The accounts of Paul’s travels in The Acts of the Apostles and Galatians seem to contradict each other at many points. Their descriptions of a meeting in Jerusalem–a major council in Acts versus a small, informal gathering in Galatians–also differ quite a bit.

A historical critical reading of these accounts does not force these texts into a harmonious unity or accept them at face value. Instead, a historical critical reading carefully sifts through the details of the texts and asks which of these is more likely to be historically accurate.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Chapter 1. Paul’s Travels in the Acts of the Apostles
17:49 – Chapter 2. Paul’s Travels in Galatians
28:25 – Chapter 3. Which Account Is More Accurate?

Dr. Dale B. Martin (1954-2023) was Professor of Religious Studies at Yale University, specialising in New Testament and Christian Origins. Dr Martin holds a BA from Abilene Christian University, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a MA and a PhD from Yale University. Dr Martin grew up as a fundementalist Baptist, later in life he became a practicing episcopalian.