The article discusses some of the basic challenges in the historical study of Paul, with frequent references to Heikki Räisänen’s views on the matter. The article discusses the problem of the source material and the importance of convincingly relating Paul to the other Christ-believers and the Judaism of his time. The article also discusses some progressive methodological perspectives which materialize when Paul is no longer subjected to the pressures of (revelatory) uniqueness but is allowed to be investigated within a universal human social and cognitive framework.