The Missing Paul

Last updated on: May 17, 2019 at 5:43 am by Philip Jenkins

The Missing Paul 2019-05-17T05:43:26-04:00 Philip Jenkins

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Not long ago, I posted about the Book of Acts, suggesting that some very early reader of that text went out and collected what all later ages now know as the collection of Paul’s letters. Specifically, I suggested the collector responsible was “Theophilos,” either the actual name or pseudonym of the person to whom Luke dedicated his writings. Following up on that, I returned to one of the very best scholarly works on Acts, which is of course by Ben Witherington, and what I found there was fascinating for what it suggests about what is knowable, and unknowable, in that early era. It also says much about the authorship of Acts. Do note that I think that Ben wrote a brilliant piece of scholarship, which is different from meaning that I agree with each and every argument he makes!

I particularly admire a valuable section of the book (pp. 77-97) in which Ben reconstructs a chronology of Paul’s life. What everyone recalls from Acts is the road to Damascus conversion and Paul returning to testify about his new belief in Christ. From the letters (which the author of Acts did not know), we can piece together other major portions of Paul’s travels and his career. And we can make an excellent attempt at reconstructing what Paul was doing in his later years, roughly from AD 47-62, up to his arrival in Rome (Acts 11-28).

But here is the problem. Assume that Paul was converted in 33 AD (with a year or two’s leeway either way). It seems highly likely that between 33 and 47, Paul was heavily engaged in the kind of mission and evangelism that we know from the later accounts of work in Philippi, Corinth and the rest, as he shared his new truth about Jesus. But we know very little of this part of his life – literally, half his time as an evangelist. For one whole decade – 37-47 AD – both activities and locations become very obscure indeed, to the point of non-existence.

We can make some well informed estimates as to location. In Galatians, Paul famously talks about visiting “Arabia” right after his conversion, before returning to Damascus, and many of us might assume that he was off in the desert contemplating. That is almost certainly wrong. Martin Hengel published a terrific piece of scholarship about Paul between Damascus and Antioch: The Unknown Years (Westminster John Knox, 1997), exploring the rich culture and politics of that booming “Arabian” area at the time.

Quick trivia point: of all the secular rulers of the world at the time, Paul mentions precisely one. Who was it? Not Claudius, not Nero, but Aretas IV Philopatris, king of the Nabateans – that is, of “Arabia.”

After his time in Arabia – three years or so – Paul would have worked in the areas we generally call Syria and Cilicia, the region that looked to Antioch, which he would certainly have known well. And in 47, he is in Tarsus where Barnabas finds and recruits him. Did he really do nothing else in all those intervening years? Did he not visit neighboring provinces?

Going back to my original column, that does underscore just how very partial the canonical letters of Paul are as a sample of his actual writings, and how many more there must have been. We know about letters to the Corinthians and Philippians. Were there letters to the Petraeans, the Bostrans, the Damascenes, the Antiochians? As I have suggested, the reasons why we don’t have this corpus are simple. In a couple of cases, these were areas where the Jesus movement was rooted in Judaism, and where Jewish congregations were uprooted and slaughtered in the wars of the 60s. But more specifically for present purposes, the author of Acts just knew nothing about them, not even to attempt padding. As a result, Paul vanishes for long and surprising sections of Acts.

Think how matters might have been different. Suppose that Acts featured one word about Paul in Arabia, literally a word. Then my hypothetical collector of Paul letters could easily have written to a couple of obvious cities, such as Bostra, to see what might be found there, and who knows what still existed at that point? In fact, the author of Acts knows not a word of this story,

In consequence, the early readers of Acts had no inkling of those years of mission, and either did not bother to go hunt down letters; or else they tried, but the earlier destruction was so total that they could find no clue of what had once been there. Without the documents, there could be no history. And that is why virtually all maps of the early church and Paul’s “missionary career” omit large parts of that story, and show his work in what we today call Greece and central/western Turkey, and nothing from the modern territories of Syria or Jordan. They invariably talk of his “first missionary journey,” with not a word about its predecessors.

Tell me how the documents are collected and how or whether they survive, and I’ll tell you what we think the history is.

Ben Witherington’s chronology of Paul’s life includes the following:

“AD 37-46 – Saul preaches in home region; results unknown or inconsequential (possible great persecutions. 2 Cor. 11.23-29)”

The 2 Corinthians section actually sounds so horrendous that the portion of Paul’s missionary career we hear about in Acts looks rather like the quiet stage, a kind of genteel retirement after the real turmoil.

