Hi Gretta: You raised a question concerning Paul's pedigree and training. According to the sources I have read "Antisemtism in the New Testament" by Lillian C. Fruedmann and "Paul" by A.N. Wilson, there seems to be an image of Paul that is anything but the "devoted apostle". This is based on Paul's own words and his constant shift-changing as well as the Ebionites/Nazarene sect's vehement hatred of Paul and what they saw as his perversion of Jeesus' message. According to the author of these two above mentioned books, it is clear that Paul was NOT born Jewish. His father procured Roman citizenship, as borne out in the book of Acts when Paul invokes this when he is arrested for starting a riot as well as his early position as a Temple Guard under the control of Romans/Sadduccees/Herodians. The theory, based upon the book of Luke, Acts and Paul's own writings is that Paul was a G-d-fearer from Tarsus who came to Jerusalem. He underwent circumcision and conversion in the hopes of marrying the High Priest's daughter. Since that was an impossibility, he turned on Judaism, abandoning his post (the alleged Damascus Road "conversion") and for the next 14 years turned against Judaism and Torah, and tried to hijack the nazarene movement. His vehemence against the Torah ("it brings death") and Circumcision (which he calls 'mutilation of the flesh"), and even the Jews who "seek signs and wonders" knew no bounds. Ironically though, Paul would paint and pad his resume that he was of the Tribe of Benjamin (how he would know this is never challenged), a "Pharisee of Pharisees", and a Zealous Jew. This grandiose aggrandization would go unabated until he had to return to Jerusalem. Once there, the fruits of his actions not only with the Jewish authorities but also the Romans (from whom Paul had went AWOL 14 years before) and with the Nazarene sect, which was considered a cult by both Rome and Judaism, came to fruition. But rather than dying as a martyr among those who actually had KNOWN jeesus, Paul invokes his Roman Citizenship and appeals his case to the Emperor. G-d forbid the Roman paul dies with "lowly Jewish Galileans". For a man who constantly harped how he was 'crucified with Ch-st", he punks out from being crucified (which was a ROMAN punishment for Sedition--being against Rome) and is in house arrest in Rome for more than two years. There, with the founders of the Jerusalem Church (James and Peter) out of the way, he becomes the Defacto leader and pens at least three letters from his house arrest; promulgating his hatred of Jews (since he uses Greek, NOT Hebrew) and formulates the belief that he would be rescued by Jeesus ala a "Rapture" (though that word would not be coined by him but by a preacher in the 1890s). Rome loses patience with him and he is beheaded for defiance against Rome (but he dies as a Roman citizen. Jews NEVER had citizenship in the Roman Empire). Hope this helps