Why was a scholar like Paul prejudiced against accepting Jesus as the Messiah?
Persecutor of Christians
- Why is religion the major basis for persecution?
- Why do you think Saul preferred to guard the cloaks than throw stones at Stephen?
- What effect does the death of a martyr have on onlookers?
- Is there a way to speak your way out of getting stoned?
Saul's Conversion
- How can people get brainwashed and radicalized? How can they be deprogrammed?
- What about his encounter on the road to Damascus convinced Saul it was Jesus speaking to him?
- What makes it difficult to convert our thinking from one side to the other?
- Which is more common, a sudden or a gradual conversion?
Saul in Damascus
- Why do you think God struck Saul with blindness rather than deafness? What different things do sight and hearing symbolize?
- Why do you think God chose to send Saul to Ananias rather than to one of the apostles?
- What made it preferable to send the converted Saul to evangelize the gentiles?
The Gospel Goes to the Gentiles
- Why were the Jews so reluctant to take the gospel to the gentiles abroad?
- What challenges would Paul face after his conversion?
- Would we today have preferred for Paul to reach out to his former colleagues--pharisees?
- Does God bring persecution and exile so that the gospel can be spread faster?
Conflict Within the Church
- Why are church members happy to welcome new members, but concerned when huge numbers pour in?
- Why did the Jewish Christians want the gentile converts to conform to the Mosaic laws?
- Did Jesus intend to establish a new religion or could Judaism have flowed into Christianity?
- What turned Paul from a persecutor into a persecuted person?