Quite possibly Christianity's most pivotal—and divisive—figure, Paul of Tarsus was a Greek-speaking Roman Jew who was determined to turn the world upside down. A professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, Paula Fredricksen examines Paul's thoroughly Jewish milieu, and notes that he was deeply immersed in scriptures predicting the coming of the Messiah and an imminent Apocalypse. Shedding light on this endlessly provocative figure, Fredriksen also delves into Paul's pagan beliefs in angry superhuman forces, jealous demons, and hostile cosmic gods, and attempts to reconcile the opposing forces of Paul's worldview.