On what basis do you characterize Paul as a third century author?

At least that still places him earlier than Constantine.

The Wikipedia article on Paul (not recommended) includes a quotation from 1 Clement, dated ca. 90 C.E., suggesting that Clement of Rome was familiar with Acts.  This suggests that Paul was indeed a first-century person.

His sole surviving known authentic work, 1 Clement, at 47:1ff, clearly references Paul's 1 Corinthians; placing that as a first-century work.

It is notable also that none of Paul's letters display any awareness of the events of 70 C.E., nor of Jesus's purported predictions of the same.  This tends to indicate that the letters pre-date those events.

P.

“What I admire is honesty and truth, no matter who, or what, the sources are.”
— Uri Yosef
Last Edited By: Proteus Tue, 2-Aug-11 11:24:14. Edited 1 times.