Ben then moves on to note Paul’s visionary experience in 41-42 AD, with the “thorn in the flesh.” And that takes care of a decade of Paul’s life.

The author of Acts has no sources whatever for that lengthy period in Paul’s life, of c.37-47. Why is that? And what are the implications of this for the authorship of Acts? As is well known, Acts includes several substantial passages that record journeys that “we” took, through the 50s (16:10–17; 20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–37; 28:1-16). Many very reputable scholars believe that this “we” includes the Luke who went on to be the author of both the Books of Luke and Acts, and that has the advantage of giving a real first hand quality to Acts in particular. I think it is quite likely that the author of Acts – let’s call him Luke – really was using and integrating a travel journal or diary of some kind here, complete with the we passages, but it need not have been his own work. In fact, there are strong arguments to believe that the Acts author was not personally part of any “we” in his text.

Let me explain. Assume for the sake of argument that “Luke” authentically was a companion of Paul for some months or years, traveling with him on lengthy and time-consuming voyages, and in very small groups of only a handful of travelers, perhaps two or three. Surely, they talked to each other. Yet in all those interactions, Paul never once breathed a word about any time in Arabia, or basically anything he did between his conversion and first trip to Jerusalem c.37 AD (Acts 8-9) and Barnabas finding him in Tarsus in 47 AD (Acts 11.25). Never once did Paul say to his companions, for instance, “You think things are bad in Corinth! Let me tell you about that house church in Bostra…”). Paul never mentioned his miraculous deliverance from a mob in Tyana or Hierapolis, or Tarsus itself. He said remarkably little about the various horrors he described in 2. Cor. 11, and which he evidently was not shy writing about. He never once mentioned his substantial Arabian adventures, nor any other dramatic and transformational experiences from that missing decade.

Not only did the author of Acts not know Paul’s letters, but (I would argue) he had never met nor interacted personally with Paul. The author was not a companion of Paul, nor is there any worthwhile reason to associate him with the “Luke” who actually was such a companion (Col.4.14). The author was a historian, not a participant.

As a historical source, Acts is crucial and indispensable. But there is no evidence that it contains any element of autobiography.

