This paper is my account of the three different versions of Paul’s conversion. To get my point across, I will cover the comparisons between the three stories, in relevance to the narrative setting, characters, intent/rhetoric, and plot. Then I will explain why the three are different. To understand why this paper is such an important topic, I need to briefly explain who Paul was and his ways.

Paul is often considered one of the most successful early Christian missionaries. He was also one of the twelve Apostles, as well as a big influence on the New Testament of the Bible, having written many of its sections. Paul was the founder of Gentile Christianity, which gained him much attention because he himself was of Jewish origin. He was born Jewish and strictly adhered to the ways and customs of Judaism. He was originally named Saul and was a zealous opponent of Christians and the Christian religion until a vision of Jesus converted him to Christianity. He continued to spread the word of Jesus during many of his missions. During these missions, he and his colleagues founded many churches along the way. Throughout his lifetime, Paul spoke out for Gentile Christians to be fre

In the third story, when he is speaking to the king, before the tribunes and prominent male citizens, he speaks more eloquently and politely. As he tells his story, he first praises the king just for allowing him to be there, and for listening to him. He also points out the king’s knowledge because he is familiar with the Jews and their customs and how supplication should be made. He tells the story like he did the second time, however, in this version, he puts more of an emphasis on his strict Jewish upbringing, pointing out that he lived like a Pharisee. He then proves his own knowledge of the history of Jewish religion. He does this by bringing up his ancestors and the twelve tribes. He then states what he had done in the past against the name of Jesus of Nazareth, by condemning his followers to prison and even to death. This proves how he was once a perfect example of what a person should be in their eyes so that even if they disapprove of what he does, he still might be spared for that.

The next section of Paul’s conversions I will cover are the characters of each conversion and the part that they play in the story. There are not too many characters in each of the stories of Paul’s conversion. However, those who are mentioned, are key players in the conversion of Paul or had something to do with his incarceration. He also has some important interaction with the citizens. As each conversion story is told, you can see how Paul tells his story to those who will listen and as each new story arises more people learn of him, each time those people hear of Paul and his ways he gains more power and prestige.

e from Jewish law. In one of his final actions, “Paul collected money from the other churches and delivered it to the church of Jerusalem, in the name of love between Gentile and Jewish Christians” (Encyclopedia of Knowledge. 270). Many people did not appreciate this, and soon afterward, Paul’s downfall became just a matter of time.

Therefore, in the second story, when he is telling it to the citizens of Jerusalem, he makes it a point to address the crowd as “Brothers and fathers…” to let them know that he is one of them (Harper Collins Study Bible, Acts. 22.1). He told the story in Hebrew, the native tongue, to attempt to gain their attention and approval even more. He proceeds to tell the people that he is a Jew, like them. He also tells where he was born and that he too followed the ancestral law. Each of these little factors plays an important part in attracting the people to him and his story. He attempts to gain their trust by telling how he is one of them and was born in a nearby town. He does all he can, before these people in the little bit of time he has, to try to persuade them to understand him by getting to know him and realize that he is a human being and not and evil, traitorous man.

In the third and final account of Paul’s calling, in Acts 26.1-23, Paul retells his story of his conversion for the last time to King Agrippa. Paul had requested to tell his story to the king by appealing his custody in Jerusalem. Paul told his story in the audience hall of the city. There, all of the military tribunes and prominent male citizens came to listen to Paul. Finally, King Agrippa and his sister/incestuous lover, Bernice arrived. Then Paul was brought in and he proceeded to tell his story to the king. Paul asked to speak to the king because he was “familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews…” (Harper Collins Study Bible, Acts. 26.3). He hoped that since no other person would listen to him with reason, that he might be able to appeal himself to the king.

Some topics in this essay:
Bible Acts, Jews Gentiles, Immediately Saul’s, Jerusalem Paul, Jerusalem Finally, King Agrippa, Jesus Nazareth, Jesus Paul, Saul Damascus, Imperial Majesty, paul’s conversion, collins study bible, bible acts, harper collins study, study bible, study bible acts, harper collins, collins study, tells story, told story, conversion paul, tribune soldiers, king agrippa, stories paul’s conversion, account paul’s conversion,