7.1. Paul the Converted Prosecutor
A description of Paul’s conversion and his status as the supreme zealot.
The Problem of Justifying Violence. "If we are going to call this a conversion narrative it is not Paul’s conversion from Judaism to Christianity, he does not change religions. It is his conversion from persecutor to persecuted, from villain to martyr, from blameless Pharisee to least among the apostles and chief of sinners. It is not a change in his faith tradition. Paul was a Jew, just like Jesus, they never ceased being Jews and from the beginning to the end of their life would express their faith in a Jewish manner.”
Paul and the Two Trajectories of His Bible. Hardin argues that Paul draws a distinction between the cursing/enslaving voice of the Law and the blessing/promise voice of God.
The Challenge of Paul When Reading the Bible. "The issue then for Paul, as it was for Jesus (1.2), was not that of Judaism vs. another religion, but how we read our Scriptures in the light of the Compassionate Maker of heaven and earth. It is not our relationship to the Bible that counts but our relation to Jesus, God’s interpreter.”
Quote from Hardin, Michael (2013-09-26). The Jesus Driven Life: Reconnecting Humanity With Jesus, 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded (Kindle Locations 5967-5969). JDL Press. Kindle Edition.