Credited with the popularization of Christianity, Saul (later Paul) of
Tarsus was influential in mediating Jewish ideas to an increasingly
Gentile audience. Combining appealing concepts such as life after death
and a personal Deity with a relaxed approach to the requirements of
Rabbinic Judaism, the former Pharisee succeeded in spreading
Christianity well beyond its narrow origins among a small group of Jews
in Jerusalem to become a massively powerful world religion, albeit
distant from its Jewish origins.Lecture delivered at the Young Israel of
Bal Harbour on October 16, 2013 by Dr. Henry Abramson..
