What did Paul believe?

Answer 1

It is almost universally understood that Paul believed that Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the time of King Herod and grew up in Nazareth, that he was betrayed by one of the disciples, was crucified under Pontius Pilate and rose again in the flesh before ascending to heaven - just as we read in the gospels. Acts of the Apostles, now believed to have been written as late as the second century, reinforces these assumptions by providing a putative history of Paul's ministry. However, what we read in his epistles casts at least some doubt on these assumptions.

Paul lived and taught some time before the New Testament gospels were written, so had no access to this source of information about Jesus. Scholars have pointed out that there is no evidence that Paul believed that Jesus had lived in Palestine in the recent past, or that he was associated with either Bethlehem or Nazareth. 1 Corinthians 15:5 says that the risen Jesus was seen by "the twelve", suggesting that Paul was unaware that Judas had betrayed Jesus and that the risen Jesus appeared only to eleven disciples. Paul's beliefs may have been closer to gnosticism than modern Christianity is.

We do know that Paul believed that Jesus would return in his own lifetime, as we can see particularly in 1 Thessalonians. He believed that salvation was by faith and good works, but not by adherence to the 'works' of the Jewish law.

Answer 2

There are many people in the world named Paul. To answer this question we need a last name or time.