Conversion of Paul the Apostle

The term refers to a Damascus experience told in the Acts of the Apostles encounter of Paul of Tarsus with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus ( Acts 9 EU), which makes him a persecutor of the early Christians to be an apostle. This experience is told exclusively in the hagiographic account of his life in the book of Acts. Paul himself is not mentioned in any of his epistles, making it appear as hagiographical embellishment.

Literally called " Damascus experience " an event which a person conveys a radical self-knowledge, their attitude and their behavior for them changed for the better.

New Testament

Paul was in his own words (1 Cor 15.9 EU) originally a persecutor of those early Christians who do not fully complied with the Torah.

Acts, traditionally attributed to Luke the Evangelist, and the self-written by Paul Galatians give different accounts of his conversion. While the Acts of the Apostles tells of an outer appearance, Paul writes itself only by an inner revelation.

According to Acts 7:58 ff EU he was present at the stoning of the first Christian martyr Stephen, and had " pleasure " in it. After that, he said the community had " devastated ", " by invading the houses, men and women abducted and made for their arrest ." According to Acts 9,1 f EU requested and received it by the Jerusalem high priest to seek Jesus a written order, also in Damascus and the synagogues located there by supporters to arrest them.

On the road to Damascus - " not far from the city " - he is then in a visionary light phenomenon encountered the risen Jesus himself (Acts 9.3 to 29 EU). This had called him by his Hebrew name, Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me? He had asked back, Who art thou, Lord? Then the voice replied: 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting!

Thus, Paul recognized the injustice worthy of death in our whole life, which he had dedicated to the " zeal for the law" ( compliance with the will of God as revealed biblical Torah ). For now, God had revealed to him in the person of Jesus Christ his true will directly and abruptly. Paul learned this encounter as an appeal to the " apostle to the nations", which influenced his future life. Through the narrative structure, they are often interpreted as a conversion.

Paul himself says nothing of a light phenomenon or an audible voice. He writes only that "he [God ] reveal his Son in me" Gal 1:16 LUT, ie an inner, subjective experience, hence the Damascus experience appears as hagiographic decoration.

Phrase

In the vernacular, the term is also colloquially released from its New Testament meaning and generally in relation to a dramatic experience that causes a change in direction in later life change. Related to the terms " teachable moment " and " key moment ".

Sometimes the Damascus experience is also expressed with the phrase from Saul to Paul. This name change is not substantiated in the New Testament. There Paul never refers to himself as Saul and does not mention a name change. According to Acts 13.9 he wore a double name, as was common in the Diaspora Judaism, and was named depending on the target group with either the Hebrew or Greek names. Up to this point, the Acts of the Apostles calls him only Saul, after that only Paul. This change is, however, four chapters and about 15 years after the 9 described in Acts Damascus experience.

Analogy

For a change in development policy Nuscheler in 2003 coined the term Damascus effect.