Reading Paul as he saw himself, as a Jewish apostle and not a Jewish apostate, changes how almost all his words are understood. A vivid example can be seen in Galatians 1:13.

Brem said the Apostle Paul was very intelligent and well-educated, a leading Pharisee who had guarded the coats of the men who stoned the saintly Stephen to death in Acts 7:54-60-8:1.