Re: Conversion in Luke Acts

From: Greg Carey - Religion (CAREY@rhodes.edu)
Date: Wed Apr 09 1997 - 11:37:20 EDT


I'm not strong on the semantics of conversion, but the senior members of the
list know that Paul's conversion or otherwise is one of the classic disputes in
NT scholarship.

The classic anti-conversion treatment is Krister Stendahl, _Paul among Jews and
Gentiles_, who argues that Paul's experience is more a prophetic call than a
conversion from one religion to another.

On the other side see Alan Segal, _Paul the Convert_, who employs conversion
models from sociology. By those standards Paul is a convert. In particular,
he experiences radical change in his social identification and way of life.
Segal's bibliography brings the issue almost up-to-date.

I tend to see things through Segal, but Stendahl's argument is absolutely
necessary. In my reading, Paul never expresses an anti-Torah sentiment, only a
particular appropriation of Torah and its relevance for Gentiles.

Greg Carey
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Rhodes College
Memphis TN 38112 USA
carey@rhodes.edu



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