Below are extracts from the very interesting BAR article Five Myths About the Apostle Paul by David Christian Clausen; BAR > Summer 2023. And at the bottom of this post see the link to When Did Saul Become Paul? Although the author occasionally waxes apologetic.
Much has changed to demystify Paul and help us understand him in a consistent, historical, and contextualized way. With this approach, many of the contradictions and misunderstandings surrounding Paul are resolved, and certain long-held myths evaporate. Let’s look at how this works by addressing five myths associated with Paul.
Myth 1: Paul abandoned Judaism for Christianity.
…Paul was proud of his status as a faithful, Torah-observant Jew, and even said so (e.g., Romans 11:1; Galatians 1:14). In this, he believed he was participating in the fulfillment of end-time prophecies that spoke about the nations joining Israel in worship (e.g., Isaiah 56:6-7; Jeremiah 3:16-17).
Myth 2: Paul wrote to Jews and Gentiles, both for his time and for all time.
Several times Paul wrote plainly that he had been divinely chosen as an “apostle to the Gentiles,” not an apostle to Jews. His gospel message was for the idolatrous nations (Romans 1:5; Galatians 1:16). His letters, though written to Christ-believing assemblies that sometimes included Jews, were always addressed to the Gentile members (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 4:8). Paul brought his gospel to those who had no covenant relationship with the God of Israel. … Paul brought to the nations news of a “new covenant” understood in terms of the prophecies of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36:24-28). Paul’s missionary horizon was short—he believed that Christ would return while he was still alive (1 Thessalonians 4:15). Thus, he did not write for future generations.
Myth 3: Paul taught a “law-free” gospel.
Even skimming through Paul’s letters, it is clear that he never taught a “law-free” gospel that required only trust and not works. Paul was clear about Gentile obedience (e.g., Romans 15:18). He frequently taught many of God’s laws that pertained equally to Gentiles as to Jews (e.g., 1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 7:19). But Paul believed that the dispensation of the law through Moses to the Jews was specifically for Jews; it was their birthright as God’s original adopted children (Romans 9:4). And as he said, the Torah and God’s covenant with the Jews remained in effect (Galatians 3:15-17). Gentiles, however, required adoption (Galatians 4:4-5), and part of their requirements as adopted children was obedience to God’s law as dispensed directly by God through the Spirit to each Gentile heart.
Myth 4: Paul taught that Christ died for the sins of the world.
Paul never said this. Paul clearly wrote that Christ died for the ungodly and for sinners (Romans 5:6, Romans 8). He meant “sinners” just as the Gospels meant “sinners”: those in danger of losing their membership in the covenant or those who were out of it altogether (Matthew 9:10-11; Luke 6:32). Paul wrote that he and Peter were not this kind of sinner (Galatians 2:15). The ungodly were idolatrous pagans. Jews already belonged to God. Yes, Jews sinned. But they had ample means of atonement already specified in the Torah and Jewish teaching. Gentiles had nothing like this. According to Paul, Christ had to die for them to be redeemed. Christ had to become cursed (fall outside the covenant) just like Gentiles (Galatians 3:13). But God redeemed and exalted him. By being baptized into Christ’s death and deliverance (Romans 6:3-4), cursed Gentiles could share in his redemption and look forward to eternal life.
Myth 5: The meaning behind Paul’s letters is self-evident.
Much misunderstanding about Paul comes from overlooking his rhetorical strategies. Paul used a variety of literary tools to ingratiate, implore, persuade, and ultimately convince his audience. For example, Paul frequently used the social plural (“we”) when he wrote, identifying with his audience, even though he was not actually one of them. A classic example is when Paul writes as if he was one of the “ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Of course, he was not. Paul also wrote in character, that is, he wrote in someone else’s voice for dramatic effect. A famous example is Romans 7 in which Paul wrote as if he were a Gentile sinner wrestling with Mosaic law.
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There are other myths about Paul that result from our inability or reluctance to hear Paul for what he was: a first-century, Hellenistic Jew trained in Greek rhetoric and proficient in Pharisaic modes of scriptural exegesis. He used every tool at his disposal as an apostle to bring the Gentiles to obedience and spare them the wrath otherwise due them on the imminent Day of the Lord.
David Christian Clausen is an adjunct lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is the author of The Upper Room and Tomb of David: The History, Art and Archaeology of the Cenacle on Mount Zion and a researcher currently working with Drs. Emanuel Eisenberg and Shimon Gibson to bring to publication the report on Eisenberg’s 1983 excavation at Hagia Sion.
MLA Citation
Clausen, David Christian. “Five Myths About the Apostle Paul,” Biblical Archaeology Review 49.2 (2023): 60–61.
Myth – When Did Saul Become Paul? Did the apostle really change his name from Saul to Paul? by John Drummond, July 15, 2025. The following paragraphs are extracts from that good article.
Some 15 years or so after Saul of Tarsus became a follower in the Jesus movement, after having been a prominent member of the church in Antioch for some time, he and Barnabas were sent out on a missionary journey. While on Cyprus, the two have dealings with a Roman proconsul named Sergius Paulus and it is only then that the author of Acts decides to let his readers know that Saul was also called Paulus (Acts 13:9). What a coincidence! And from then on the author, and seemingly also Paul, refers to the apostle by his Roman name.
Again, we can only speculate about the sudden change in preference. It could very well have nothing to do with ideas of cultural or religious identity. In the Greek world, the word saulos carried a negative connotation when it came to males and meant something like “prancing.” It seems likely that someone in Antioch gave Saul some valuable advice before he went out among the peoples of the Roman world. Calling oneself “Prancer” when standing before the likes of philosophers and Roman governors would probably not generate a great first impression.
