when Paul (Saul) was persecuting and killing christians, was he in the Roman Army? and what title did he hold?

Question

having a discussion with my brother about what role Saul was playing when he had his conversion expierience??

Answer 1

He was not in the Roman army. He was an ordinary Roman citizen. He persecuted Christians on behalf of the Jews who opposed Jesus. As a Pharisee he was zealous. He asked for letters from the High Priest to propagate the persecution of this 'Jewish sect' which believed that Jesus was Messiah. He was playing a role as the protector of his own faith as a Pharisee, trying to eradicate a heresy.

Answer 2

Saul as a Roman. Acts 22:27;
Saul was a Pharisee. Acts 23:6; Philip.3:5
Saul was a Jew Acts 21:39,40; of the tribe of Benjamin. Rom.11:1-5,16,20, 21,25;
Saul spoke Hebrew. Heb.22:2,3;
Saul approved of Stephen being stoned to death Acts 7:1-60; Acts 8:1;

Answer 3

Saul was a witness to the death of Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:3 )
Galatians 1:13 and 1 Corinthians 15:9 tell how he persecuted the early church.He was not in the Roman army.

Answer 4

No, not at all. Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee - a hyper-strict sect of Judaism that hated the Romans.

He was persecuting Christians because he thought they were following a false messiah. He learned otherwise when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus.

Saul was intending to persecute the Christians there. He used the authority of the Jewish temple guards in his persecution of "Jews".

He would never have gotten ten paces if he was persecuting Romans - he got away with it because the Romans didn't care about Jews persecuting Jews.

TEK

Answer 5

Saul was a Pharisee and he got permission from the Sanhedrin to persecute Christians.

Acts 9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Answer 6

Saul’s being born a Roman meant that one of his male ancestors had acquired the privilege of citizenship. How? There are several possibilities. Apart from inheriting citizenship, it could be accorded to individuals or groups either for particular merits, for mere political expediency, or as a reward for some signal service to the State. A slave able to buy his freedom from a Roman, or one emancipated by a Roman citizen, would become a Roman himself.

How citizenship entered Saul’s family remains a mystery.
We do know that Saul came from Tarsus, the principal city and capital of the Roman province of Cilicia (now in southern Turkey). Though a sizable Jewish community lived in the area, life there would also have exposed Saul to Gentile culture. Tarsus was a large and prosperous city noted as a center of Hellenistic, or Grecian, learning.

Saul’s knowledge of languages—especially his mastery of Greek, the common tongue of the Roman Empire—also proved invaluable in his missionary work. (Acts 21:37–22:2) Analysts of his writings say that his Greek is excellent. His vocabulary is not classical or literary but, rather, reflects that of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures that he often quoted or paraphrased. On this evidence, various scholars assume that Saul received at least a good elementary education in Greek, probably in a Jewish school. “In antiquity a better education—above all a Greek education—was not to be had for nothing; as a rule, it presupposed some material support,” says scholar Martin Hengel. Saul’s education thus suggests that he came from a prominent family.

Likely, when he was no older than 13, Saul continued his schooling in Jerusalem, some 520 miles from home. He was educated at the feet of Gamaliel, a well-known and highly esteemed teacher of the Pharisaic tradition. (Acts 22:3; 23:6) Those studies, comparable to a university education today, threw open the door of opportunity for achieving prominence in Judaism.

Born into a Jewish family in a Hellenistic and Roman city, Saul belonged to three worlds.

Of course, Saul’s background, education, and personality were known to the resurrected Jesus, who said to Ananias: “Be on your way, because this man is a chosen vessel to me to bear my name to the nations as well as to kings and the sons of Israel. For I shall show him plainly how many things he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:13-16) When channeled in the right direction, Saul’s zeal was instrumental in spreading the Kingdom message to distant territories.

Answer 7

There is absolutely no indication that Paul was in the Roman army. He was Jewish through and through, a strict Pharisee as respects the law and he was of the tribe of Benjamin.

Although the scriptures report that he definitely persecuted Christians, there is nothing in scripture to suggest that he murdered.

Hannah J Paul

Answer 8

God Bless you...

Martin S is right...Saul was a Pharisee, and truly enjoyed persecuting Christians. He was given a special comission to go to Damascus to pursue and stomp out the Way that was being taught there...Saul also was in the crowd and watched the stoning of Stephan...Check out the book of Acts for more info...

Answer 9

He was not in the army. He was a Jew employed by the temple. But he probably knew Roman soldiers.

There is some debate as to whether Paul was really a Pharisee.

Answer 10

Before his conversion, he was " a hebrews of hebrews", "pertaining to the law, blameless" - obviously he was a scibe, a pharisee (teacher of the Law). In his later letters, he revealed himself also a roman citizen. Not a roman army soldier.

He thought he was doing God a service when he persecuted christians who believed in Jesus as the Messiah!