Paul

Paul, once known as Saul of Tarsus, is the apostle whom young visitors from Odyssey meet through the Imagination Station's journeys into the ancient world. Formerly the church's fiercest persecutor, he is blinded by a light on the road to Damascus and transformed into Christ's boldest messenger, vouched for as a brother by Barnabas when other believers still fear him. He carries the good news through beatings, riots, prison, and shipwreck, remaining calm even in a hurricane at sea, where he promises that every soul aboard will survive. Generous and gracious, he pays the debts of the runaway slave Onesimus out of his own pocket, saying he is only passing on the mercy Jesus showed him. Even as a prisoner under house guard in Rome, accompanied by his friend Luke, he keeps preaching, winning hearts from slaves to Roman soldiers.