Editing Paul the Apostle (section)

== Available sources ==
{{further|Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles}}
[[File:Conversion of Saint Paul (Michelangelo Buonarroti).jpg|thumb|upright=1|''[[The Conversion of Saul (Michelangelo)|The Conversion of Saul]]'', a [[fresco]] by [[Michelangelo]] developed between 1542 and 1545]]
The main source for information about Paul's life is the material found in [[Pauline epistles|his epistles]] and in the Acts of the Apostles.{{sfn|Dunn|2003|pp=19–20}} However, the epistles contain little information about Paul's pre-conversion past. The Acts of the Apostles recounts more information but leaves several parts of Paul's life out of its narrative, such as his probable but undocumented execution in Rome.{{sfn|Cross |Livingstone|2005|loc=St Paul}} The Acts of the Apostles also appear to contradict Paul's epistles on multiple matters, in particular concerning the frequency of Paul's visits to the [[Early centers of Christianity#Jerusalem|church in Jerusalem]].<ref name="dalemartin"/>{{sfn|Ehrman|2000|pp=262–65}}

Sources outside the New Testament that mention Paul include:
* [[Pope Clement I|Clement of Rome]]'s [[First Epistle of Clement|epistle to the Corinthians]] (late 1st/early 2nd century);
* [[Ignatius of Antioch]]'s epistles to [[Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans|the Romans]] and to [[Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians|the Ephesians]]{{sfn|Ladeuze|1909}} (early 2nd century);
* [[Polycarp]]'s epistle to [[Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians|the Philippians]] (early 2nd century);
* [[Eusebius]]'s {{lang|la|[[Church History (Eusebius)|Historia Ecclesiae]]}} (early 4th century);
* The [[apocryphal Acts]] narrating the life of Paul ([[Acts of Paul]], [[Acts of Paul and Thecla]], [[Acts of Peter and Paul]]), the apocryphal epistles attributed to him (the Latin [[Epistle to the Laodiceans]], the [[Third Epistle to the Corinthians]], and the [[Correspondence of Paul and Seneca]]) and some [[Apocalyptic literature|apocalyptic texts]] attributed to him ([[Apocalypse of Paul]] and [[Coptic Apocalypse of Paul]]). These writings are all later, usually dated from the 2nd to the 4th century.