St. Paul “blinded by the light.” Photo in public domainWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25: In one blinding moment, the course of Saul’s life changed forever—and today, Christians honor this moment with a festival known as the Conversion of St. Paul. According to biblical accounts, it was an ordinary day when Saul was traveling by road from Jerusalem to Damascus. Christian tradition holds that Saul had been persecuting leaders in the early church. After his experience with a glorious light and a divine voice, Saul became Paul and wound up as one of the world’s greatest evangelists.
Interested in reading more about Paul?
In 2009, ReadTheSpirit welcomed Bible scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan to talk about their research into the life of Paul. Their book, The First Paul, is one of the most popular books about Paul for small-group discussion in churches.
Outside of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, conversions of a different sort are currently taking place: Occupy London, a movement that is fighting corporate greed, has had representatives camping outside of the cathedral for months. (Read an article here.) The activists began their protest in October, and soon after, the cathedral shut down for an entire week and saw the resignation of three senior church officials. Now—amid much controversy—some schools are inviting Occupy London members into their classrooms to teach students how to develop a campaign, become involved in activism and debate these issues.
