Joe Rogan Experience #2562 - Dan McClellan · Aired Oct 7, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Paul killed a bunch of Christians and set churches on fire, or at least ordered the deaths of Christians.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Saul (later Paul) really did persecute Christians. Acts says he approved of Stephen's killing, dragged men and women to prison, and went to Damascus breathing out threats of murder. Paul himself says he persecuted the Way "to the death." But the texts say he approved of and took part in killings and arrests. They do not say he personally killed a bunch of Christians, and nothing in them has him setting churches on fire. Early churches were groups meeting in homes, not buildings. A check that would flip this verdict is finding an ancient source that describes Paul burning church buildings or personally killing Christians.
Read the supporting source · biblehub.com ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Paul killed a bunch of Christians and set churches on fire, or at least ordered the deaths of Christians?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. Saul (later Paul) really did persecute Christians. Acts says he approved of Stephen's killing, dragged men and women to prison, and went to Damascus breathing out threats of murder. Joe Rogan said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2562 - Dan McClellan, aired Oct 7, 2026, at 26:52. The supporting source is biblehub.com, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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