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Which Jewish beliefs did St. Paul share with the Pharisees?
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St. Paul the Apostle
The Conversion of St. Paul (second version), oil on canvas by Caravaggio, 1601; in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.
Before his conversion to Christianity, St. Paul the Apostle was a member of the Pharisees, a religious party that flourished during the Second Temple period. As a Pharisee, Paul shared several core Jewish beliefs with the movement, including:
- Life after death: Paul held a deep conviction in the resurrection of the dead, a belief central to Pharisaic theology.12
- Importance of tradition: Pharisees accepted nonbiblical "traditions" as being nearly as significant as the written Bible. Paul explicitly referred to his own expertise in these traditions during his time as a Pharisee.2
- Study of the Law: Paul was a dedicated student of the Hebrew Bible. Like other Pharisees, he was deeply concerned with the Mosaic Law and the effort to interpret and apply it to contemporary life.12
While Paul later became a prominent Christian apostle, these foundational beliefs from his time as a Pharisee remained significant aspects of his background and theological perspective.2