Explain St Paul's contribution to the development and expression of christianity?
St Paul of Tarsus contributed to the spread and development of Christianity through his teachings, writings and missionary writings. It is these influences, which has allowed Christianity to grow into the religion it is today.
St Paul allowed gentiles to become Christian adherents through teaching that circumcision and other Jewish principles did not need to be followed in order to be Christian. This made Christianity a much more welcoming and distinct religious tradition. It allowed many people to join Christianity and thus contributed to the spread of the religion throughout the middle east and Europe. St Paul also distinguished Christianity as being more than a sect of Judaism but rather its own distinct religious tradition through the elimination of Jewish initiation rites.
Paul’s major teaching that God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice was enough for salvation also contributed to the development of Christianity. It gave people the promise of eternal life if they became disciples of Christ within their lives without punishment in the physical world; This encouraged many people to join the religion. This teaching also influenced Martin Luther in his mission to eliminate corruption in the church- the exchange of money for the removal of sins. Luther used St Paul’s teachings as the driving force for this campaign, which along with Henry VIII caused the great schism, which changed the expression of Christianity forever.
St Paul also clarified that the core of Christianity was faith in Jesus Christ as God’s son and his sacrifice for humanity. Through the emphasis on this sacrifice the ritual of the Eucharist begun to be formed in the words Christians speak today, ultimately influencing Christianity forever. A faith in Christ as the son of God is also what separated Christianity from Judaism allowing it to be a distinctive religious tradition via its rituals, beliefs and sacred texts.
Thus Paul had major contributions to the spread and development of Christianity as a living religious tradition.
