Where did Sauls conversion take place?

Answer 1

A:Acts of the Apostles, written decades after Paul's death, provides a miraculous explanation, with three parallel but different stories in which Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. These accounts of Paul's conversion appear to have been based on the ancient play of Euripedes called the Bacchae - in other words, they were not genuine records of Paul's conversion, a view borne out by differences in the three different accounts.

In each account there was a blinding light, which appeared only to Paul in the version at Acts 9:3-8 and probably at Acts 26.13-19, but appeared to both Paul and his men at Acts 22:6-11. Paul alone heard the voice of Jesus from heaven at Acts 22:6-11 and probably at Acts 26.13-19, but both Paul and his men heard the voice at Acts 9:3-8.

Paul himself never mentions any divine vision that led to his conversion; in fact his epistles seem to have ruled this out. His description of being called to be the apostle to the gentiles, taking into account the actual words used in the Greek language, suggest a change of heart rather than a miraculous conversion. In his Epistle to the Galatians, Paul said that after his conversion, he travelled to Arabia, and only then went to Damascus (bypassing Jerusalem). On this evidence, we could reasonably say that Jesus did not meet Paul on the road to Damascus.

Answer 2

According to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul was on his way to Damascus in order to arrest Christians. As he was nearing the city, a light from heaven shone all around him and he fell to the ground (paintings often show him falling from a horse, but Acts says nothing about a horse). Saul heard a voice asking "Saul, why do you persecute me?" and when Saul asked the name of the person, the voice replied "I am Jesus..." Saul was led into Damascus where his sight was restored when Ananias, who had been praying, laid his hands on him. From that moment, Saul became a fervent follower of Christ, taking the message of the Gospel to several lands outside of Israel. The story is found in chapter 9 of the Acts of the Apostles.

Answer 3

There are two, quite different explanations about how Paul was converted to Christianity - Paul's own account in his epistles and Acts of the Apostles, a book written at least seventy years after his conversion. Acts in turn has three somewhat contradictory ways of telling the same story, suggesting that the author was not entirely sure how to put his case.

Acts of the Apostles is quite clear that Paul's conversion was a sudden miraculous experience, in which he heard the voice of Jesus, was blinded, then taken to Damascus where he was miraculously cured of his blindness and taught the gospel.

Paul's own epistles never mention the blinding light of Acts and say that he was not taught the gospel by any man. They suggest that his conversion came about via a developing realisation that God "was pleased to reveal his Son in (or by means of) me." Had this passage said that God "was pleased to reveal his Son to me," there would still be a case for a dramatic conversion experience, but Burton L. Mack (Who Wrote the New Testament) says that the Greek words translate as the former, indicating a gradual realisation by Paul of his mission. He did not go to Damascus, but went to Arabia instead. Later, he went to Jerusalem to tell the brethren of the gospel that he taught among the Gentiles, evidence that whatever gospel he taught it was not the same as taught in the Jerusalem church and did not come from its disciples, thus negating the conversion story in Acts.

Answer 4

Paul was called directly by God via Jesus to do His work:

Acts 9:3-7

New King James Version (NKJV)

3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?"

Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?"

Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.

Paul recounts this experience in chapter 22:9 and the men who had accompanied Paul heard the sound but could not understand the words that were being spoken to Paul. We are not told why they could not understand the sound they heard.

Answer 5

Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute more Christians. While on the journey, he saw a bright light and heard the voice of Jesus, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' Saul was then blinded for the rest of the journey, even once he reached Damascus.

After he received his sight again, he changed his name to Paul, as he was now a new person in Christ. He became a Christian, and instead of persecuting Christians, Paul became a Christian himself, sharing the Gospel.

Answer 6

We do not know the exact year, but it was sometime soon after the death of Jesus in 33 CE. It is estimated that his arrival in Jerusalem as recorded in his letter to the Galatians, was about 36 CE.

Answer 7

Paul's epistles and the Acts of the Apostles treat Paul's conversion very differently. In Paul's own account , his few references to his conversion suggest it was an occasion scarcely worthy of comment, and (Galatians 1:17-2:1) immediately after that conversion he travelled to Arabia, then Damascus (bypassing Jerusalem), Jerusalem, then Syria and Cilicia, and back to Jerusalem. There is no suggestion here of a blind and defenceless man taken first to Damascus to be healed miraculously and then taught the gospel. Long before Acts was written, Paul told his followers that he received the gospel from no man, but by divine inspiration.

Acts of the Apostles says that Paul, while on the road to Damascus, had a divine vision of Jesus, who asked why Paul persecuted him so. This vision prompted Paul's conversion, but Acts gives three quite different versions, making it difficult to judge which was more correct. In each account there was a blinding light, which appeared only to Paul in the version at Acts 9:3-8 and probably at Acts 26.13-19, but appeared to both Paul and his men at Acts 22:6-11. Paul alone heard a voice from heaven at Acts 22:6-11 and probably at Acts 26.13-19, but both Paul and his men heard the voice at Acts 9:3-8. The differences in the three accounts in Acts could lead one to assume that Paul's own contemporary account is the only really reliable one and that the event described in Acts probably did not happen.

Answer 8

Yes, you can use the coupon that way. With the Dairy Queen buy one get one free coupon, the second Blizzard of equal or lesser value will be free. So if you get two different sized Blizzards, you will pay for the larger more expensive one and the smaller one will be the free one.

Answer 9

The exact timing is not known, but it was relatively soon after Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus.

Answer 10

He was on the road to Damascus from Jerusalem.