Some Christians caught in Nero’s persecution were doused in oil and set on fire as torches to light the streets of Rome at night. Others were thrown to the wild beasts in what the Romans called “the Circus.” The new movie, “Paul: Apostle of Christ,” opens in the midst of this reign of terror. Paul (James Faulkner) is imprisoned by Nero in the infamous Mamertine Prison when Luke (Jim Caviezel), his faithful disciple and companion sneaks into the prison to give him comfort – ri

“The best and the brightest.” The same phrase could have been used to describe Saul of Tarsus; a child of the best upbringing; a student of the vaunted teacher, Gamaliel; a Roman citizen; trained in the best Jewish schools; groomed to become a national leader in Israel. And this pious man was bent on the destruction of the believers in Jesus. In order to understand Saul of Tarsus it is important that we put him into historical context. Only a few short years had passed from t