of Cilicia and received a Jewish education. 1:14 KJV). more exceedingly zealous of the traditions" (Gal.

3:5), and of the "Jews' religion .. 11:1; Phil. Paul described himself as an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day, a Pharisee (Rom. There are many points of contention, even among scholars, but this outline reflects an effort to trace the major events of Paul's life.

The following construction of a possible chronology is based on this fourth approach. Brown explains (An Introduction to the New Testament, 1998), historians take one of four approaches:. Because of the problems with the two contemporary sources, as Raymond E. However, the events recorded in this work do not coincide with any of the events recorded in either Paul's letters or Acts, and scholars usually dismiss this as a 2nd century novel.

There is also the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. However, both sources have weaknesses: Paul's surviving letters were written during a short period of his life, perhaps only between AD 50 and 58; and the author of Acts makes a number of statements that have drawn suspicion (e.g., the claim that Paul was present at the death of Stephen [7:58]). In reconstructing the events of Paul's life, we have two sources, written either during, or soon after, the period of his life: Paul's own surviving letters (although his authorship of some of these has been disputed; see below), and the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, which at several points draws from the record of an eyewitness (the so-called "we passages"). .

Many Christian scholars say that no teachings were modified, and assert that Paul taught in complete harmony with Jesus. However, this view remains controversial. Due to his body of work and his undoubted influence on the development of Christianity, many modern scholars have considered him the founder of Christianity, who modified Jesus' teachings and added important new doctrines. Some argue that he was instrumental in establishing Christianity as a distinct religion, rather than a sect of Judaism.

His epistles form a fundamental section of the New Testament. He did much to advance Christianity among the Gentiles, and is considered to be one source (if not the primary source) of early Church doctrine, and the founder of Pauline Christianity. Paul is venerated as a Saint by all the churches that honor saints, including those of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican traditions, and some Lutheran sects. He made the first great efforts through his Epistles to Gentile communities to show that the God of Abraham is for all people, rather than for Jews only, though he did not originate the idea; for example, see Isaiah 56:6-8.

Paul is described in the New Testament as a Hellenized Jew and Roman citizen from Tarsus (present-day Turkey), and as a great persecutor of Christians prior to his conversion to the religion. Many Christians view him as an important interpreter of the teachings of Jesus. 3–67) is widely considered to be central to the early development and adoption of Christianity. Paul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus or Paulus), also known as Saint Paul the Apostle, (ce.

The Legend and the Apostle : The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon Philadelphia: Westminster Press. MacDonald, Dennis Ronald, 1983. ISBN 0060155825. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.

The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity. Maccoby, Hyam. ISBN 0806513500. Paperback, 576 pages.

Carol Publishing Group, July 1992. The 100. Hart, Michael. Jesus, Paul and the Law 1990 ISBN 0664250955.

Dunn, James D.G. Bruce, F.F., Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (ISBN 0802847781). ISBN 0385247672. Anchor Bible Series, 1997.

An Introduction to the New Testament. Brown, Raymond E. Christ the End of the Law, Romans 10.4 in Pauline Perspective 1985 ISBN 0905774930 argues that telos is correctly translated as goal, not end, so that Christ is the goal of the Law, end of the law would be antinomianism. Badenas, Robert.

(New York: HarperCollins, 1992). ^  John Shelby Spong, "The Man From Tarsus," in Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism, reprint ed. 4 (Winter 2000–2001). ^  Pamela Eisenbaum, "Is Paul the Father of Misogyny and Antisemitism?," Cross Currents 50, no.

^  The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, CNEWA. The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca the Younger. Epistle to the Laodiceans. 3 Corinthians.

Epistle to the Macedonians (lost). Epistle to the Alexandrians (lost). Titus. 2 Timothy.

1 Timothy. 2 Thessalonians. Colossians*. Ephesians*.

Philemon*. 1 Thessalonians. Philippians*. Galatians.

2 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians. Romans. an intermediate approach, which treats Paul's testimony as primary, and supplements this evidence with material from Acts.

(Ebionite and Restorationist view). the approach to completely disregard anything that Paul has written. the approach used by a number of modern scholars, which is to distrust Acts; sometimes entirely; and to use the material from Paul's letters almost exclusively; or. the traditional approach is to completely trust the narrative of Acts, and fit the materials from Paul's letters into that narrative;.