Scholars consider the letters of the apostle Paul critical for understanding the historical foundations of Christianity. But those messages, to and from Paul’s various contacts in the first century Roman world, also contain the atmosphere of their times. Just like our tweets and text messages today, the letters Paul wrote and read describe the world of their times – politics, economics, and even social justice.
Harvard Divinity School's Dr. Laura Nasrallah studies these writings. Ahead of her talk at University of Tennessee Department of Religious Studies’ annual Dungan Lecture, Nasrallah spoke with WUOT's Brandon Hollingsworth about how modern conversations about topics such as race aren’t as modern as you might think.