The Perils of Pauline was a 1914 American film serial shown in weekly installments, featuring Pearl White as the title character. As the old-fashioned damsel in distress, Pauline was menaced by assorted villains, including pirates and Indians. Unlike today’s weekly programming (and even some of our movies, Pauline never used the so-called “cliffhanger” format in which an episode ends with an unresolved danger that is addressed at the beginning of the next installment. Although each episode placed Pauline in a situation that looked sure to result in her imminent death, the end of each installment showed how she was rescued or otherwise escaped the danger.  It was such a new and unique idea that, years after, it was placed in the national archives as a cultural icon.

The apostle, Paul, had many such harrowing experiences.  Only he wasn’t like the “damsel in distress.”  He wasn’t cute and cuddly and looking for a hero…