25 September 2010

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION THE STORY OF SAUL WHO TURNED PAUL

The main emphasis of this write up is finding the right path -Jesus as the right way. One may ask this:
Who was saul?
How did he find the right path?
What did he do after finding the right path?

The stoned to death of Stephen by anti-jesus gangs ,Saul was present and left keeping the clothes of those attakers. Saul a Judaist extremist was angered by the preachings of Jesus Christ because it was against the Jewish law, even worse of it Jesus never attended the Jewish school in Jerusalem as was expected of one to be a Rabbi(teacher).
Thus Saul strongly requested a permission to stop the influence of Christianity in the Jewish communities. This radical greatest persecutor of newly converted Christians triggered the despersion of them from Jerusalem to other parts of the world.
Although to them(Christians)it was a blessing in disguise because this forced them to spread the word of Jesus to other parts of the world.
According to the letter wrote to the Romans ,Saul born at Tarsus cilicia of pure Jewish race (Romans 1:1)He was persecutor,sinner,philosopher,traitor ,lawyer ,heather and could able to speak several languages with a Roman citizenship. His parents were devolted Jews who nurtured their son and sent him to Jerusalem temple to be the greatest Rabbi under the lectureship of Gamaliel the great teacher of the Pharisees and famous interpreter of of the Torah (Jewish law). Saul received excellent Greek Education and qualified to do the great work to become the member of Sanhedrin(Jewish Council of Law)and strong supporter of Judaism.
After their mission to desperse the Christians in Jerusulem bear fruits ,the next mission was to Damascus . On his way to Damascus according to Acts chapter 9 Saul was changed both his name and deeds to Paul the apostle by a fraction of light ,he heard the voice ,verse 4 "Saul Saul why want to perscute me" .It was near Damascus and last three days neither drinking nor eating anything and was also blinded in which he thought it was a punishment .To him it also symbolises the Jesus' death and his claim to be one of the apostles. He become convinced that the disciples were right about Jesus. He realised that Jesus' crucification,resurrection and ascention had before fore told by the prophets.After this he was prayed by Annanious and get baptised,he received the holy spirit .
Acts (9:19-25)Once he himself became a Christian ,Paul boldly declared his faith in resurrected Messiah.''On arriving in Jerusalem he made efforts to join himself to the disciples ,but they were all afraid of him,because they did not believe he was a disciples.''(Acts 9:26).later he was accompanied by Barnabas and accepted him.
After few weeks from the day of conversion paul commissioned directly from Jesus without need for human intervention. Paul acknowledges this on his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 1 :11,12).
Because of his Roman citizenship and fluently prowess in Greek,Hebrew and Aramatic languages Paul become the most travelled early christian missionary such that he could address all the Jewish in the Roman empire and the Gentiles.
Paul chose the right path after a complete reorientation of the Christian understanding and chanelled his zeal into what he was convinced was the right path.
His extremist power against christian turn to be a hero christian preacher and missionary.
Paul the greatest writer of Greek 14 Pauline letters found in the new testament.
Through his conversion Paul was convinced that God had granded him special revelation of the Lord who had appeared to the disciples in the days immediately after the resurrection.
The disciples themselves in the reality of Paul's visions and accepted him on the strength of it as an apostle of the risen Christ.
Paul established the right path of spreading the Christianity through his great knowledge of the scriptures he became a billiant preacher. The true vicious opponent of Christianity turned a stronger supporter hence many people converted. In Athens with Barnabas they were called the gods.
Through his ability to speak different languages was managed to write letters to different communities to further propagate Christianity and also spread the gospel through missionary journeys. This was only after Paul find the right path of preaching the gospel,thus moving the right direction.

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