Dive Deeply into the Story

This learning experience explores the formative period of the Apostle Paul’s ministry in Arabia as a lens for understanding early Christian theological development and interreligious engagement. Drawing from historical geography, archaeology, Pauline theology, Islamic studies, and a missiological paradigm for cultural engagement, the course reconsiders Paul’s withdrawal to Arabia not as isolation but as a pivotal moment of contextual theological formation within a religiously plural environment.

Students will examine the significance of Nabataean religious culture, Paul’s interpretation of Abraham, Hagar, and Mount Sinai, and the Islamic critique of Paul, while considering how Paul might be constructively reframed as a ḥanīf in light of Qur'anic categories. The course equips students for nuanced engagement with Abrahamic faith traditions, encourages historically informed theology, and models missional praxis in contested religious landscapes.

This learning experience will be of particular interest to students in missiology, Islamic studies, early Christianity, and interfaith dialogue, as well as those preparing for ministry in post-Christian or multi-faith contexts.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Analyze the historical and religious context of Arabia during Paul’s early ministry, with particular attention to the Nabataean Kingdom and its pluralistic religious landscape.

  • Articulate a theological understanding of Paul’s time in Arabia as a season of missiological and Christological formation shaped outside Jerusalem’s institutional authority.

  • Interpret Paul’s allegory of Abraham, Hagar, and Mount Sinai (Galatians 4:21–31) in light of Jewish covenant theology, Greco-Roman rhetoric, and its implications for interreligious dialogue.

  • Evaluate Islamic critiques of Paul, particularly those concerning theological innovation and Christological development, using empathetic and historically grounded responses.

  • Engage the Qur'anic concept of the ḥanīf and assess how Paul may be reframed as a ḥanīf-like figure in theological conversations with Muslim audiences.

  • Apply Missiological Theology —including polemical parallelism, perichoretic mission, and historical theology—to formulate a framework for Christian engagement in religiously contested or pluralistic environments.

Continue the Story

Unpack Paul’s First Missionary Journey through the Eyes of a Missiologist

    1. Introduction to Paul in Arabia

    2. Syllabus

    3. Timeline

    4. Cast of Characters

    1. Introduction to the Literary Evidence

    2. A Framework for the Study of Paul's Letters

    3. Keener - Paul in Nabatea

    4. Hengel - Paul in Petra and Hegra

    5. Quiz: Galatians, 2 Corinthians, and Paul in Arabia

    6. Answer Key

    1. Introduction to Nabataeans and Paul's Mission

    2. The Nature of Paul's Missiological Engagement

    3. Glossary of Key Terms

    4. Nabataean Religion and What Paul Encountered

    5. Quiz: Nabataean Religion

    6. Answer Key

    7. Polemical Parallels in Paul's Engagement with Nabataeans

    8. Quiz: Paul and Polemical Parallels

    9. Answer Key

    1. Religion in Pre-Islamic Arabia

    2. Paul and Petra

    3. Quiz: Paul and Petra

    4. Answer Key

    5. Paul and Hegra

    6. Quiz: Paul and Hegra

    7. Answer Key

    8. Paul and Mount Sinai

    9. Quiz: Paul and Mount Sinai

    10. Answer Key

    1. Introduction of Islamic Traditions of Paul

    2. Jewish Understanding of Paul

    3. Paul in Popular Jewish Imagination

    4. Toledot Yeshu - Dr. Miriam Goldstein

    5. The Toledot Yeshu in Context - Barbu and Deutsch

    6. Quiz: Jewish Understanding of Paul

    7. Answer Key

    8. Islamic Understanding of Paul

    9. Early Islamic Perspectives of the Apostle Paul - Michael F. Kuhn

    10. Early Muslim Views of the Apostle Paul - Dr Martin Whittingham

    11. Paul a Charlatan - Dr. Ali Ataie

    12. Quiz: Islamic Understanding of Paul

    13. Answer Key

    1. Introduction to the Life of Paul

    2. Paul's Self-Understanding and Mission to a Diverse World

    3. Quiz: Paul's Self-Understanding

    4. Answer Key

    5. Naṣrānī (Ναζωραȋος) and ḥanīf (ἐθνικός)

    6. Quiz: Hanif

    7. Answer Key

    8. Paul, Abraham, and Elijah

    9. Paul, Arabia, and Elijah - N.T. Wright

    10. Quiz: Paul, Abraham, and Elijah

    11. Answer Key

    12. Paul as Hanif - Table of Comparison

About this course

  • Free
  • 63 lessons
  • 5 hours of audio overviews
  • Asynchronous discussions with a global community
  • Questions to help you reflect deeply

Meet the Professor

Join Dr. Cooper for a compelling exploration of Paul’s first missionary journey in Arabia

Professor of Missiological Theology Michael T. Cooper

Dr. Cooper earned a PhD in Intercultural Studies with a focus on religious movements and a minor in theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He currently serves as a missiologist for a missions agency where he focuses on missiological research and equipping missionaries for effective cultural engagement. He has thirty years of missions experience, including ten years as a pioneer church planter in Romania after the fall of communism and has equipped church planters and leaders in Africa, Europe, North America, South America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. He is a guest faculty at Torch Trinity Graduate University, adjunct faculty at Mission India Theological Seminary, Asia Graduate School of Theology Nepal, and Ebenezer Bible College in Katmandu, and affiliate faculty at Kairos University. He has written and contributed to more than 30 books and academic articles and has presented conference lectures at the London School of Economics, University of Bordeaux, Loyola University, Baylor University, and many others. His recent book, Ephesiology: A Study of the Ephesian Movement is a best seller at William Carey Publishing.