The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus
BIBL 364 Research Paper
Christian Romano
Contents
I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………page 3
II. Saul the Pharisee………………………………………………………………….page 3 A. Heritage and Citizenship…………………………………………………….page 3 B. Education and Religious Training…………………………………………...page 4 C. Persecutor of “The Way”……………………………………………………page 5
III. The Encounter with Christ………………………………………………………page 6 A. The Light………………………………………………………………….…page 6 B. The Voice……………………………………………………………………page 6 C. Blindness…………………………………………………………………….page 8
IV. Paul the Apostle…………………………………………………………………page 9 A. The Chosen Vessel…………………………………………………………..page 9 B. The Preacher…………………………………………………………………page 9 C. The Hunter Becomes the Hunted……………………………………………page 10
V. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..page 10 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...…page 12
The Conversion of …show more content…
Gamaliel was the most renowned rabbi of the day, the most distinguished student of Hillel and succeeded him as the head of the school which bore his name.9 Paul notes his academic success in Gal. 1:14, “And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” Bruce points to the extent of Paul’s mastery of the law: “To master the corpus of law, both written and oral, was difficult; to observe it in detail was more difficult still; but twenty years and more after he became a Christian, Paul could look back on his earlier days and sum up his conduct in the words: ‘as to righteousness under the law blameless’ (Phil. 3:6).”10 In addition to his rabbinical training, Paul would have been taught in Greek culture as