解釋保羅(Paul)對基督教的貢獻

According to Acts 13-14 , Barnabas took Saul on what is often called the First Missionary Journey which took them to Cyprus, Barnabas's home, and thence to Paphos. Afterward he sailed onward to visit the towns of southern Asia Minor, which is in present-day Turkey: Perga, Antioch, Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. However, Paul's own letters only mention that he preached in Syria and Cilicia (Gal 1:18–20). Acts records that Paul later "went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches" (15:41), but it does not explicitly state who founded the churches or when they were founded.
Second missionary journey

Following a dispute between Paul and Barnabas over whether they should take John Mark with them, they went on separate journeys (Acts 15:36–41) — Barnabas with John Mark, and Paul with Silas. Following Acts 16:1-18:22, Paul and Silas went to Derbe and Lystra, the Phrygia and northern Galatia, to Troas, when, inspired by a vision they set off for Macedonia. At Philippi they met and brought to faith a young girl called Lydia, whom they baptised together with her family; there Paul was also arrested and badly beaten. According to Acts, Paul then set off for Thessalonica. This accords with Paul's own account (1 Thess. 2:2), though some question how, having been in Philippi only "some days", Paul could found a church based on Lydia's house; it may have been founded earlier by someone else. According to Acts, Paul then came to Athens where he gave his speech in the Areopagus; in this speech, he told Athenians that the "Unknown God" to whom they had a shrine was in fact "known", as the God who had raised Jesus from the dead. (Acts 17:16–34). Thereafter Paul travelled to Corinth, where he settled for three years and where he may have written 1 Thessalonians, possibly the earliest of his surviving letters. At Corinth, (18:12–17), the "Jews united" and charged Paul with "persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law"; the proconsul Gallio then judged that it was a minor matter not worth his attention and dismissed the charges. "Then all of them (Other ancient authorities read all the Greeks) seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things." (18:17 NRSV) From an inscription in Delphi that mentions Gallio, the year of the hearing is known to be 52, which aids in reconstructing the chronology of Paul's life.

[edit] Third missionary journey

Following this hearing, Paul continued his preaching, usually called his "third missionary journey" (Acts 18:23–21:26), travelling again through Asia Minor and Macedonia, to Antioch and back. He caused a great uproar in the theatre in Ephesus, where local silversmiths feared loss of income due to Paul's activities. Their income relied on the sale of silver statues (idols) of the goddess Artemis, whom they worshipped; the resulting mob almost killed Paul (Acts 19:21–41) and his companions. Later, as Paul was passing near Ephesus on his way to Jerusalem, Paul chose not to stop, since he was in haste to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost. The church here, however, was so highly regarded by Paul that he called the elders to Miletus to meet with him (Acts 20:16–38).