A Christian Apologist claims that the existence of historical figures “is substantiated by faith
in written testimony that they existed" and suggested that the Apostle
Paul would be a “great
example” of a historical figure
from Jesus's time to provide
a good comparison.
So let's ask two questions and provide two short answers:
- Did Paul exist? Probably.
- If he existed, did Paul have a visionary experience of Jesus? Probably.
1 Definitions
The most important
evidence for historians is primary evidence, such as artefacts (coins, glass,
jewellery, clothing, etc.), documents, recordings, paintings, statues, architecture, official
records, burial sites, and so on but which - and this is important - were created at the time.
A secondary source is written after the fact
with the benefit (and distortions) of hindsight and a tertiary source is a
compilation based mainly on secondary sources. Hearsay is information
received from other people which cannot be substantiated and testimony is a formal written or
spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law.
2 Did Paul Exist?
2.1 The evidence
In Paul’s case there is no primary evidence or written testimony. So arguably, we can stop right now and say the question of Paul's existence cannot be answered due to lack of evidence. But what evidence do we have?
Obviously, there’s the New Testament, which provides nearly all the information available. Beyond that, we have references from Jerome (a 4th century writer) and Ignatius (a 2nd century bishop) but these writers were born after Paul died, and they provide very little detail. These are tertiary sources and hearsay.
2.2 The Information in the Bible
Thirteen of the New Testament’s 27 documents are letters with Paul’s name as the author, and a 14th, the book of Acts, describes Paul’s life and career. These 14 texts fall into four distinct categories:
1) The Early Paul: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, Philippians, and Philemon (50s-60s A.D.)
2) The Disputed Paul or Deutero-Pauline: 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians (80-100 A.D.)
3) The Pseudo–Paul or the Pastorals: 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus (80-100 A.D.)
4) The Tendentious or Legendary Paul: Acts of the Apostles (90-130 A.D.)
2.3 How do we know that Paul wrote those letters?
Well, we know there were Christians who came later
and created forgeries claiming they were written by Paul. This raises the
question of why someone would want to forge a letter from a person if that
person didn’t exist. So ironically, the forgeries support the case that the
original author probably existed. Note: “probably”!
The seven letters claiming to be written by Paul cohere with one another in terms of vocabulary, writing style, theological point of view, and historical situation and so appear to have the same author - and they can be dated to the time Paul was allegedly alive. So it seems reasonable to assume that Paul was probably – and again note: “probably” - their author.
Using those seven letters as the closest thing we have to
real evidence, what do we discover?
o
Paul
calls himself a Hebrew or Israelite, stating that he was born a Jew and
circumcised on the eighth day, of the Jewish tribe of Benjamin (Philippians
3:5-6; 2 Corinthians 11:22).
o
He was
once a member of the sect of the Pharisees. He advanced in Judaism beyond many
of his contemporaries, being extremely zealous for the traditions of his Jewish
faith (Philippians 3:5; Galatians 1:14).
o
He
zealously persecuted the Jesus movement (Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6; 1
Corinthians 15:9).
o
Sometime
around A.D. 37 Paul had a visionary experience he describes as “seeing” Jesus
and received from him his Gospel message as well as his call to be an apostle
to the non-Jewish world (1 Corinthians 9:2; Galatians 1:11-2:2).
o
He made
only three trips to Jerusalem in the period covered by these seven letters; one
three years after his apostolic call when he met Peter and James but none of
the other apostles (around A.D. 40); the second fourteen years after his call
(A.D. 50) when he appeared formally before the entire Jerusalem leadership to
account for his mission and Gospel message to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1-10),
and a third where he was apparently arrested and sent under guard to Rome
around A.D. 56 (Romans 15:25-29).
o
Paul
claimed to experience many revelations from Jesus, including direct voice
communications, as well as an extraordinary “ascent” into the highest level of
heaven, entering Paradise, where he saw and heard “things unutterable” (2
Corinthians 12:1-4).
o
He had some
type of physical disability that he was convinced had been sent by Satan to
afflict him, but allowed by Christ, so he would not be overly proud of his
extraordinary revelations (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
o
He
claimed to have worked miraculous signs, wonders, and mighty works that
verified his status as an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12).
o
He was
unmarried, at least during his career as an apostle (1 Corinthians 7:8, 15;
9:5; Philippians 3:8).[viii]
o
He
experienced numerous occasions of physical persecution and deprivation
including beatings, being stoned and left for dead, and shipwrecked (1
Corinthians 3:11-12; 2 Corinthians 11:23-27).
o
He worked
as a manual labourer to support himself on his travels (1 Corinthians 4:12; 1
Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 9:6, 12, 15).
o
He was
imprisoned, probably in Rome, in the early 60s A.D. and refers to the
possibility that he would be executed (Philippians 1:1-26).
The style of writing also gives an important clue to the authenticity.
Paul does not tell stories in the way the rest of the NT does. He indicates
things that have happened to him in an ordinary way. He describes things he did and people he met matter-of-factly and in the first person. He's never trying to make a point.
For example, when he says that he met James (brother of
Jesus), Peter, and John in Jerusalem, he is not "bigging them up" or assigning special status to them. He simply describes how an agreement was
reached.
3 Paul’s “Revelation”
The closest thing to a description of his experience comes in the first
chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
“But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.” (Galatians 1:15-17)
This description suggests that the “revelation” occurred in
Damascus itself (not on the road there), since he indicates at the end that
after his trip to Arabia he returned to Damascus.
So what exactly happened at this moment of conversion? We cannot possibly know what Paul really saw or experienced. All Paul says is that God was “pleased to
reveal his son to me.” He claims he saw Jesus, but did he, or did he imagine it?
All we can say is that he believed he did see Jesus and that experience radically affected
his thinking.
There are alternative explanations, including sun stroke and
seizure. In 1987, D. Landsborough published an article in the Journal of
Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry in which he states that the description of Paul's conversion
experience suggested "an attack of [temporal lobe epilepsy], perhaps
ending in a convulsion. The blindness which followed may have been postictal."
3.1 Conclusion
Given that Paul probably existed, and we have reasonably accurate copy of letters that he wrote, then we can say he had a visionary experience of Jesus. However, we have no way of knowing the nature of this event - was it really was a direct communication from Jesus, or a hallucination of some kind. Such events are not unknown today and they can be explained as the result of imagination. So it is likely that is what happened to Paul - but we will never know for certain.
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