Writing this book has made me rethink what a historical biography of the apostle Paul should be for students and general readers. That intellectual labor has also gone into teaching the course Paul and His Influence in Early Christianity in its multiple versions to hundreds of undergraduates at Indiana, DePaul, and Creighton Universities for nearly twenty years. The fresh, vigorous dialogue in class with such curious minds, at times astonishingly brilliant, has kept my teaching a challenging and lively experience. Rethinking the historical figure of Paul in his context of the Roman Empire continues to sustain my enthusiasm for New Testament studies.

Let me explain briefly what this book is. I aim to bridge the divide between the findings of professional academics and the expectations of a nonacademic audience. I have written strictly as a historian, drawing conclusions about what we can know from the available evidence rather than accepting the truth claims of a religious faith. When reading this book, I suggest keeping at hand a copy of the New Testament so that you can look up the various biblical passages as they arise in the book's analysis. For nonbiblical writings about Paul, Meeks and Fitzgerald (2007) provides an excellent sourcebook and a potential companion volume.