Who Was The Historical Jesus What Was His Message Why Is Paul Such An Important Critical Thinking

The historical Jesus is a figure of much debate among scholars, mainly because our primary source of information about his life and death are the gospels, writings created by four of his followers more than forty years after his death. Jesus was most probably born around 4 BC and lived most of his life in the region of Galilee and the town of Nazareth. He was born a Jew and spoke Aramaic and perhaps Greek, a language many Jews spoke at the time, a result of the influence the Hellenistic kingdoms continued to exert. Jesus’ teachings were influenced by the ideas of both the Essenes, a variety of Judaism and the Pharisees, another religious society of the time. However, he moved beyond their teachings, criticizing the way Judaism was practiced at the time, emphasizing the forgiving and loving nature of God and welcoming into his circle marginalized people, like lepers and prostitutes. As the number of his followers grew, Jesus started being seen as a threat by both the Jewish elite and the Roman rulers of the area. He was arrested, probably tried in a hurry and was crucified. It is interesting to note that crucifixion was a traditional Roman way of execution and it is safe therefore to say that the historical Jesus was executed by Romans.
Paul of Tarsus was born as Saul and was the son of a Jew who acquired Roman citizenship. He spoke three languages, Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek and in the beginning persecuted Christians. But, in 36 AD after saying he had a vision, he converted to Christianity and became the most important figure, after Jesus himself, in establishing the Christian belief as a religion. He initiated a break with Judaism, claiming that only the belief in Christ could save someone. He started a journey that took him all over the Eastern part of the Roman Empire including the capital, Rome, preaching the new religion and spreading its message outside the Jewish territories. At the same time, he wrote a great number of texts explaining the new faith and describing the moral codes every Christian should obey, setting thus the basis for the doctrines of the new religion.