Previous Post

May 16, 2019

Don't Balance Budgets on the Back of History

Next Post

May 20, 2019 Again with the Evils of E-cigarettes

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abolitionism Abortion Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Kuyper Abraham Lincoln Academia Activism Adam Renberg Advent Adventist africa African American Religion Agnes Howard Albert Camus American History American Religious History American Revolution American West Anabaptists Ancient History Andrea Turpin Andrei Tarkovsky Anglicanism Annales Ansley Lillian Quiros anti-Catholicism Antisemitism Anxious Bench apologetics Apparitions Arash Azizi Archaeology archives art Artificial Intelligence Asia Asian Americans Augustine Authors Bad Bunny Baptism Baptists Barack Obama Battle of Hastings Benjamin Franklin Bernard-Henri Levy Beth Allison Barr Beth Moore Bethany Mannon Bible Bill Cunningham Billy Graham Black Music Bob Dylan Body Boenhoffer Books Breastfeeding Bruce Springsteen C.S. Lewis Calvinism Cancel Culture Capitalism Carmelites Catholicism Cedric Robinson Cesar Chavez Charismaticism charity Charles Dickens Charles Lindbergh Che Guevara Chicago Children Chinese Christianity Chris Gehrz Christ Christian death Christian Higher Education Christian life Christian Nation Christian Nationalism Christianity Today Christmas Church life Church Practice cinema Civil Religion Civil Rights Movement Civil War civility Classics Climate Change Cold War Colonial Mexico colonialism Comer Communism community complementarianism Conference on Faith and History Congregationalism Conspiracies Conspiracy Conversion Narratives Coronavirus Costa Rica Council of Nicaea Covid-19 Creation Critical Race Theory Crusades Culture culture wars Daniel K. Williams David Barton David Swartz Death Ways death with dignity DEI democracy Democratic Party Devotion Digital Age Diplomacy discipleship diversity Donald Trump Drama Dua Lipa Early Church early modern Early modern Catholicism Easter Eastern Christianity economic exploitation Education elections Elie Wiesel Elizabeth II Elizabeth Taylor emotions Empire Engineering England enslavement Entertainment Episcopal Church Erica Ramirez eschatology Eurocentrism Evangelicalism Evangelicals Exegesis Family Feminism Film Flannery O'Connor folk music Food Foreign Policy founding fathers Franciscans Franciscus Junius fundamentalism Funerals G.K. Chesterton Gender Genocide genre geography George W. Bush George Washington George Whitefield Global Christianity Global church Grief Guadalupe Guest Post guest post gun control gun violence Gustavo Gutierrez Hamid Dabashi Harold John Ockenga Harvest Hate Hawaiian Christianity Healing health care Heather Cox Richardson Hell Heresy Hermeneutics Higher Education Hinduism Hippocratic oath Historical Fiction Historical Methodology Historical Profession Historical Profession Historical Theology Historical Thinking historiography Holidays Holocaust horror movies Human rights Humanitarian Work humanities Hummingbirds Hungary hymns Imago Dei Immigration Injustice Interviews Iran Islam Islamophobia Israel Ivan's Childhood Jacob Randolph James Bratt Janine Giordano Drake Japanese history Japanese Literature Jean Paul Sartre Jesse Miranda Jesus Jesus Christ Jimmy Carter Joan Baez Joan Didion Joanne Freeman João B. Chaves Joao Chaves Joey Cochran John Calvin John Fea John Tillotson John Turner Johnny Cash Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Tran Joseph Smith Josh Howerton Journalism Jr. Judaism Jürgen Moltmann Just War Justice Justin Brierley Karl Barth Katelyn Beaty koi ponds Kris Kristofferson Kristin Kobes Du Mez Latin American Religious History Latino Americans Lectio Divina Leisure Lent Leonard Cohen liberal arts liberalism Liberation Theology Linda Ronstadt Lisa Clark Diller Literature Lou Reed Lynchings Lynneth Miller Renberg Mainline Protestantism Malcolm Foley Marilyn Monroe Maritime history Mark Noll Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masih Alinejad mass shootings material culture medieval Christianity Medieval Ethiopia Melissa Borja memory Mennonites Mental Health Mental Illness Methodism Mexican Americans Mexicans Mike Madrid Miles Mullin Min Jin Lee Miscarriage Missionaries Mister Rogers Mitt Romney modernity Monasticism Mormonism Motherhood Mothers of the Church Moving Music Musicals Nadya Williams Nahua Christianity Native Americans Natsume Sōseki New Contributor New England New Year New York Nico Non-Violent Protest Orthodoxy pacifism Paleo Evangelicals Palestinians Parenting Patti Smith Paul Kingsnorth Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pentecostalism Philip Jenkins Phillis Wheatley physician-assisted suicide pilgrimage Pilgrims pluralism Plutocracy Poetry Politics Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV post-modernism prayer preaching Presbyterians prosperity gospel Protest Public history Publishing Puritans purity culture Quakers race Race Massacres Racial Capitalism racial reconciliation racialization Racism Raha Bahloulipour Re-Enchantment reading Reformation Refugees religion and the university religion and war Religious Freedom Religious Nones Religious Pluralism Religious Symbols religious violence Republican Party Revival Rita Coolidge Ritual Roger Williams Roman Catholic church Royalty Russell Moore same-sex marriage Sarah Irving-Stonebraker Scandinavia Science Science and Technology Scopes trial Scriptural Interpretation secularism Selena Quintanilla seminary Seventh-Day Adventists sexual morality Sexuality Sikhs Silence slaveholders theology Slavery Slavoj Zizek social justice Social Media Southern Baptist Convention Southern Religion Spain Spiritual Autobiography Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Discipline Sports Stanley Hauerwas Suffering Summer Camps Sunday Night Odds and Ends Supernatural Supreme Court Syriac Christianity Tal Howard Taylor Swift Teaching Technology Television Thanksgiving The Beatles The Mission theater TheoBros Theology Thomas Dixon Thomas Jefferson Thomas Kidd Thomas Merton Tim Gloege Tim Walz Tom Holland Tourism tradition Tragedy Translation Transnationalism Travel Trump Ukraine Uncategorized Unitarians United Methodist Church US History Vanessa Chan Velvet Underground Verónica A. Gutiérrez Veronica Gutierrez Vikings Violence Virgin Mary Virtue Virtue ethics Visions Voting War WCTU Wendell Berry Westminster Assembly White Evangelicalism Wildfires Winnie the Pooh Witches women Women in Ministry Women's and Gender Studies Work Worship writing Yasunari Kawabata Zena Hitz

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did the people do when Ezra read from the Book of the Law?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ran away Laughed Destroyed idols Wept and repented