As every good Christian knows, Saul of Tarsus experienced a dramatic conversion on his way to Damascus – or did he? The New Perspective on Paul would question this reading of the passages in Acts. It’s partly down to your definition of the word ‘conversion’, of course, but based on the meaning that a person changes from one religion (or non-religion) to another, Saul experienced no such thing.

To begin with, the NPP school would argue, in Paul’s day Christianity was not seen as a separate and identifiable religion at all. The followers of Jesus may have been referred to as ‘Christians’ on a number of occasions in the New Testament but only as a label given to them by those who opposed them. And Paul did not quit his long-held Jewish faith in order to become a disciple.

Secondly, Paul does not use the language of conversion to talk about himself in his letters; rather he prefers to talk about his ‘calling’. For example, in Galatians 1:15 he talks about being set apart by God before his birth and of having been ‘called through his grace’. His language seems to be an echo of the Old Testament prophets who were called by God to appeal for a return of the nation to his ways. Paul does this not only to his fellow Jews but also to the Gentiles and does so through proclaiming that the long awaited Messiah had arrived in the person of Jesus.

Which brings me to the final point: central to Paul’s preaching in the book of Acts – and so called missionary journeys – is the proclaiming of the resurrected Jesus as the Messiah – God’s anointed. This is not Paul rejecting his Jewish background and faith but embracing it in its true fullness.

Dramatic Saul’s interrupted journey to Damascus may have been, but it was not a conversion experience. And if this is the case should we be using the narrative as a measuring stick for those who become followers of Jesus today?

This post is part of a series on the New Perspective on Paul by Kent Yinger. The previous post can be found here.


Share