So I've posted my November Joy for today... But now I've got another question (not related to the whole "Joys of November" thing) I'd like to address:

What is the correct understanding of the Apostle Paul's marital status?

Was he single and celibate for his whole life (which has been the more traditional understanding)?  Or was he perhaps divorced instead (which seems to be a theory that's been gaining ground recently)?  What has been the historical understanding of this question through the years?  And what does it matter for our lives today and our study of the Bible (particularly Paul's teachings on Singleness and Divorce)?

I'd be very interested to hear from others on this -- especially any people who may have studied theology and/or Biblical history in previous decades.

Of course, in preparing for my teaching on Singleness, I was confronted with these various ideas a little bit.  And in the end, I did choose to go ahead and cite Paul as an example of a godly single role model -- drawing from his own writings on the subject in 1 Corinthians 7 and from the more traditional biographical sketch of the Apostle Paul which has been developed and maintained throughout the centuries.  However, I've also discovered that there are some Biblical scholars and teachers (Mark Driscoll, for one), whom I respect (but not revere), who have now started to favor a view in which Paul was actually not a single but rather a divorcé.  Presumably, because Paul was a rabbi (or at least training to be a rabbi) and a member of the Sanhedrin, it can (or should?) be inferred that he was also married -- since this was supposedly a requirement for all rabbis and members of the Sanhedrin.  So, the theory goes, Paul was married (or at least engaged) to a Jewish woman who then basically left him after he left the Jewish tradition and became a Christian.  Thus, it would supposedly be more correct to talk about Paul as being "divorced-and-single" instead of simply being "single."

So I'm curious:  Does anyone know if these theories existed five years ago?  Or twenty-five years ago?  Has this "debate" about Paul's marital status been going back and forth for decades and centuries, or is it more recent scholarship that has led some to this conclusion?  I'm not saying that "recent scholarship" means "lesser scholarship" -- but it would seem to be a more tentative consideration, if it's slipped past 2000 years of other scholars' consideration of the text.

In any event, it seems like we have to depend on extra-biblical sources to establish a view outside of the traditional understanding of Paul's singleness (which is a less-than-perfect method, if you ask me).  But I think it would be interesting to know if Paul was "single" or "divorced?"  It might color some of his teachings on marriage, divorce, and singleness.  In the end, I don't think it would change the Bible texts -- or the application of these texts -- substantially... but it would perhaps add some nuance.

What have you heard?  What are your convictions?